1959-12-04 — Page 6

THE CHINA MAIL,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1959.

I

SMOKE THE NEW GAULLEOISES

vicku

JUST WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE IT UP-FOR HEALTH REASONS.

London Arena Srivice

UNDER-MANNED

and UNDER-GUNNED

"FAR called.

our

Navies melt away." So, prophetically, wrote Kipling in 1897. If you insert the words Armies and Air Forces after Navies you get our effec- tive military strength in

1959.

At the moment, the in- creasing inadequacy of our military power is not under stood. It will probably take n crisis to shake the coun- Try out of its ostrich-like altitude into a realisation

of our weakness.

But now is the time

The cuts in defence have left Britain inadequately guarded

BY LORD LAMBTON, M.P.

of Defence, could nut

With five years in front of which Mr Anthony Head, then it, exposures of our military Minister "election sabotage" as they decay cannot be termed agree.

were in the last two years.

Below minimum

By 1961 our Army will be to reduced

to

176,000

Д

Their differences were to have been discussed at Cabinet meeting in January 1957-but, Instead, on that day Sir Anthony Eden announced his retirement.

men tween

the new

Wat

ean Influence the Ministry of Defence as effectively as he does the Foreign Office.

The argument, therefore, If this is so, the dangerous be- precedent has been established when it came up

concentration of power Primo of a

ever held by Minister greater than was think of the matter, for the providing the recruiting Minister and the

Sir Winston Churchill. new Parliament may not figures are

maintained of Defence, Mr Macmillan

Although Mr Macmillan is the be so pliable as the

old. and our Navy and Air Force had his way and Mr Head

most brilliant of politicians it le

doubtful whether will

surely

any correspondingly left the Government. be weak.

Mr Duncan Sandys was an- single man can give to foreign ship that careful attention. The Army

figure is poluted to his place to carry out fairs, defence and the Premier- thought. and balanced opinion 10,000 below the mini- weapons and the planned reduc which alone can ensure con- mum figure desired by the tion of our conventional forces sistency of policy. Army Council.

con- to a level which is a cause of

As an example of this the bit- sequence we will be with- alarm to every Service chief to

whom I have spoken, and which ser antagonism which now exisis out adequate strategic re- brought Str Gerald Templer,

against us in Europe may, in then Chief of the Imperial

be fraced cases, many General Staff, to the brinit of decisions imposed from above en Mr Selwyn Lloyd, which he. left to himself, would in all probability never have made.

America's TV fans have

Tele-

MET Mr Jack Benny in the lobby of Television

City the day I arrived in Los Angeles. vision City is where the Columbia Broadcasting Company operates.

The premises are extensive, comprising a number of studios and rehearsal rooms, but, curiously enough, no restaurant. It is large for a buikling, hut small for a city,

M. Bony that

and 1xebanged mary ilments, and be TOY PANDA for I told him 1. dong "Misalliance,"

Bernard Shaw

have w

201 with 'ger/i I tol Clotte Plessala, Stolton McKenna, Kenneth 3dl;j. BONE

VOLLE

Whoe

jamest. tha week aguired in my turn. Just Harry Froman." he said, and Hurster, of course. **

1

Shoddy

watebord his show later. Where was a mumem when Me Crutal patted hum the seal of fee he had werd when he was in the White Hore. Mr Beany

for in hand ary

bekl 11 moment,

Kuk!**** Jit said

ik

Pore Rold," Mr Truman told But I was quite a time before

M. Benny unid bear to hand

11 Luck.

in But

A: it.

television Twent Angies above pure gold. thero's not a lut of if abuni just

I watched Olivier in "The Moon and Sixpence," and Berg- ATAL B The Turn of the Screw," giving mogalicent per- farmane in sumptuous pro- doctiore, and felt at the end of such that this was the real

16.

lave dross. Most of it is made

Vilmo

Hollywood pretty hoddy it looks too.

1:1

of

the

410

work

The quality turned out today in Hollywoond

in disheartening and discourag-

never had

it so bad

possibly

ROBERT MORLEY

serves.

ཙྭ་

the manufacture of nuclear

Already our foreign bases resignation. are feeling the pinch. The finds Hongkong garrison itself at the end of every queue. The Singapore base is totally dependent on local Irbour.

