THE REAL FIGHT

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 127, 25 November 1940, Page 8

THE REAL FIGHT

CLASH OF PRINCIPLES

PLANNING THE PEACE

CHANCE FOR A NEW

DEMOCRACY

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received November 25, 12.45 p.xn.)'

I RUGBY, November 24. . | Broadcasting to Americaf th«* (Minister of Labour and National Service, Mr. Ernest Bevin, reviewed events since he last? spoke to United I States and .Canadian listeners,and recalled that at that time things appeared to be very black for Britain, and that all over the world many people almost seemed to have accepted the fatalistic view that nothitig could withstand German aggression. Reviewing the reasons. which bad caused the British Commonwealth, to continue the fight in spite of the disasters of May and June and,enabled the re-equipment of the armies and the holding off of the invaders to becarried out, Mr. Bevin said that th« British ideal of government was founded on freedom, as compared with the Nazi conception of rule of the superman. "Virtually, then," he continued, "what is being fought out in Europe at this moment is a great civil war. The war is not so much between races as between principles, and there can. be no peace until one or other of these principles triumphs. Either we must accept and bend the knee to worship the superman and .accept his" abomination or we must make the principle of democracy the fundamental basis of government. In other words, people must accept the dictum, of the overlord or the rulers must be responsible to the people. "It is clear, therefore, that it is not so much where this or that boundary line is drawn, but whether the armies of liberty, by their energy, initiative, skill, and determination, will fight for the rights of men or be" for ever subdued. "I am convinced that the principles for which we stand are going to triumph and that when the time comes to write the peace these principles will have to be woven into it and made secure as a basis of government. Not merely must they be written into the peace,, but steps will have to be taken so that this. plant 'democracy' has a chance to grow and become strong in those areas where it .was allowed to wither. There it will' have to be nurtured, strengthened, and fed until finally it reaches a structure and a selfreliance on terms of equality with th«f other democracies of the world." CO-OPERATION APPEAL. Mr. Bevin appealed for the co-opera* tion of all people who desire victory for. the principles of freedom. The form of co-operation to be taken, he said, must be determined by" such people themselves % but the British Common wealth, was determined to go to the last penny; and the last ounce of effort to resist aggression and win the battle of liberty, and he asked what better, hope could be given to those millions who" were now suffering under Nazi tyranny than to let them know that the efforts 6JE free men and women throughout the world were being continually directed; towards their deliverance. "Let them hear a resounding answer," he said, in conclusion, "in, the roar from planes built in your factories, and in guns ,ships, and the full resources of your production—all poured out to assist in bringing nearer that great day when free men and women can sit round the table and say: 'We have made a common endeavour to save the soul of mankind.' After the triumph over the forces of aggression, we must set to work and build a new world order whose foundation shall be social security and liberty, and upon that foundation we must give the sons of men a chance to build an edifice worthy of the sacrifice that has been made to win it and which will represent a purer, higher, and nobler civilisation."

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