Evening star., 1938-12-14


Informally and without the re-
straints of prepared address, but
the public knows his views because
they were comprehensively expressed
in the speech delivered last week
before the National Association of
Manufacturers.
1t is not the specific phrases of
speech, but the spirit of the man,
his earnestness, his sincerity, his
fortnight presentation of the view
point of his countrymen, which
leaves an unforgettable impression
Contrary to what may have been
expected in some quarters, there is
nothing in the Eden visit to which
the German people or even the Ger
man Government should particularly
object, unless it be the fact of the
visit itself, which is symbol of
friendship between the two out
standing democracies of the Eng
disappearing world.
Did Not Come For Help.
Mr.. Eden did not need to ask
America for help. He did not need
to seek in devious ways to entangle
us. He did not need to suggest any
formula of policy for the two nations
to follow. He needed only to ex-
press, as he did in New York and
doubtless here to the President and
other officials of the American Gov
ernment. the simple conviction that
England believes in democracy and
does not believe in Fascism or Com
munism. If England believes in these
things still, certainly America be-
lieveS in them, too. And if England
must defend those ideals before the
whole world, so must America do
likewise. In fact, the United States,
through Secretary of State Hull, is
at this very moment defending those
ideals in a conference of Pan-Ameri-
can nations at Lima, Peru.
How can the ideals of democracy
be defended? BY war? Certainly
there has not been anything said
during Mr.. Eden's conferences with
Government officials which affords
a basis for such a program of joint
action. Quite the contrary, Mr..
Eden undoubtedly feels that the
democracies by the power of example
and by their trade policies can in
ouce the peoples of all Europe to
work together rather than to fight
against each other.
Understanding of Purposes.
The basis of good relations between
the democracies is, of course, an un-
derstanding of each others pur-
poses. Selfish ambitions lead to
suspicion and misunderstanding.
Even the Eden visit has been dis
torted by anti-Britishers in our
midst to mean that Great Britain
has some complicated plan in mind
to entangle the United States.
But the Eden mission, for it will
rank as such even though unofficial,
has greater Importance than the
forwarding of any Anglo American
military or naval compacts or agree
ments OF joint action. Mr.. Eden
must have learned that the people
OF the United States are not inter-
ested in the territorial squabbles of
Europe or in the ramifications of
British Empire policy which place
materlalism above idealism. What
he found the American people in
terested in was the basic preserva-
ton of democracy. On that score
America is interested in everything
Britain or her spokesmen say or do.
Did Effective Job.
The curious happenstance that
Anthony Eden is not a part of the
British Government, but has at
times reflected viewpoint which
has been in opposition to Prime
Minister Chamberlain, made his
visit all the more effective. Ger
talnly since the Munich Peace
Treaty, the prestige of England has
suffered considerably. It fell to An
thony Eden to help restore that
prestige and so far as official Wash
1ngton was concerned and the
neWspapermen of the National Capt.
tai, it may be said that he did a
very effective job. The expressions
OF many newspaper correspondents
after his talk were favorable, in
deed, and it is no exaggeration to say
that direct dealing, open and frank
exposition of the British viewpoint,
can do more toward cementing the
British and American democracies
than any other single course of ac-
tion. 1t now remains for France
to send an unofficial Ambassador
who can convev to Tic bero tho ceroa