1952-02-02 — Page 6

BEAUTY.

GEOGRAPHY

& POLITICS

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A BOOK THAT RUSSIA'S

H

*world?

WILL RAISE THE ROOF

by

'OW did Russia, so near to col- lapse in the war, come to be so powerful when it ended 'that she 'could terrify the.

A book published last week, "The Struggle for Europe," by Chester Wilmot, claims to give the answer,

Even more important, while vigorously and rightly upholding a close British-American alliance as a fundamental policy for both nation's, the author, with tremendous -per- sunsive power, builds the case for a stronger degree of British indepen- dence within the alliance.

For he shows-from the 'course of recent history:-

(1) The danger 'we face if we permit our Army and Air Force to pass out of our control and bocome an integrated part of a European army.

·

our

(2) The price we might have to pay if we accept foreign con-

and command for trol Navy.

(8) The folly we commit if we meally agree to run our_ Empire is some other mition, with less experience and less understanding, thinks we should run it.

(4) The futility; of cherishing rosy hopes of world peace com- ing out of UNO,

"The Struggle for Europe" is probably the most interesting and vital book on récent history, "yet published. It is certainly the most controversial and provocative. It will cause a storm in the United States. But many in Britain will find it palatable.

of

It seeks to establish Trom selected documents and events that the present perilous plight Europe and the world would never have developed if Britain's advice had been taken.

It asserts that the emergence of Russia

as the most powerful nation in Europe was the inevitable consequence of political misjudg ments made by resident Roosevelt In face of strong protests from the much wiser Churchill,

Political wNT

was last

TT-egrees that because of America's

I tremendous strength we could not fose

the war,

But it makes the case that Roosevelt always cu most loyal and powerful friend through the years of trint did not underctand the political problems of Europe. That he had an utterly erroneous conception of the British Empire. And 'that he mistidged completely the mint and purposes of Stalin.

Its conclusion is that because WO ought the war in the wrong way, though 'we won the military victory, we lost the political war upon which the future de- ipended.

By losing it wo left Stalin the master 101 Europe,

We gave him contrat of Eastern Europe, which he would never navu, won by force of armi.

We gave him mablety of the Balkans. We put him in a position to prevent the application to half Europe of the prin ciples of freedoínas laid down in the Atlantic Charter for which we fought. Our troubles, today It argues, are the

mistalced prica of those.

It la the author's view and he num powerful, British support for it that in

the Jule summer of 1044 the Western

JOHNNY HAZARD

*IF ONLY AY CRAD GET:

A DEAD'ON YUH / BUT

| THEY LIDEVILLE AND

OUR HEAD/

CET AN SAHIT IN AN OLD "RADSTICING PRATURE

JOHN ORDON

Powers had it in their 'power to ensure that "the great capitain of Eastern Europe, Berlin, Prague, and Vienna, would be liberated from the West.

There would have been no Nysslan throat over Europe today had ineen done.

But the opportunity was cont nway at Viltu by Raasoveit, who was convinced bovand all argument that Churchi'l 'cculd offer, that Stalin had become his trusting ·

and; "andring his deals, determined to stand with him in bringing pesto to the world and Ulberty to all men.

+

But Stallo, In fact, "took him for a ride."

We might have takon Berlin

QUERE were, the 'back asserts, a few critical days in the final weeks of the war when the tragedy could have been averted,

to

in a

position Mentgomery was fake Berlin long before the Russians could get there. Vienna was wide open to the. Americans. So was Progue.

But the gulle of Stalin was powerful 'to the end,

་

In kebping with Roosevelt's promises to him the forces of the West were check- *ed in order that 'Stalin should enter them 'first.

What of the military side of the wary America, says Mr Wilmot, a tation of great mun-power and incomparable Aghts her wars da tlustrial power, method that sulls her best,

蟲

mass of men, Her theory is that n given weapons capable of delivering an overwhelming bly, cap achieve victory with sbsolute certainty. And she proved hur case.

She believes in the direct-trònial' i̇nt-

tack as the wiflett way to victory, and in the end the most economical in lives.