Doubtful

to

But one thing above all else Now Mr Sandys, whose is certain-and that is that, by

1951 has 1961,

forces our conventional political career since been a seesaw of first starting will be inadequate, and that our and then stopping production, leading military men, who in the event of a crisis have to produce has left the Defence Ministry.

the necessary men and machines, are deeply disturbed by the de- cisions of the last three years,

For these have left them under-manned and under-gunned, and the country inadequately de- fended.

And Gibraltar last year, when our Army numbered 330,000, was reduced to a garrison only

His place has been taken by Harold Watkinson, an large enough to change the Mr

which has enured appointment guard.

considerable surprise. For al- Our forces in Germany, with though Mr Watkinson has out reserves. arc reduced in undoubted ability, he was not

among other things, some hints valur-and so, correspondingly, considered to have the stature

to travellers.

LOS ANGELES

In his evidence he gave this. fooling all the not so much as an excuse for his conduci but as an explanation believed for it, and I for one him.

or

ing, at any rate to the genera, pver hirs, except top of actors to which I belong. Barnum,

We have perhaps never had people all the time, is today in 24 good. We have certainly deep trouble. never been so bad.

il

tis He has lost bis job at

Rerung.

Nor is it the actors' fault. The college and his appointment to

Bernard Shaw wrote that "To scripts are terrible, and the cune Drvelfast television

pra make democracy work you must alitions of werk deteriorating all

He has apparently have an aristocratic democracy," the time. Half-hour films are

Doren and the spent the money, and stands and Mr Van now shot in two days. The

kids became other quiz

for a in per of being indicted on dustry has come round in full

if cycle and the film studio looks perjury rap (if you will forgive spell aristocrats and might,

been found out. and even if you they had not the expresion very much as it must have done won't.

have changed the whole con- tent of television proKTAMMES. in the day of the Rioscope.

Cowboys and Indians, cops 2nd bbers jostle each other for a wall against which they can be shot. Nobody cares what lang as it's done uppens 4.ickly.

Indicted

anon

Vengeance

on

I quote: "In the case of loss ather trouble, the U.S. has a protection officer

dat night and day. In the event of serious trouble or death he can be of greal help" and If that isn't a comfort I

what is,

don't know

I have talked to a lot of taxi drivers here, and one of them

in the North of a Defence Minister. is aur influence Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The conseneur of opinion is And, last of all, there will be that Mr Macmillan has put he himself no adequate mobile force based him there so that

this country. In short, we are

ព state being reduced to unparalleled weakness,

Alarming

of

told me about a funeral he had The position with Landing been to the day before. It was Ships Troups-LST-gives on the funeral of one of his chil- example. dren's school friends, who had

11

been stabbed quite casually Two are immediately avail- coming home from church able, three are, on reserve, and bazaar.

four are on lease--all were bulli in 1944 for an active life of a A companion, a 12-year-old maximum of 18 months. With- boy, the same age as the boy jout an adequate force of LST8

With him go the good wishes of millions of Americans and,

their incidentally,

katapo better programmes.

Whoever is still 1!1

The vice-

As it is. it's back to the presidents of the broadcasting Corporation which employed. Mr Tech, the city desk, the patrol who got killed, knelt beside him there cannot be a proper mobile

car with a vengeance. Ani is Van Doren. Knowledge. Parning

recent edict the Columbia in the street and got stabbed, reserve. culture-calf what you like-

Broadcasting System is definitely cut

its

most

has de- cided not only 10 drop quiz

100.

To understand how this posi- "But he was lucky," the taxi tion has come about one must go programmes, but i all canned driver said. Meanwhile the biggest name

"He didn't get it back to the time when Mr Mac In America learning for

recorded laughter,

millan was made in show business is Mill

He lived all right.

Minister of so bad. own sake is no more esteemed applause,

Defence. He took over from a Von Laren, the young likeable than

else, and the rehearsed spontaneity, and any- anywhere

"The fellow who did it was a long line of political falures, college professor who won inore

college professor is a good deal thing else which tends to mis-

lead the pubile. What is to be drug addict leader of one of and he was shocked at the than £45,000 on quiz show worse paid than it

done abant actors wearing these gangs.

He thought the extravagance and waste of his two years ago, and has now countries.

Toupees hasn't ay yet been kid shouldn't have brushed department. admitted to a Senate Inverdi-

decided.

against him as he passed.

