Evening star., 1941-11-06
British Hopes, Fears
Fixed on Russians
As Never Before
Public in England Shows
Growing Signs Of
Apprehension
BY JOHN GUNTHER.

Correspondent Of The Star and N. A. N. A
LONDON, Nov. 6 (by wireless) -
AS the headlines say Moscow agair
Is threatened and the campaign fol
the Caucasus is about to begin, Brit.
ish hopes and fears are fixed or
Russia as never before.
The headlines are optimistic anC
the benefit of every doubt is givel,
to the Russians, but if you read be-
tween the lines you detect growing
signs of apprehension. People or
the street ask what preparations
for defense of the Caucasus are be-
ing made; what is the actual posi-
ton with regard to the supplies
crossing Iran PERSIA or reaching
the Russians through Archangel.
The British investment in the
Russian campaign is tremendous, il
I may use the word investment.
don't mean physical investment. but
emotional investment, moral invest
ment. The British have seen their
allies crushed and shattered one by
one. Russia is the last fully fight
ing ally left.
As I heard it said today. British
hopes of en- ultimate victory have
in a way become identified with
the continuing quality of Russian
resistance. No one expects the Rus
slams to crack up. If Moscow falls
they will fight on the Volga; if the
Volga goes, they will fight in the
Urals, according to almost unan-
imous opinion here
What does worry the people is
the possibility of a quick, powerful
Nazi thrust into the Caucasus or
even the eventual seizure of Astrak-
han. which would make it difficult
in the extreme to keep the Rus
sian Armies supplied from the south.
Already stories are being written
OF the possibility of supplying Rus
sia via a new so-called Burma
road" through India, Baluchistan
and Afghanistan Cargoes of jute
and lead have reached the Soviet
Armies by this route, though it is
long and onerous.
Meanwhile. the British govern
ment seems perpleXed as to what at
titude to take toward the Russian
request that Britain declare war on
Finland. Rumania and Hungary. 1t
Is an accepted fact here that these
are enemy countries. They have
furnished the Germans with not less
than 80 divisions that have been
highly useful on the eastern front
RIt o1fhnlIuh R,-iti
the three countries as enemies, the
government is reluctant to declare
formal belligerency against them.
A visitor in London cannot but be
staggered at the preoccupation Of
the British with things Russian. The
stubborn, hard-fghting Russians
arouse almost universal admiration.
and their resistance has produced
an emotional response of peculiar
depth. breadth and intensity. A few
days ago I saw an advertisement in
the London Times headed by a large
hammer and sickle. I was more
than surprised when I read that a
commercial firm was publishing it as
"a tribute to a brave people and
gallant ally"
Dozens of samples similar to this
may be cited.
OF course. old-time appeasers and
last ditch Right Wingers don't share
these sentiments, but they keep
their mouths shut. Hitler certainly
counted on dividing British opinion
on the Communist issue. But the
British. the most mysterious people
on earth, have fooled him, at least
so far. One of the main factors ex-
planning this surging emotional pro-
Russianism is the essential. SUBJ
conscious need of the British for a
friend and fighting ally.