FALLEN FLAT

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 258, 9 October 1931, Page 5

FALLEN FLAT

GANDHI NOT IMPRESSIVE LONDON SHIES AT QUEER GARB LONDON, Sept. 26. —Gandhi has fellen flat. his insistence on his outlandish garb has largely been responsible for his failure to impress political circles in London in any degree comparable with the influence he has exerted in India. People, expecting visiting diplomats to conform to sartorial usage, get a shock, similar to what would be caused by seeing a coolie in a drawingroom when Gandhi appears in his slovenly shawl, sandals, and loincloth at the Round Table Conference meeting and on other official occasions. Gandhi really is suffering from too much previous propaganda. His failure dates from the moment of his arrival, when his supporters, aiming to stage a national welcome, invited 1100 peers, members of Parliament, and other prominent citizens, and the vast majority of these excused themselves. His advisers are perturbed on that account and also by his failure to impress Parliamentarians, including the Labourites, and especially by his unconvincing answers when crossexamined regarding the effect of the withdrawal of the British Army upon Indian peace. Gandhi is even less influential at the Round Table discussions than was expected.