Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-21
Gibes Of British Press
Traced to New Dealers
Writer Blomes Portisuns
For MISUNDERSTANDING


For Misunderstanding
BY Frank R. Kent
The relations between the British
and ourselves are more fundamentally
and essentially close than those be-
tween any two other nations in the
world. This is partly because, notwiti1-
standing the great tide of immigration
which in recent years has made our
population heterogeneous rather than
homogeneous, more than one-third Of
our people are still Of English descent.
But there are many other things that
bind us together.
These include language, literature,
religion, basic law. to say nothing Of
the two World Wars in which we came
in on the British side. While beyond
question our weight made the differ
ence between victory and defeat in
both Of those conflicts, it is not neces-
sary to pretend our participation was
wholly unselfish and disinterested. In
the present world crisis in which the
Russians are waging a "cold war"
against free nations everywhere. the
alliance between Great Britain and the
United States is inevitable. Should,
as Is possible, this cold war" lead to
a third worldwide conflict, no one
doubts that the British and the Ameri.
cans would present a united front to
the common Communist enemy.
There is, OF course, a certain anti
American sentiment among the British
and certain anti-British sentiment
here. Those who are old enough recall
the Nominations of Big Bill Thomp-
son, famous Mayor of Chicago, who
made campaign issue of his desire
to punch the then King George lin
the snoot." And there have been other
demagogueS Of equal versatility on this
side who capitalized the inherent Eng
hsh hostility among certain groups Of
our Irish voters. But neither with US
nor with them has this sentiment ever
amounted to hill of beans. In our
hearts we know-and the British know
that when the chips are down and
the crisis has to be met, we are their
inevitable allies and they are ours.
4
All this being so. then whv ia r.
that in q period. as critical as the
present our Government and the
American President should have 50
PAD British press as 1t now has?
Al shorter and shorter intervals the
British newspapers. including some
OF their best as well as some of their
worst, burst out in editorials. dis.
patches and articles belittling Presi-
Gent Eisenhower and disparaging his
administration. Some of these out
bursts are violently denunciatory and
some are just pompously critical. A
queer but rather apparent Journalistic
game is being played-apparent. that
is, TO those whose trade it is to fol.
low Journalistic trends and deyelop.
ments.
what is happening is this-in the
United States the anti Eisenhower
New Deal columnists and commenta-
tors. plus the Democratic National
Committees publicity bureaucrats. out
NUMBER the Eisenhower common.
tators and writer's by about two to one.
Ever since the 1852 election they have
maintained persistent barrage clearly
designed to undermine his program
ana minimize his popularity. By
reason of Gen. likes strength with the
people as whole they have had little
success IN pulling him down. But thew
nave had great success with the British
newspaper correspondents in this coun-
Try. With one or two exceptions. what
these gentlemen have done-and are
dolng-is to base their dispatches to
their British papers on the columns
ana comments of the American anti.
eisenhower columnists and common.
tators. The British papers then edi.
torlallze on these dispatches.
what follows is interesting. Again.
WIN one or two exceptions. the Ameri.
can correspondents in England take
these anti-Ike editorials and dispatches
and cable them back to their papers in
tne United States. which then print
tnem as sort of symposium of British
1eellng about us. From one viewpoint
TINS Journalistic merry-go-round is ri.
olculous. Certainly it makes saps out
OF both the British papers and the
american papers. But it does not make
Tor good feelings between two great
and friendly nations-and It does net
represent real sentiment of the people
IN either. Certainly when one great
English paper seriously asks whether
Eisenhower or Mccarthy is really the
american President. it is time to ask
now our British friends get that way
and why?
AS to why. there are two ideas.
one group says that while mostly the
British correspondents are good men.
during the Roosevelt Truman regimes
they became so pro-New and Fair
Deal that they naturally play along
now with the New Deal-Fair Deal
American journalists, all of whom are
anti-Eisenhower. Others insist that
the great trouble is that these British
correspondents have no real sources of
information themselves and rely almost
entirely upon the New York and Wash.
lngton papers. in which the New Deal
columnistS and commentators are
dominant. Whichever view is true.
this Journalistic game is being carried
to absurd extremes and in the interests
OF both nations should be discontinued.
blind. She now is chairman Of the VOL
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