Why were these mistakes made? Mr~*~*~. Wilmot expresses 'the vlow that they rose out of cuspfelons rooted deep in history.

'Noosevelt-in common with most ef His countrymen had a deep, projudice against what the Americans call "Colonialism," and when it relates Epecifically to the British Empire, "Im- perialism

He entered the war. Mr Wilmot in- fers, not only firmly determined to :ddfeat Germany and Japan, but equally' deter=" mino to put an end to the British Colonial Empire system and the Dutch and French colonial system as well,

Definite ideas about Empire

THAT did not mean that he sought any that bind weakening of the bonds Britain and America as inseparable allies. He merely saw America as "the enlighten- ed son seeking to reform the wayward father."

as-.

The Atlantic Pact, Mr, Wilmot 'sumes, was a deliborate step to that end.

Cordell Hull, then Secretary of State, was quite frank about the President's purpose. He wrote:-

"We had definite ideas with respect to the future of the British Colonial Empire on which we differed with the British."

Roosevelt, with his curioles minder- standing of the British Empira, devloped in equally curious misunderstanding for Stalin and Russin,

He regarded the Unifodd Stites and Russia as the only two indet Powers without "original 'sin" in the shaped colonial possessions and imperialistic aspirations.

Stalin was, mircin

Amore wily

And the regards military victory as the only thing that matters. Political Issues never cloud the picture.

in-

Britain, with a man-strength finitesimal compared with America, fights her wars 'differently.

Through history she enemies much stronger than tnesse and stratagem.

.has

beaten hersc! by

She Has always avoided the decisive frontal blow. For she dared not risk being bled to death or smashed to pulp,

The wisdom of

the ages

IN the 1914 war she abandoned her his

toric strategy? She merged herself with a land macs on the Continent, and though she emerged victorious she pretty udikly Uled from the mauling.

Bome Lu 1009 she began with the mistake. At Dunkirk her life hung on But miraculously the 'cféntiorest thread. It held.

of Europe, 'With Hitler the muster Churchill restored the wisdom of the ages, soft towards "The We began to probe belly." In the Western Desert of Norm Africa that polley réturnica a fruitful dividend.

We persuaded the Americans against their will to play the samo, game, further west: Again the dividend was tremes dous.

Mussolini had the death rattle in his throat and Hiller for the Arst time saw the red light of coming disaster.

Italy collapsed. The way was open Into Hitler's fortress. We had the foot- hold, we had the Army, and at the head the greatest general of the war - Britain's Alexander.

}

But, Mr Wilmot drgues,, the Amert- cang did not understand either the strategy of the long way round, or the Importance of the political opportunity, So I was lost.

So we went to

Normandy

went into Normandy Instead,

And from Normandy to the end we moved in a solid, relentless human mass, ignoring opportunities witch if taken as Montgomery desired might, as many ex- ports now believe, have shortened the war By Jhulf a year,

Now what lessons do these years hold for Britons? What was lost by politica

midullgment if it occurred-has now to bo réguined by political wisdom.

If we believe, as we do, that 'our own Wieitom is our best guide, then we must retain our independence and see that our views have the influence we think they thould have,

never forces

We must never be forced down paths we hesitate to tread. Wo *must control of the upen which our liberty and our lives dopend.

He thought that if he and Stalin met commit to others

round a table on a man-to-mian basis there was no problem they could not solve, because their minds were la tune....

He had

по doubt whatever that Stalin would come into a United Nations Organization Bike a lamb, and defend of peace, liberty, and Roosevelt's ideals democracy like a lion.

But Stalin was in much more wily dealer than Roosevelt ved to realise.

2.

The protection of Britain, the mastery of the skies above it, and the keeping of the geus around it, is their first and most vital responsibility,

Where and how they fight to fulfi thut duty and purpose-must always be our decision.

For our life depends upon ft.