Before he was able to enforce "There are streets in this economies he was transferred town where l'a not a good thing fret 10 the Foreign Offlce and

I guess it's then to the Treasury. to walk after dark. the same in London," he con-

At the Treasury he determin- cluded.

ed that Service expenditure must be rationed, and that if we were "Not quite," I told him. "Not to develop nuclear weapons our conventional forces would have

ading Committee that he was

What Mr Van Doren did-in

not only told all the questions a series of programmes in which beforehand. but all the answers he was watched, applauded, and as well.

even revered by tens of millions of Americans was not only to put himself on the map. He put

Mr Van Doren, who came as

The rest, 1 aur sorry to say, was dras and not very attrae- near as anyone in my business learning on the map as weli.

A Romanov backs new

vodka-made in the

THE private crest of the Romanovs-the Royal family of old Imperial Russia - is to be used for the first time to promote a commercial enterprise. The crest, a red griffon bearing a sword and shield, ap- pears on the label of new brand of vodka.

a

And it is being distilled in Edinburgh.

Royalty

the

It is called after one of last of the Romanovs, Prince the Vasili, one of the sons of Grand Duchess. Xenla, sister of the last reigning Romanov Tear, Nicholos II, who was murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

land of Scotch

By WILLIAM ROLAND

The Prince's coat of armE ON the vodka label.

"I tried it out on my sian friends before we Vasili to market it."

On every bottle of the new vodica that 10 sold

collects a royalty.

A senior member of Justerini

and Brooks, the London

'Bourbon' prince

Arm One that is to distribute it, told me: friends"

We

ot the

Vasill's

"At the moment we are short Prince Dimitri, who is in the Bourbon whisky of the vodka.

When

get more we hope 10 sell a lot of

He told me: "Vasili i3 especially in America, It is youngest son. He lives very good vodka.

forall and works for a

braking firm. He doesn't have to

his sell the yodin, only lend name lo ."

On the label is the inscrip- Lion-"The quallly of this vodka is authenticated by my no other

- coat of arms which

distiller can claim.

Vasil Romanov."

No rent

The Grand Duchess

Prince

Xenia Ilves the life of a recluse in Wilderness House, 1 22-room grute and favour house al Hampton Court given her by the Duke of Windsor when he was king.

She pays rates but no rent. The Romanove are related to the British Royal family.

Д

Hus-

The Grand Duchess is the agreed undisputed head of the White

Russian colony in this country.

Vasili did not ask her per- mission to have a vodka called tald after him. Prince Dimitri "Russian her about it when he spent

brother weekend with her a short time himself ago.

trade. What was ber reaction

Vasilta vodka? "She laughed," 52, the says Prince Dimitri, m Call-she doesn't mind it at all."

stack-

-(London Express Servios).

to

Well. it's net my problem-

mean-and not, television. I

las, the toupee, and I am think- ing of going to Mexico.

Indeed, the other afternoon I visited The Mexican Embassy. where I duly received my visa and a guidebook containing.

WORST

SO FAT.

-(London Express Service).

Ito be reduced to

a level with

¡DON'T

FORGET YOUR

COAL BACON, CORN BLASTERS, BUTTER, SOAP BUDGE MEAT THINAITOMIC,

HAYS.

MEANTY CREAM

Bu

(Lidon Express Service).

Just Fancy That!

PUSINESS man David Jenkins got back into his car after lunch the other day at Scarborough, Yorkshire, and heard a woman's voice my: "Where in heaven's name have you been? I've been waiting for hours."

But the woman in the passenger seat turned out to be some- one else's wife. She blushingly explained that her husband's car was an identical model-with just one different numeral on the fegistration plate.

FRANSPORT Minister Ernest Marpies was offered a 25. Od. Up other night. He was driving home when he stapped in Westminster to offer a lift to pianist Ilosalyn Tureek, whose ca

He drove her to the Festival Hall had been damaged in a smash. where she gave a concert. Her secretary mistook him for a chauffeur and offered the tip. Mr Marples declined with a smile.

THE cars Darphine-moved away from the pavement. In the

driving seat Jean-Marie, a Buffy poodic. Eight into the rush-hour trafilo in Brompton Road, Knights- bridge. Right Into a stationary taxi. The traffic jam bullt up. Jean-Marie Jean-Marie would not move. Along came his owner. mored out. And the jam sorted itself out.

-(London Express Servicė).

INCREASES

Netwv 4/10

"If there's not a black market`for Butter in Little Prédioband how come everybody's ordeding two hundredweight instead of their usual two unices this unék?"