The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-11-10

The first letter, published ex- clusively in this column last July, caused Phillips to be recalled from London, where he was serving as political adviser on the staff of General Eisenhower. The British Government was boiling mad and burned up the cables to Washing ton.
 At that time, the British Foreign Office asked Phillips whether he still entertained the views regard ing India he had expressed to the President. Phillips replied that he certainly did, but that he hoped another report he had made to the White House would not leak out.
 It is now possible to give the American public the text of Am- baSSador Phillips other report. In it he proposed that President Roosevelt, Stalin, King George, and Chiang Kai-shek sponsor a joint conference of Indian lead CTS to settle Indian problems, ar- range for independence and get India to play a real part in the war.
 In his previously published
 report, Phillips informed RoOse-
 welt: "The present Indian army
 is purely mercenary. General
 Stilwen has expressed his con-
 cern over the situation and in
 particular in regard to the poor
 morale of the Indian officers" IMPETUS TO WAR
 In this report published below, Phillips pointed a finger at Prime Minister Churchill. "I should imagine that the Viceroy and Churchill" he said, "are well sat- isfied to let the deadlock remain as long as possible"
 It has long been reported that Churchill has flatly refused to discuss Indian political disturb ances which have held back the war in Burma.
 Meanwhile, Phillips said, "The
 Indians are caught in the new
 idea which si sweeping over the
 world, of freedom for oppressed
 peoples. The Atlantic Charter
 has given the movement great
 impetus. Your speeches have
 given encouragement"
 Phillips made his report a year ago last spring, while he was still in India. But the begging down of the Burma campaign for one full year, plus Stilwell's trouble in China, plus the recent loss of another U. s. air base in China, all have caused Roose- welt advisers to study anew Phil lips plan for giving a military and political impetus to this far- behind-Schedule theater of war.
 Many advisers agree with Phil lips that, since we are largely equipping the Indian army and since Britain will only play token" part in the war against Japan, India is "Our business.
 Because of it's importance, the Phillips letter to Roosevelt fol- lows.
 PROBLEM OF GANDHI
 Dear MT. President-Gandhi has successfully completed his fast and the only result of it has been increasing bitterness against the British from large sections of the people. The government has handled the case from the legal iSt point of view. Gandhi is the enemy and must not be allowed to escape from his just punish ment and at all cost British pres tige must be maintained.
 Indians look at it from a diff ferent angle. Gandhi'S followers regard him as semi-divine and worship him. Millions who are not his followers look upon him as the foremost Indian of the day and that, since he has never had an opportunity to defend himself, it is a case of persecution of an old man who has suffered much for the cause whchi every Indian has a heart-freedom for India. And so presumably Gandhi comes out of the struggle with an en- hanced reputation as 8 moral force.
 ''The general situation as I see