Evening star., 1943-05-20
ChurchiII's Survey


Prime Minister Winston Churchill's
public addresses are always note
worthy, and his speech made yester-
day before the joint session of
Congress is no exception to the rule.
Delivered with his customary incisive
eloquence, high-lighted by telling
phrases and punctuated with oc-
casional flashes of laughter-provok-
ing humor, Mr.. Churchill's address
was a broad gauge survey and
analysis of the present global war
situation.
BY and large, the speech contained
little that was unexpected. Without
directly challenging recent criticisms
OF Allied grand strategy and doubts
as to Britains intentions or ability
to prosecute the war against Japan
with full vigor after victory over the
European end of the Axis had been
achieved, the Prime Minister re-
emphasized previous pledges to fight
Japan to a finish with all of his
country's ability, side by side with
you while there is breath in our
bodies and blood flows in our veins"
In addition, he declared that Britain
has as much interest as the United
States in retrieving Allied possessions
lost to the japanese in the Far East
and the Pacific, described the fall
OF Singapore as ''the greatest-or at
any rate the largest-military dis
aster in Britains history" and grimly
stated that this and other British
losses to Japan have Ito be re-
trieved"
Such words, combined with re-
neWed pledges of eventual aid to
China and humorous allusion to
his bringing of Britains military
leaders in the Orient to the Wash
1ngton conference as not designed to
improve the Mikado's health, might
conceivably be interpreted as hint
That stronger measures against
Japan are imminent. Yet such an in
depreciation becomes less likely if his
remarks are read against the con-
text OF the speech as whole, which
seems to be reafhrmation of the
grand strategy formulated jointly by
the Prime Minister and President
Roosevelt shortly after Pearl Harbor.
That strategic concept is to concen-
trate against the European end of
the Axis until it is broken. leaving
the struggle against Japan as
secondary task until victory in
Europe has been won. The speech
contains no textual evidence that
Mr.. Churchill has changed his mind,
though a minor shift in emphasis on
the Far East and the Pacific could
be compatible with the Hitler First"
priority.
The Prime Minister described in
detail the triumph in North Africa
and its larger fruits. He referred to
1taly's desperate plight and to Soviet
Russia's major share in the fight
against Germany, which should be
aided by the Western Allies as much
as is feasible. However, he did not
specifically pledge the immediate
opening of second front" in West
ern Europe. Indeed, he mentioned
the possibility that the Reich might
be Knocked out by an "all-out" bomb
Ing campaign from the air, and
stated that the experiment is being
tried, though not to the exclusion of
other means. Another qualification
was his reference to the continued
submarine menace as a handicap to
the full mobilization Of Allied power
on the main battle fronts.
Mr.. Churchill tempered his optim-
ism as to present war trends and
prospects with warnings of the ne
cessity for continuous effort and
avoidance Of divergences or discords
among the United Nations. He like
wise cautioned his hearers that time
was vital factor, and that a war
prolonged for many years might pro-
duce consequences Of the gravest
character.
On the whole, this second address
to the American Congress by Britain's
Prime Minister will rank as an effec-
tive, balanced, and statesmanlike
utterance, which should promote
harmony of the English speaking
peoples and answer the doubts which
had arisen in some quarters.