Evening star., 1945-07-29
Britain Moves Left
With Cautious Head
Attlee, Gradualist in Viewpoint,
Likely to Avoid Extremes
By William II. Harrison.

Likely to Avoid Extremes
By William H. Harrison.
In the closing days of the historic
campaign that has just ousted him from
ONCE, Winston Churchill dwelt at length
upon the dangers of police state and
charged that the Labor party was
welded TO policies which he regarded
as ruinous to the future of Britain.
Other Conservative candidates spoke
in much the same vein, but with less
restraint, drawing a somewhat lurid
picture of the Red menace threaten
ing to destroy the liberties of English
men, who themselves sing they never
shall be slaves
Far from being impressed by such
warnings, however, the British elec-
torate in effect scoffed at them by
giving a landslide victory to Labor
the first victory of its kind in the
party's history, arming the new gov
ernment with a clear and unchallenge-
able majority to march leftward with
far-reaching program of socializa-
course, whether Englishmen will live
to regret this decision. or whether the
more dire predictions of the Conser-
vatives will be proved absurd, but 1t is
difficult, in any case. to couple the
idea of the Red menace with 62-year-
old Clement Richard Attlee, the new
Prime Minister.
For the easily frightened, for all
those who react nervously to any sud-
den political change. Mr.. Attlee has
a multitude of attributes that should
be reassuring Condensed in Who's
Who fashion, his biography boils down
to this:
Born of well-to-do parents. Edu-
Gated in a fashionable public school
and at oxford. In law from 1905
to 1909, during which time he worked
in settlement house in the London
slums. Switched from the Conser-
vative to the Labor party in 1907.
Lectured at the London School of
Economics from 1918 to 1928 Fought
in the First World War, was severely
wounded attained the rank of major
and emerged a pacifist. Entered
politics in 1920, with his election
as Mayor of Stepney. Became
member of Parliament for the Lime
house district in 1922, holding that
seat ever since. Made undersecre-
tary for war in MacDonald's Short
lived Labor government of 1924. Aft
terward In various parliamentary
posts, spending time in Burma and
India on the Indian Statutory Com
mittee. Served Importantly in the
Labor government of 1929, later be-
coming Postmaster General in the
coalition controlled by the ConServa-
tives. Elected leader of the Labor
party in 1885. No longer a pacifist,
preached so vehemently against ap-
peasement that an Italian challenged
him to duel. And finally, in 1940.s
in the Labor Conservative coalition,
became Lord Privy Seal and Deputy
Prime Minister under Churchill, in
which capacity he was often the
actual directing head of the country
and performed such extra duties
as that of delegate to the recent
San Francisco Conference
Such are the high lights of Mr.. Attlees
career to date. The personality behind
them Is anything but galvanizing OF
slight build, bald. looking not unlike
former Attorney General Biddle in some
of his pictures, the new Prime Minister
tends to be shy in public and talks so
monotonously that once one of his sec
wouldn't walk five yards to hear him
make speech" But his ability is not
questioned. Sane solid" STEADY"
clear" penetrating" well balanced"
these are the adjectives usually used
to describe his gradualist treatment OF
governmental problems
Even IN this age Of scintillating per-
sonalties, it is possible to place too much
emphasis on the Importance of being
colorful known as Glen" to his inti-
mates, the Prime Minister is a quiet and
modest man who likes gardening, enjoys
carpentering, delights in being with his
wife and four children, and is witty
only among his friends. Since the ability
to sparkle is considered an asset to
politicians, these homely characteristics
may seem to be deficiencies, but English
men are not particularly fond of the
roman-candle type, and it is significant
that as far back as 1888 the British
Gallup poll found the majority of them
favoring Attlee for leadership.
AS for the Conservative warnings
about the possible consequences of that
leadership, the new Prime Minister, If
his words and past performances mean
anything, seems to be about the last
man in the world likely to make police
state out of Britain. In a now-cele-
brated remark, he once declared on this
point: Il object to relationships whether
IN blue shirts, green shirts, red shirts
or any other kind of shirts. But I
object equally when they are in boiled
shirts" To his way of thinking, private
monopoly in democracy can become
sort of boiled-shirt. tyranny. and the
only safe thing to do in that case is to
make the monopoly monopoly of the
community. Earnest but not fanatical
about social and economic reforms, he
Is one with his party in favoring event.
ual naturalization of the land and pub
lie ownership of railroads, all forms Of
inland transport, coal mines, power, the
iron and steel industry, and the Bank of
England
This may seem shocking to some
Americans. Yet it is worth noting that
a good part of Labors projected pro-