Evening star., 1949-12-25
Left Winger Feared
and Admired for His
Scathing Oratory

popular front and such a Labor
Party rebel. that he was expelled.
He was readmitted in 1899.
Cripps, whom the party also ex-
PEELED, has remained his ally and
confident in the Attlee cabinet.
They are the nucleus Of a strong
left-wing pull against such right
wing" Socialists as Foreign Min
lister Ernest Beyin, and party
strategist Herbert Morrison. 49,.
MIR. Bevan has often tangled
with Morrison over party policy
and it is only the ability Of Prime
Minister Attlee at working out
soothing compromises that has
held the cabinet together. It was
Bevan, for example, who insisted
that the government should go
ahead with naturalization Of the
steel industry when Morrison
wanted to postpone 1t. In the
compromise that was worked out.
the naturalization bill becomes
law, but does not take effect until
after the next election, due to be
held within the next few months.
Has 25-Year Program
His enemies, on the other hand.
declare that If he succeeds in
pushing Britain the whole way to-
ward complete welfare state, he
will destroy democracy and leave
an open door for communism.
Mr.. Bevin is pleased with what
he has accomplished in his present
cabinet job. In the public view,
he has been far more successful as
Minister of Health than as Min
lister Of Housing, however. His
public housing program has
grasped such priority that it is q
minor miracle now when a private
individual succeeds in building
anything on his own, but still
there are not enough houses to re-
place those lost in the blitz and
there won't be for some years. As
Minister of Health he is praised
by every one Except the doctors)
for giving free medicine to Brit
aims millions-the most popular
thing this government has done.
I have sat with Bevan on diff
ferent occasions and listened to
him expound his political philos-
ophy. He does it quietly, in de-
ceptively amiable manner, liberal
ly sprinkling his conversation with
big words. The things he wants
to do indicate that he has not
forgotten the miserable existence
he was born into. He has a 25-
year program which calls for the
total destruction" of capitalism
as it exists in Britain.
Yet, he declares that he is not
Communist and his friends back
him up. They recall various jabs
he has taken at the "Commies"
and insist that his plan is the best
insurance against communism in
Britain since it will do away with
the want and insecurity which
give rise to Red rule.
May Become Foreign Minister
If the, Socialists win the next
election, he can be expected to re-
Iceive a much bigger plum in the
next Attlee cabinet. He might
even succeed ailing Ernest Bevin
as Foreign Minister-a job he
would like.
If the Socialists lose. he will be
out Of a job. But he is bound to
retain his seat in Commons and it
would give him a chance to tangle
again with Churchill. thus keep
ing his name before the public.
During the war, some Of his at
tacks on Churchill and his war
leadership were not only bitter
and unidentified but SO irrespon-
sible that even his Socialist col
leagues were shocked and talked
of expelling him from the party
again. If thine Nye offend thee,
pluck it out" they quipped in the
lobbies of Commons.
Churchill was at the height OF
his popularity but, to Bevan's
mind, "the Prime Minister'S con-
tinuance in Office is major ma
tional disaster"
Merchant Of disloyalty,"
Churchill snapped.
Better than being wholesaler
Of disaster" Bevan answered.
Mr.. Bevan shouted that Church
i'll was suffering from petrif1ed
adolescence" Churchill called him
"this gamin from some Welsh
gutter ..~ r
tchicaso Daily News Foreign service.)
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