QUEBEC CONFERENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 September 1944, Page 5

QUEBEC CONFERENCE

MR. CHURCHILL’S RECEPTION GREAT EXPECTATIONS OTTAWA, September 11. “This is not the first time we have been here in this war, but we have never been here when the skies were brighter,” said Mr. Churchill on his arrival in Canada. “The march of the United Nations’ forces have never been more surely and quickly directed towards the goal.” Mr. Churchill was speaking from the steps of the platform of the special train -which took him and his party to Quebec. Mr. Churchill came ashore from a giant transport at an east Canadian port. He grinned delightedly as he left for Quebec an hour later. The United Press of America says: “The meeting, which will be the most decisive of all the Roosevelt-Churchill conferences, has been dubbed the ‘Victory Conference’.” With Mr. Churchill are Lord Leathers (Minister of War Transport), the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (General Sir Alan Brooke), the Chief of Combined Operations (LieutenantGeneral Laycock), the Chief of the Naval Staff (Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham), the Chief of the Air Staff (Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal), and General Sir Hastings Ismay. Mr. Churchill is accompanied by Mrs. Churchill and his personal physician (Lord Moran). The Associated Press says that American leaders who are expected to accompany Mr. Roosevelt to Quebec include the Army Chief of Staff (General George Marshall), Admiral W. D. Leahy, who is Chief of Staff to Mr. Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral E. J. King), and the Commanding General of the United States Army Air Forces (General H. H. Arnold). PROBABLE TOPICS. NEW YORK, September 10. The “New York Herald-Tribune’s” Quebec correspondent states: No one professes to know exactly what is in store for "the conference. Indeed, it can be said that all of the news originating in Quebec for the next week oi’ so will be speculation, with the exception of any official announcements. However, informed observers, who have seriously studied the preparations for the conference, predict that the discussions will include the following topics:— (1) What part Britain and America are to play in the policing of Germany. Policies in this connection shaped by Messrs Roosevelt and Churchill will later be welded into a co-operative policy, with Russia in a meeting of the Big Three. . (2) What responsibilities Britain and America are to be given in the war against Japan when their combined naval forces, numbering at least two thousand warships, can be sent against that .staggering Axis partner. „ , . , , (3) What part shall be assigned to France and the Netherlands in the war in the Pacific, where- they have sizeable stakes. (5) A heart-to-heart talk about the “ifs” in American politics, namely, what can be expected if Mr. Roosevelt is beaten for the Presidency on November 7, or barely squeezes in. PACIFIC OPERATIONS.

The correspondent adds: The Pacific war will probably be the most important topic, because, unless all signs prove wrong, the war against Germany may end even during the conference. Therefore Mr. Churchill and Mr. Roosevelt will have to decide how long it will take for British naval units to be sent to the Pacific- and whether they shall be merged in the American task forces for a united campaign, or whether the British and the American Navies in the Pacific shall be kept separate; and finally, if they are kept separate, what area of operations shall be assigned to either. While the last Quebec conference planned the invasion of Europe, it is an open secret that the main concern this time is the application of the same methods to the destruction of Japan. Whether or not there should be a German armistice while the conference is progressing, there certainly is no more long-range erand strategy against Germany required. Therefore, it is significant that all whom Mr. Churchill has brought along or has summoned to Quebec are experts in the long-range planning of combined operations. However, while the Chiefs of Staff will be closeted at the Chateau Frontenac for military discussions of a most secret ‘ nature, there wp! be time enough for Mr. Churchill and Mi. Roosevelt in the Quebec Citadel, to tackle many political problems concerning the future of the world. The correspondent concluded: — Since the last conference, the Eng-lish-speaking nations have definitely merged in leadership. Therefore Mi. Roosevelt’s and Mr. Churchill s conversations about reconstruction ol the world have undoubtedly a new confidence. PRESIDENT’S ARRIVAL. (Rec. 10 a.m.) QUEBEC, Sept. 11. Mr. Roosevelt has arrived accompanied by Mrs. Roosevelt, Admiral Leahy, and Admiral Mclntire. MESSAGE. (Rec. 12.30 p.m-foTTAWA Sept. 11 Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill received a message from Mr. Stalin stating: The Soviet armies are fighting battles on such a broad front and developing their offensives increasingly, therefore Mr. Stalin is unable to leave the direction of .the Army, even for a very short period. The White House Secretary, Mr. Stephen Early, announcing the message to the Press, said that both Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill would have been delighted if Mr. Stalin could have attended, but they thoroughly understood his message and felt he was properly absent on the field of duty. Mr. Early, holding the first Press conference, said it was appropriate to point out that the President’s recent inspection tour of Pearl Harbour and the Aleutians, and the conferences with Nimitz and MacArthur, were a very necessary preliminary to the Quebec discussions. Asked if the deliberations would stress the Pacific war, Mr. Early replied that he believed they would largely do so. Emphasising the conference was almost exclusively military, Mr. Early predicted that the volume of news releaseable would be disappointingly small for security reasons. ■