Evening star., 1942-08-05
Britons Show Loss of Faith
In Commons and Government
Churchill Admiration Maintained Among
People Denied General Elections Since 1885

with their representatives in Parlia-
ment that the latter have lost touch.
woman in Birmingham said.
Our M, P. doesn't know we want"
and another woman declared. Our
man was all right when we elected
him in 1885, but he was elderly then
and he's an old man now" A man
in a bus in Sheffield said. What do
you expect. These fellas were elect
ed in 1885. Worlds changed a bit,
hasn't 1t, since them"
"Jim's son is a pilot officer and
i'm a boy in the mills three years
ago. and Bruce. the Scots boy who
used to work the big machines at
the farm, Is working bigger ma
chimes over Germany with the
stripes Of an officer on his sleeve. l
learned.
There was less dissatisfa ction with
the army than I expected after the
Welghty discussions in Commons and
the newspapers.
Both civilians and soldiers re-
sented the old school-tie tradition
and the army's failure to open all
commissioned grades to men in the
ranks. This had been done. thev
said, IN many regiments. but it still
was difficult for ranker to achieve
commission in the guards or the
rifle brigade unless he was fright
school, right family, right name"
And you might add right in
come to that, too" one younester
said.
Hope for Change After War.
The soldiers, however, admitted
most "ranker officers don't take care
as good care of you as the regular
Ones but declared that most men
IN the ranks are quicker to pick up
the intricate mechanical technique
OF modern war than polo players.
When I mentioned the quip that
If Rommel were in the British
Army he'd still be sergeant" most
OF the prlvates ruefully admitted
they believed this would be true
But one of them asked How can
you change the whole thing In the
middle OF a WARP"
Maybe after the war We'll have
a system that says II a man passes
his examinations the government
will put him through military COL
lege," he added But II we start
reforms now, we'll be worse of than
ever"
One thing sticks In the craw of
most soldiers.
II my buttons aren't bright and
I'm an hour or so late. I get de-
tentlon' said a scholarly private.
III some ass with a monocle and q
hyphenated name throws away an
army corps they make him Wis
count. tell you what this army
needs is the sort of thing America
had after Pearl Harbor, court-mar-
tials. You'll never get generals or
politicians to think right If the
penalty for thinking badly is a title
and a sinecure for the rest of their
lives
Army Fed Up" One Hears,
I had heard in London whispered
tales that the army's fed up."
that "the navy wants more air pro-
lection from bombers." that this
and that. You hear them ALWAYS.
In the country, In the lanes where
men lunched beside their tanks. on
trains where sailors sang bawdv
songs. at airfields from which men
ny daily to cut cards with death
found the morale and f1Khting
spirit magnificent.
I went to the district Of ann p.
who had told me in London he didn t
pelleve IN democracy and didn't
consult his voters on national issues
asked a girl in a tobacco shop
about him.
I'VE don't think so much of him
as member. He don't worry much
about us and he's in the ARMY.
Away most of the time SO how