Evening star., 1942-06-14
By MAI. GEORGE FIELDING
ELIOT.

ELIOT.
This is Flag Day. 1t is a day on
which the American people have
been accustomed to render special
honor to their national ensign as
symbol of America and the spirit
of America.
This Flag Day of 1912, the first
Flag Day since we have been at war,
the President has asked that we pay
honor and homage not only to our
own flag but to the flags and the
peoples Of all the United Nations
now engaged as Allies in the great
war for human rights.
Implicit in this request of the Pres
ident is the very essence and life
principle of nter-Allied unity, that
spirit of coalition which subordinates
selfish national interests to the COM
mon good and which must be the
driving force behind the war effort
of any successful alliance.
We have had many evidences
lately Of the growth Of such a spirit
OF coalition among the governments
and peoples of the United Nations.
Particularly is this true with respect
to the relations of the Soviet Union
with the United States and Great
Britain. The Molotov mission to
London and Washington, with the
resulting Russo-British and Russo
American agreements, is the logical
outgrowth of the slowly increasing
mutual confidence between the Rus
sian people and those of their west
ern Allies.
AS between state and state, gov
ernment and government, mutual
confidence can truly exist only if 1t
first finds its place in the hearts
and minds of the people and such
mutual confidence must exist be-
tween two peoples before they can
act together with true unity of pur-
pose and effort. 1t is from such con-
fidence that the spirit of coalition
must be born. Until confidence ex-
lists, political and military collabora-
ton by governments is artificial,
uncertain and tends to break down
under strain.
These natural principles affecting
the political and military structure
OF aUlanceS are, OF course, as we'll
understood by the enemy as by our
selves. Their natural operation is
lnterfered with, or accentuated to
our disadvantage to the enemys
eHorts to divide us, to SOW distrust
and suspicion amongst us, they in
terpret every act and every utter
ance OF any United Nations states
man in light which will be dis
pleasing to some other member or
members OF the alliance.
We have constantly to be on our
guard against these psychological
attacks, form Of warfare which
the enemy has long studied and in
which he has acquired the prof.
| cheney of experience We must
realize that psychological warfare
is an important part OF total war.
and that attacks on the psychologi-
cal front can be just as dangerous
as the physical attacks of massed
armored columns or bombing SQUAD
rons. On this battlefield, the best
defense and the most powerful Of
Tense have their origin in spiritual
sources 49,
Value Of Unity.
If we are united in spirit, If con-
| fldence and faith in our allies truly
exists within us. not only will the
enemy be unable to make progress
with his attacks on our unity. but
the very existence of that confidence
and Of the unity which it engenders
will, Of itself, constitute the most
formidable of attacks on the enemys
own psychological ramparts
The true spirit of coalition and
the unity Of purpose and effort
which arise from it cannot be con-
cealed. Their effects become ap-
parent in thousand ways. 1t will
be impossible. for example, for the
German government to conceal
from the German people in this
| year 1912 that a far closer degree
of military collaboration exists be-
| tween Great Britain and the United
States on the one hand and the
Soviet Union On the other hand
than existed last year. The effects
of that collaboration will make
themselves felt in too many ways
for even the adroit propaganda Of
DR.. Goebbels to hide or to distort.
Thus the emotions which are
aroused by paying honor on this
day to the flags OF our allies as
we'll as to our own are part and
a very fundamental and essential
part Of our war effort. They are,
indeed, one of the most vitality i'm
portant ingredients of victory. This
is not war. as Vice President Wal
lace has pointed out. in which free
! men and free women everywhere
are fighting to preserve those hu-
man rights and dignities which
were so dearly bought for us by our