THE MAN WHO WROTE THE

TOURIST

RECORD

DENNIS BARDENS

TN 1950 no less than 3134-

T

foreign: Widitura were allowed into the USSR. We have this 'on the unlim- penchable authority of Mr Malik, the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister, who gave this figure to the British Quaker Delegation when it visited the USSR. All these visitors were mem- bors of ofdial delegations, for Russia has no unofficial visitors. be ordinary tourists. And they came, and Mr Malik was especially proud of this, from 32 dif- ferent countries,

He also added that 198 Soviet delegations, consisting of 1,893 persons, were sent to 22 coun- tries.

"

Since these are the Soviet Government's official figurds, we without them may examing being accused of prejudice. The point Me Mallie had intended to make was that the USSR. wel- comed contact with the outside world and placed no impediment in the way of foreign visitors,

Yet his figures Russia Is a. closed First the members delegations are carefully chosen before they leave

Iron

Soviet

.that

continent.

official

of

Second, they came mortly

Curtain

the countries, colonies. Thirdly, they were shepherded by guides and Interpreters,

were limited in the places they could visit and had no free contact with the Rus sion people themselves. They were watched, and fed with, pro- paganda, from the moment they. arrived to the moment they left.

Comparisons

•

But assuming that these 2,134 foreign visitors were tourists in the accepted sense of the word, how would Russia's record.com- pare with that of other coun- tries?

Well, the Island of Majores, a mere dot in the Mediterranean compared with the vast spraw- continent of Russia, had 200,000 foreign tourists during 1951, which is nearly 100 mes as many as the US.S.R. A re-

ort just fasued by

by the port

Organisa tion European Economic Co- operation (O.E.E.C.) shows that the number of American visitors to Europe In 1850 was 370,000, or over 185 times the number of Russians who were allowed to travel outside the US.S.R.

And the Russian delegations, it must be remembered, "were all official bodies sent abroad. official business ---

propaganda. Not one of the members was tourist, and all were too terrified. to make any spontaneous con- tact with the people of the countries they visited.

Now for Britain. In 1950 mars than 003,000 visitors from over- seas visited that country, There- fore, for every foreign visitor. allowed into the US.S.R, during 1950, 300 were allowed Into Britain, which is only one-hun dredth the size of the vast Rus- stan continent.

Pathetic

How negligible, how patheti cally nominal, is the number of visitors to the USSR. can bo seen by makinig almost any com- parison, Why, British West Africa alone gen: 5,000 visitors to Britain, which is more than arrived from the 32 countries quoted by Mr Melik. The foreign visitors to Beltaini in 1950 in- cluded 26,000 from 'Sweden, 15,- 000 from Norway 20,000 from Denmark, 24,000 from Germany, 52,000 from the Netherlands, 37, 600 from: Belgium,

$1,000 from 21,000 Switzerland

from and 16,000 from Italy. Plenty Arrived

för allekt, including 124,000 from the U.S.A. alone.

France

ha ludicrous Agures that

by Mr Malik, show, in fact, fewer people were 'ellowed, Into Kussia than visited the tiny but For He bought the right to enter and

historic spot of Stonehenge, the hold the lands that now le bound and,

old

tample of the Druids: In helpless behind the Iron Curtain, with

BOOK: Chester. Wimos is an Australian Wiltshire, England. They ate power to control eventually, Manchuria

and in the war had a wide experience

an official admission, it anybody and China as well, for the price of jain-

as a reporter in the field. He spent at

needed one, that the U.S.SR. ing UNO. The world rocks today, de

of that Pears sifting the evidence upon which sualed to the outside world, and clares

Wilmot, because Mr.

unlucky citizens are The Struggle for Europe was written, that its And diplomatie triumph. bútorialing

It is published by Collins, price 258,, and

denied any free confact with UNO remains a futility as a memorial to

runs to 350,000 words.

the peoples of other countries, it,

By Frank Robbids

"THIG WAY "THEY WON'T. EKONOWAŁ WHICH STATİON 'ID'

SNIPE XT, AND WE CAFESKORP "FROM ONE RIFLE TO THE 'OTHER' AND POTSHOT AT-