Evening star., 1953-05-17
By the As.eeintad Pra,S

Last Tuesday Clement Attlee, the
British Socialist leader and for
mer Prime Minister, answered
yes. He thereby rubbed salt into
the wounds of a red-hot trans
Atlantic debate over foreign pol
icy and Communism.
What do American historians
think about it? The Associated
Press took a crosS-country sam
pling of views. One constitutional
authority said Mr.. Attlee was
guilty of a gratuitous insult. An
other thought he was at least
inopportune. Still another said
the Constitution might well be
brought up to date.
Remains BaSically Same.
First a look at the background:
The United States Constitu-
ton was drawn up in 1887 in a
convention headed by George
Washington. It assigned specific
powers to the President, the
Congress and the Judiciary, in
a system of checks and balances
AS an example, it assigned to
Congress the right to declare
war, and insisted the Senate
must concur in treaties proposed
by the President. In number OF
ways the young nation showed
its independence of the govern
mental methods of its British
ancestor. The Constitution has
been amended % times, but bas-
ically remains in its original
form.
Britain has no written con-
stitution. The government in
power sets its policies. When a
government is defeated in the
House of Commons on an i'm
portant issue it is out of Office.
The Prime Minister and his
Cabinet have more leeWay in
determining policies. Parlia-
ment cannot offer so many road
blocks as the United States Con-
gress can give the President.
Uses Fighting Words.
The United States Constitution
Is regarded as we'll nigh in
fallible. probably, by most Amer
leans. NonetheleSS, scholars from
time to time have suggested re-
visions, perhaps a "streamlining"
to meet problems unknown in
the 18th century. But in bring
ing up the idea that the United
States Constitution is old-hat
Mr.. Attlee did so in what, to
some Americans at least, were
fighting words. And he injected
it into the midst of a contro-
versy over Korea. Communist
China and the attitudes of the
United States and Britain to-
ward Russian approaches.
He said the United States Gov
ernment lis not really master
in it's own house" and that the
nature of the Constitution causes
misunderstanding and diSap-
pointments in other countries.
Under the Constitution, he said.
President Eisenhower might at
tend a conference of the major
powers. then return to the
United States and be thrown
over. as President Wilson was
after the discussions at Ver-
sailles." Under the United
States system, Mr.. Attlee ar
gued, it is difficult to find where
effective power lies"
Rather PresumptuOuS."
In the United States Senate
cries of Munich" and insult"
echoed the British foreign-pol-
icy debates, but most of the his
torians and Savants interviewed
in the AP survey took a more
dlspassionate, long range view.
DR.. Paul Bryan, Emory Uni
versity Law School authority on
the Constitution, said Mr.. Att
lees statement was a 'gratuitous
insult-rather preSumptuous to
say the least in view of what
we're doing for them" DR..
Bryan added: Hes. hitting at
the doctrine of division of pow
ers which, while not set out di-
rectly in our Constitution. has
been upheld by the Supreme
Court on numerous occasions.
We have history on our side as
all the way back to Aristotle
political statesmen have said
only in the division of power
can democracy be preserved"
Arthur M. Schlesinger, history
professor at Harvard University.
took an opposite view. He said:
II agree that our Constitution is
not particularly we'll suited now
that America has become world
leader and that is difficult for
Europeans to understand. While
Europe considers the United
States a young country, we ac-
tually have the oldest written
constitution in the world. 1t has
served us we'll in the past and I
don't think anything can be done
about it"
Historian Urges Calmness.
Douglas Southall Freeman of
Richmond, Va, chronicler of the
history of Confederacy. took
"let's be calm" attitude. He said:
Entirely too much Importance
Is apt to be attached to the Att
lee statement. Here in America
We never take anti-Br!tiSh po-
litical utterances of the House
of Representatives too seriously.
All of us know that even the
leaders often speak to their con-
stituency rather than to the
floor and appeal to prejudice
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