Evening star., 1940-10-27
Cancellation Of Russia Is Seen
AS Price Of Victory for Britain
Prof. Laski Says Churchill Should Act Now to
Engage Soviet Influence Against Threat
From Dictators in Balkans
BY Harold J. Laski.

proach of winter, In health and shelter.
Yet, having lived through them in Lon
don and having seen good deal of the
rest of England, I can testify that their
effect on the morale of the population is
to strengthen and not to weaken its en-
durance.
The attack must always be set in the
perspective of the French defeat, and
Americans particularly must recognize
that this defeat. as an index to the
German methods of domination, has
meant resurgence of British spirit such
as have never seen in my life. There
is no trace Of defeatism in any section of
the masses, save for small occasional
patch where the Communist party has
influence. That would disappear the
moment there was an understanding
with the Soviet Union, for Communist
policy today is nothing but confused
echo of what it believes to be the pur-
pose of Moscow.
Production Unimpaired.
The attempt to damage our productive
effort so far has failed Injury has GER
tainly been done, but it is quite made
quate both as to the scale of operations
attempted and the volume necessary to
impair our ability to 90 on building up
our war strength. I have the best reason
for saying that, in all its aspects, our
materiel, both relatively and absolutely,
is greater than it was at the beginning
of the blitzkrieg, and every week that
goes by shows greater power of adapta-
ton to conditions set by the air raids.
A word is worthwhile upon one small
but significant aspect of the British mind
at present-ie.. university students. For
the last fortnight have been teaching
students in London and Cambridge. The
difference from their mood of last year
is extraordinary. Last year there was
a wide tendency to believe that this was
just one more "imperialist'' war and 1t
was viewed with good deal of cynical
detachment. Today that mood has al
most wholly disappeared except for the
small university Communist party, in
fuence of which is negligible. The new
mood is emphasis that victory is essen
tial, coupled with the vigorous demand
that the aims of Great Britain be stated
with precision. The students have come
to accept the idea of this war as an in
ternational civil war in which the defeat
of Great Britain will be the destruction
of that way of life in which alone the
university can function the service of
truth.
Outlook Summarized.
If had to summarize the outlook Of
the average man today in Britain, I
should say that it is profoundly con-
scious of three things, in the order in
which I shall state them: First, that we
are literally fighting for our right to sur
vive; second, that there must be new
social order at the close of this war and,
third, that victory depends upon our
ability to organize a European revolu-
ton against the dictators. No themes
of discussion are more general than
these. When the last anecdote about an
air raid has been told in the shelter or
train or tube, it is to these themes that
the talk always returns. I meet 1t every
where, in factories, among troops. not the
among officers on the general staff.
People say freely that Hitler and Mus
solini are only symptoms OF a deeper
disease, that we must not merely this
time touch the symptoms, but 60 to the
causes of the disease itself. There is no
doubt great bitterness about the Fascist
parties, but there is curiously little Bit
terness about the German and Italian
peoples. They are regarded as hardly
less victims than the common people
everywhere. That atmosphere comes out
remarkably at meetings. get no ques-
ton more frequently than that which
touches upon the treatment of enemy
aliens and none that does not demand
that friendly refugees be used in the
fight against Fascism.
believe, in fact, that a. detached OBJ
server of the British mind today would
report with conviction that our people
have really begun to learn lesson from
this war They have got beyond the
simple and futile formula of victory for
its own sake. Heaven knows that they
want to win and they know what is at
stake if they lose. But they do not want
to win simply in order to organize an in
terlude before the next war. They want
to win in order that they may use the
intelligence and resources of the world
for the principles of peace that will en-
dure. And I add that they expect the
full collaboration of the American people
to be forthcoming for the task to which
they have set their hand.
iCopyriRht, 1900