Evening star., 1945-04-03
Peace Problems to Temper
We Day, Lady Halifax Says
Envoy's Wife Urges
Women to Study
World Relations
BY PAULINE FREDERICK.


ish Embassy in Washington that
Gen. Eisenhower has announced the
end of organized resistance in Ger
many. slight, gray-haired woman
probably will walk to the window
and look out on her Towering shrub
garden. She will feel relief to know
that American and British boys are
no longer being killed in Europe.
But she will not be joyful.
II won't have any desire to cele-
brate," Lady Halifax, wife OF the
British Ambassador, said slowly as
she thought for the first time OF her
probable reaction to the end of hos
tilities in Europe. I'm the first
place, I don't believe there will be
a We day-it may be We month
but when the end of the fighting
does come, we can hardly rejoice
when we know that the terrible suf-
fering in Europe will 60 on-the
hunger. the destitution, the pain.
Our feelings will be so terribly tenn
pered by the problems of peace
which will loom so large. I think
1t would be consolation to attend
a religious service on that day.
And besides" Lady Halifax con-
tinued, there will still be the Jap
anese war"
Faces Question Frankly.
Why is it, asked Lady Halifax,
that when we feel great danger
the American and British peoples
work together without criticism;
whereas now that we are winning
we are getting on one another's
nerves?
She was in a position to answer
the question, for since coming to
Washington in 194l she and the
Earl of Halifax have visited AZ
States. The only other British AM
bassador to see so much of America
was Lord Bryce. Lady Halifax says
their travels are a result of her
husbands feeling that he cannot
adequately interpret the American
people to the British, or the British
to Americans, unless he sees as
much of this country as possible
and as many different groups as
possible.
She faced the question of British
American friction frankly.
Irritable Over Anxiety.
There is nothing inherent in the
British nature or inherent in the
American nature that makes us
criticize one another" she laughed.
Il think it's just human nature. We
are like family. When there is an
emergency. we all work together to
meet it. When the emergency passes
we are little strained and a little
tired; there is no elation to carry
us on, and little things that wouldn't
ordinarily matter begin to irritate
us. And when people are anxious
as so many are these days-they are
apt to become critical. I think it is
terribly important to try to under
stand one another"
Since the Ambassador is a member
of the British delegation to the San
Francisco Conference and Lady Hall
fax may accompany him there, the
conversation naturally turned to un-
derstanding in relation to that
United Nations meeting
Women are more anxious today
than ever to prevent another war,
she continued, because war takes so
much from them. know 1t is pretty
difficult to understand some of the
problems of peace, but women could
help enormously if when they read
and hear criticisms Of such efforts
as the San Francisco Conference,
they would try to inform themselves
on the subject, and then join to-
gether to help educate other people
to the truth. 1t is so easy to take
some one else's opinion instead OF
finding out for ourselves. But women
can educate themselves on these
matters and help to spread that
education
Thankful for Young Lives.
I put one final question to Lady
Halifax. 1t was a personal question
to a woman from whom the war
has taken one son, to whom the
war returned another without legs.
and is keeping a third son in the
armed services-what could she say
of comfort to those who have lost
loved ones in the conflict?
Her voice was steady as she said:
"One should feel thankful looking
back on these young lives because
they did have so much that was
good and happy-be thankful for
that. Self-pity makes you sad
you grieve not for them but for
yourself. Obviously their lives have
not been wasted for they have been
given for something worth while"
(Released Through North American News
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