Evening star., 1952-07-20
Dealing with the Red Dean

Once again Dr. Hewlett johnson, the RED
Dean" Of Canterbury, has infuriated great num-
bers of Britons He Is an old hand at the game,
but this time he has surpassed himself. Return
ing from an eight-week guided tour Of China.
he has given full support to charges that our
American and allied United Nations forces in
Korea have been waging germ warfare. The
Soviet veto of an impartial inquiry into those
charges-a veto which in itself confesses that
the propaganda is monstrous lie-has made no
difference to him. His Communist friends have
has no doubt whatever that everything they
have said is true.
But all this is so much in keeping with the
bizarre character and record Of the 78-year- -old
RED Dean" that the uproar he has created seems
little surprising. II not actually member Of
the Communist Party, he has long been one Of its
most ardent fellow-travelers and an editorial
director of It's daily sheet in London-a back
ground that makes his germ warfare remarks
seem like the sort Of thing that people should
expect from him, normal and fairly typical.
Certainly, the whole business is altogether con-
sistent with the course he has been following
ever since 1891, when Prime Minister Macdonald
appointed him to his present Office in the Church
of England-an Office in which he has distin-
guished himself chiefly by travelling through the
world in clerical garb to sing the praises Of the
Soviet Union and heap contumely on America
and the "reactionary" West in general. Quite
obviously, it is not for nothing that he has won
the Stain peace" prize.
OF course, as far as the Church of England
is concerned, DR.. johnson does not speak for 1t.
From time to time, over the years, the en-
barrassed head of the church has had to issue
statements rebuking him and explaining that
onlv an act of Parliament can remove him from
office To that end, one member of the House
Of Commons, attacking him as wicked and
irresponsible old man." has demanded that he
be tried forthwith for treason, but the British
Attorney General has rejected the idea on the
ground of insufficient evidence Indeed, he
apparently is safe from legal action Of any kind,
however mild, for Prime Minister Churchill has
turned thumbs down on rather moderate pro-
posal to create a special tribunal merely to
investigate him. To take such a step, in Mr..
Churchilrs opinion, would be to dignity the
eccentric clergyman by attaching to his activities
an Importance they do not deserve.
Mr.. Churchill has given yet another reason
for blocking action against Dr. Johnson. AS
he has put it, Free speech carries with 1t the
evil of all the foolish, unpleasant, venomous
things that are said, but on the whole we would
rather lump them than do away with them" In
other words, Britain will have to keep on lump
ing"-that is, toerating-what the Red Dean
says lest basic human liberty be undermined.
AS far as this particular character goes, that is
perhaps the wisest attitude for the British to
take He has become fatuously senile bore,
and even il he seems more inclined to circulate
Red lies than to serve the Christian Church. it
may well be that the best weapon against him
and his kind is contemptuous laughter.