Evening star., 1945-07-28
Lesson for U. S. Seen
In British Elections
Returning Soldiers May Take Out
Grievances on ms Says Writer
By David Laurence

oiiSNaISSo oi Aiio, Jays 'AA
By David Laurence
Maybe they had better name Josef
Stain permanent chairman of the Big
Three, for elections may come and elec-
tions may go but the head of the Soviet
Union holds on indefinitely. He Is the
only one left now of the original Big
Three and the only man who knows
intimately the entire background of the
conversations relating to glGoal war.
Reports that Britain has swung to the
left" can have much significance in
world affairs but 1t is much more likely
that first interpretations will in due
time be found exaggerated. Clement
Attlee is not the kind of man who rushes
into situations in the foreign field that
can bring on grave international COM
plications Those of us who had chance
to talk with the then Deputy Prime
Minister when he was at the San Fran
cisco Conference received the impress
sion that he is neither reckless nor url-
orthodox when 1t comes to British for
eign policy.
Nor is 1t fair to characterize Mr..
Attlee as having communistic SYM
pathies. He told some correspondents
that the British communists we're in
some respects much more communistic
than the Russians and he conceded that
there were many differences of opinion
between the views of the Labor party,
sometimes called "socialistic," and the
communist point of view.
Too Long in Power.
Mr.. Attlees ascension to public power
in Britain at this time may or may not
be the result of the British Conservative
party's absorption in the war and
neglect of home-front reforms that are
long overdue. But SO far as politics in
a democracy is concerned, it would ap-
pear to be the natural reaction of the
populace to an incumbent administration
which has been too long in power.
Political observers know that in war
time irritations and complaints and
grievances multiply. Prime Minister
Churchill and his colleagues were much
more occupied with war issues than
postwar reforms The "outs" always
benefit by public dissatisfaction with the
"ins."
There are certain lessons in the Brit
ish election which may be drawn with
respect to America. Primarily 1t may
mean that the Democratic administra-
tion and the Democratic party in Con-
gress will suffer heavy losses in both
the 1916 and 1948 elections The re-
turning soldiers are the ones who swing
elections. When they come back to
vote they take their grievances out on
the party in power, that is one reason
why in 1920 the administration of Pres
ident Wilson was so overwhelmingly de-
feated through the small electoral vote
given Gov. Cox of Ohio.
In the 1914 election the whole argu-
ment was against any change at that
time. The contention that the Nation
should mot change horses in mid
stream" was effective here, but appar-
emily it wasn't in Britain, though it Is
only fair to assume that the British
public considered the war to be over
on We day. The British government
is going to help all it can in the war
against Japan but many people in Eng
land feel it isn't primarily their war-a
fact so well realized that almost the
first thing Mr.. Attlee said, on learning
of his election victory, was to assure
the country that he wanted the war
won against Japan.
Truman Is Good Observer,
Fortunately for the Democratic party,
President Truman has taken hold in a
manner that is so full of common-sense
decisions that, if he were running for
Office this month, he would be elected
by an even bigger electoral vote than
was cast for the Democratic nominee in
1914. If, however, Mr.. Truman is misled
into thinking that the American people
want to go further toward the left"
and want more instead of less govern
ment by pressure groups and more in
stead of less of the special-privilege type
of legislation, he will become easy prey
to the Republican nominee in 1e4S.
The American people have had their
experience with "left-wing" govern
ment and have found it wanting. The
Republican party could ask for no bet
ter issue in 1948 than revival of New
Dealism by the Democrats.
Mr.. Truman is a good political OBJ
server and if he makes up his mind that
Britons had an overdue reform and are
now getting it and that the American
people already have had their left
wing" reform, together with a $40 2,0oo,-
100000 addition to the public debt from
1888 to 1899, he may come to the con-
clusion that there is no similarity in
the trend of the British and American
celebrates at this time-except pos
sibly that the fins" are always yulner.
able at the polls to the outs" when the
soldiers come home.
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