Evening star., 1942-06-28
Allied Reverses Seem Blacker
After Official Over>O Optimism
Misleading Reports From Libyan Front Cited as
Example of Information Policy Leading People
to Question War Leadership
Bv Felix Morley

trusted to the wartime chief executive
of democratic nation are offset by his
personal acceptance of an equally enor-
nous responsibility to his fellow-c citizens
And that responsibility is certainly not
diminished if these citizens discover that
they have been misinformed as to the
general course of Aents affecting their
lives, their freedom and their sacred
honor. Therefore the British are acting
in the highest traditions of democracy
by demanding that their Prime Minister
return as soon as possible to give them
not promises of what 1t is hoped will
happen, but rather the proper account
ing of a careful steward for what has
actually taken place.
1t may be anticipated, however, that
Mr.. Churchill's skillful leadership will
survive such test. On the whole he
has been very cautious about giving
hostages to fortune in the shape OF
roseate assurances. On the contrary, he
has consistently warned his countrymen
that in this fight for survival of the Brit
ish Empire they should expect little other
than protracted sacrifice-"blood, sweat
and tears"
More Realism Needed.
1t is not in England but on our side
of the Atlantic that wishful thinking
nounced. Not the English but the Amer
lean people have been the more inclined
to believe that total war might be fought
almost without individual sacrifice. In
the United States, not in England, there
still prevails the essentially pathetic as
sumption that freedom from want and
freedom from fear can be won not only
by those who inherit the fruits of victory
but even by the generation which is
called upon to win it.
The peoples of all the other belligerent
nations are wiser in this respect than
are We, as yet.
The events of the first week of the
onstrated the need of less rhetoric and
more realism in the American attitude
toward the war And if the actual out
line of the picture is grim there is risk
that it will seem unduly so because of
earlier eXaggerations, not to say decep-
tions, in the analyses spread before the
public.
A beginning of the elimination of COM
placency, particularly in high places. is
fortunately apparent as result of hap
penings which have put damper on
easy prattle both about an imminent sec
ond front and.about shattering Germany
and Japan this summer by large scale
bombings. Demand for more factual
and less dangerously optimistic official
attitude toward the course of the war Is
becoming insistent.
Allies on Defensive.
Whatever the past intimations to the
contrary, it is now clear to the American
public that Britain. Russia and China re-
main pegged to a defensive position and
are all continuing to yield rather than
to regain ground. The smaller men,
bers of the United Nations aggregation,
putting it brutally, do not count heav-
lily in the war effort.
Only the United States is left to shift
defense into offense. And so far it must
be admitted that American participation
in the war has not prevented definite
improvement in the position of the Axis
powers Our naval victories may be
as significant as they have been painted
But the manner in which they have
contributed to Japan's Illustration is not
yet clear
The United Nations together COM
mand vastly superior material resources
and rejoice in a cause of unquestion-
able moral rectitude On both these
basic points we have continuous assur-
ances from Washington. But the mere
possession of these great advantages
itself indicates that a part Of the pres
ent difficulties may eventually have to
be attributed to deficiencies of leader
ship.
Indications of such deficiencies are
at least sufficiently strong to encour-
age, as patriotic action. that temper
ate and thoughtful questioning of lead
ership which is of itself an integral part
of the democratic way of life. And this
questioning of leadership, both in Great
Britain and the United States, is there
fore increasingly to be expected, at least
until the tide of actual victory, as con-
trasted with inspired anticipation of it,
begins to move unmistakably against the
Axis.