Evening star., 1941-01-04

Jay Franklin. tecting merchant
vessels from being torpedoed with
out warning to draw up a set of
specifications as TO what it intends
to do after victory. But I do know
that the British government will
take its lead from the British peO-
pie and I do know that the British
people have very definite purposes
in fighting this war.
A week before his untimely death,
Lord Lothian told me what, in his
opinion, were the underlying pur-
poses of the British people in fight
ing Herr Hitler, purposes over and
above the sheer instinct for sur
vival in the face of deadly menace.
End to Wars Horrors.
The first purpose was to end.
once and for all, this whole dirty
business of indiscriminate warfare
against women, children and civil
ians. There can be no civilized exist
ence, no moral life. no social Sc
curity, no dignity for man, in a
world in which he is exposed to
the fact or even TO the threat OF
bombs dropping on his towns and
cities. to harmless shiploads OF in
nocent non -combatants being sunk
bv submarines, by drifting mines
and other forms Of total war.
The British people, said the late
British Ambassador, are determined
that the peace which they establish
after this war shall be peace with
out afraid shelters, sirens, demo-
Htion squads, life-boat drills, peace
without the war on the nerves or
the blackmail tactics by which the
totalitarians seek to impose their
villa peace without concentration
camps. secret police, torture, firing
squads and suppression OF human
dignity and individual and family
security.
The second war aim Of the Brit
ish people expresses itself IN the
almost savage determination that.
after this struggle, the men ana
women OF England shall not be ex-
posed to the horrors of mass ur-
employment and mass lndiference
to their social, economic and moral
welfare. After the World War
1914-l8. what Lloyd George had
hoped to make "a home for heroes
! become a scrap heap of unemploy-
ment, numbed by the cole. with
/ blasted areas and ghost towns and
| grim slums. where millions Of de-
cent men and women dragged out
a hand -to-mouth existence at the
heart of the richest empire in the
world. ANY British government
which tried to restore the status quo
ante of capitalistic economics to
Great Britain would face revolu-
ton which would make the Russian
and German upheavals look lika
picnics.
Revolt Against Old Habits.
These two war aims of the Brit
tsh people add up to what has been
called in these columns "the reyo-
luton of freedom" They imply a
revolt against old habits, old insti-
tutions and old interests which ex-
pose the individual member of So
( ciety to indiscriminate hardship
and insecurity. They imply a re-
volt against new technique. new
moralities and new regimes which
base their national policies on in
discriminate hostilities against all
those people who DO not spontane-
ously accept their rule or submit to
their will. They involve reasser-
ton of the right of the common
man and the average family and
/ the average home to be treated as
/ the basis Of society, of business, Of
J government, law and morals.
If I understand anything about
public opinion in the United States
and think it is fair to point out
that I have come closer than most
interpreters to calling the turn Of
/ recent national moods-I think I
am correct in saying that the
American people overwhelmingly re-
ject the purpose of the totalitarians
to establish a master race. master
party or a master state-Whose
rights and interests and desires are
| superior to those of all the rest of
| the human race. The details of any
possible peace settlement must be
| those which at the time are most
appropriate to give permanent effect
to the principles of our revolution
of freedom"
(Released BY Consolidated News
Features, 1nc)