Evening star., 1949-10-10
This Changing World
Average Briton Appears Indifferent
To Sensational international Events

)pearS Indifferent
irrational Events
again. obeying the orders of his
betters who know what is good
for the British people.
Air Maneuvers Held.
During the last week in Septem-
ber combined British and Ameri-
can air maneuvers were held over
England and a daylight air raid
on London was simulated. The
people stopped on the main thor
oughfares. watched the trails left
by the fast jet planes and listened
to the deafening roar OF the
American heavy bombers. Some
faces twitched. some got pale. re-
membering that only few years
ago this sort of thing was no game,
but the most dreadful reality.
do you think they could take
it again?" I asked a British friend
of mine whose job. among others,
is to gauge public opinion for the
army, "Oh, quite" he replied. $50
long as the government. and par
ticularly His Majesty, tell them
that it is necessary"
Whether the British are lacka-
daisical or just spent" after two
disastrous wars is difficult to say.
Some American observers are in
clined to believe that whatever
nerves the British people had.
have been worn out after years
of bombardment by planes and
V-bombs. This country is an
island, with no place to hide from
such things. Hence, the British
accepted the situation then, as
they will accept it again, on the
say-so of the government and the
King.
The average Englishman, who
bothers to read something besides
the race, football and cricket re-
suits in his newspaper, has an
oblique consolation in the prooab-
ity that America will suffer from
aerial bombardment in the event
of another war. The British people
are being told that their wealthy
cousins-who. according to the
newspapers and public speakers,
suffered only in their pocketbooks
in the last war-finally will meet
the stark realities of war them
selves.
Raids on q. S. Seen.
I happened to have dinner with
a few old acquaintances the eve
ming after the mock attack on
London. The question Of such an
attack becoming tragic reality OF
course was discussed. One Of the
men with warm feelings toward
America and strong paciflst sentl-
ments remarked: Il went through
it for four years. This time. If
it comes again, you will get it.,
too, on your own cities. and 1t
won't be a joke, either" I was
unable to detect from the tone
of his voice whether he was ex-
pressing sorrow or satisfaction
over our vulnerability to aerial
attack.
He spoke those words with the
conviction that nothing but sad
personal experience will make us
appreciate and understand Brit
ish problems.
The average American has be-
come familiar. even If superb
cially so, with the problems Of the
peoples of Europe and the Far
East. This is so because he is
paying out of his pocket for their
economic recovery. Hence, the
once isolated Americans are now
keenly interested in international
problems.
The British, who are Just across
the Channel from Europe and
little farther from Russia than
Washington is from Chicago, have
become isolationists, not IN the
American political sense but in
their lack of interest in what Is
happening outside their small is
land. A handful of government
officials, national defense experts
and international businessmen
and bankers have some of the
answers. The rank and file Eng
lishmen neither bother nor care
about anything except their own
daily life,