The Wilmington morning star., 1943-08-24
By RAYMOND CLAPPER


WASHINGTON.-No man is clos
er tc Winston Churchill than Bren-
dan Bracken, his minister of in
formation, who has just arrived
in Quebec.
That circumstance gives special
weight to everything Bracken says
in England. where his grooming is
as authoritative in its way as
Frank Sinatra's here. His presence
at Quebec is good evidence that
something besides military bust
ness is up.
When the newspaper men at
Quebec had nothing to write about,
and the lid on the Roosevelt
Churchill conference was tighter
than ever, and they had exhausted
every line of plausible speculation,
Bracken called a press conference
to tell them there was no news
and in the process gave them a
story good for page one in any,
body's newspaper about how when
Germany was licked, Britain
would throw every ounce of her
strength against Japan.
Of course it was no casual re-
mark at all. Bracken was not
just filling up a dull day for the
reporters. He seized a clear day
to try to rub deep suspicion out
of the American mind-the sus-
picion that Britain intends to al
low America to carry the load in
the war against Japan. That sus-
picion worries the British a good
deal. They have heard it voiced
by numbers of Americans w h @
have been in England this sum-
mer.
The British want nothing to fes-
ter our close relations hence their
effort to reassure the people of
America on this point. The sus-
picion got its foothold from the
remarks about partial demobiliza
ton, that Churchill made in his
radio talk last March. Bracken is
reflecting Churchill when he says
the British are going into the Pa
cific war with their navy and air
force all out. They have large
interests there that they must re-
cover.
Before it is over Americans
probably will be complaining that
the British are trying to hog the
Pacific war.
Well, it's that kind of thing that
Bracken is trying to deal with.
He will try to determine the wind
direction in the presidential cam
paign. Numerous American pub
fishers and editors have see
Bracken this summer and he has
told them that while Britain will
never forget the debt of gratitude
which she owes to President Roos-
evelt for coming to her assistance
in her death struggle in 1910, the
British people want to work with
the American people whoever may
be the designated spokesmen of
the two countries. His chief fear
is that some over-Zealous Britisher
will try to take sides in the Amer
lean presidential campaign. One
thing Bracken already is pounding
into the head of every British gov
ernment official is to remember
the unfortunate case of Sackville-
West and keep his opinions if any
about American politics to him
self.
Brackel is not a British Elmer
Davis. Our chief of propag ganda
labors under difficulties that even
Bracken could hardly survive. Da-
Wis never knows when he is going
to be smacked down by the White
House. You would think it safe
to denounce enemy royalty but Mr..
Roosevelt the great democrat flew
into a public rage when owl fell
short of flattering that miserable
little figurehead Of the enemy, the
King of Italy, Bracken has Chur-
chilrs confidence completely and
everybody in England knows it.
He is a member of Parliament
and goes into debate to defend
himself. No cabinet minister is