Milford chronicle., 1957-04-26
BRITISH FACE PROBLEMS


London told of serious political problems
faced by Prime Minister MacmilIan-and of
what was termed a "neW wave of Anti-Ana-
ericanism"
These two developments are closely re-
lated. They stem from a British fear, which
finds many influential voices in the coun-
try's principal newspapers and magazines
as well as government, that England is be-
coming the tail to the u. S. kite. For ex-
ample, our agreement, made at Bermuda, to
supply England with guided missiles, drew
this comment from the Sunday Express:
'"The Bermuda deal gives rise to fears that
the rocket defense of Great Britain is Vir-
tually handed over to American GIs"
The root of all this lies in the profound
change that is taking place in Britain's role
in the world The British are proud people
and for good reason. Behind them is mag
nificent history What is shocking to ira
ditiOnally-minded England is that the days
of vast empire and power are also behind
them.
u. S. News and World Report puts it this
way: "Great Britain, in all except economic
relations with Commonwealth nations, is
drawing back to the status of an island cOun-
try-still with great strength and great re-
sources in capital and in people, but no long
er power that leads" 1t adds that the is
lands are militarily vulnerable in this age of
seif-sufficient in very few of todays basic
national needs.
The magazine traces what has happened
to the old Empire-that Empire on which the
sun never set. 1t came to its zenith in the
great age of Victoria, who was the ruler of
quarter Of the globe Then the colonies, be-
ginning with Australia, began to gain their
independence. One new and Independent ma
ton after another has been created Today
the population of remaining British colon
les is but 80 million-where as recently as
1889 it was 563 million.
Britain's economic power and military
power have declined accordingly. Once the
British Navy ruled the waves. At the peak
of her sea power, in 1914, she had 1876 capi-
tai ships. In 1889 she had 122 Now she has
48, and but 20 are currently in operation.
What this means is that much of the au-
thority Britain used to exert in the world has
passed to other hands. She remains an ally
of the United States, and to most students
she is the most important and reliable ally.
But her capacity to pursue major policy
purely on her own hook and in accordance
purely with her own judgment is gOne-as
the Middle Eastern crisis and the resigna-
ton of Prime Minister Eden, dramatically
demonstrated
What Importance has this fateful evo-
luton to the United States? The answer is:
Every Importance whether we like it or not
When vacuums exist in the world they must
be filled. Only two powers are capable Of fill
ing great vacuums-the United States and
the Soviet Union. These are the sole powers
with the wealth, the weapons, the popula-
tions, the strengths Of all kinds. Americans
certainly want no empires. But basic respon-
Sibilities of empire have fallen upon us.
5000
MORE HELP NEEDED
In many primitive societies, the physi-
cally handicapped were either killed or al
lowed to suffer the results of their inability
to keep up with the strong. In 10th century
America, our attitude toward the disabled is
more humane Rehabilitation of the physi-
cally handicapped has become an accepted
part of our social structure.
Federal and state agencies rehabiltate
about 10000 persons annually, restoring
their physical well-being as much as p0ss-
ible and training them for useful work Ad-
ditiOnal persons are rehabilitated by various
private groups. This is good as far as il
goes. The unhappy fact, however, is that
rehabilitation efforts of private and govern
ment agencies combined are far short of the
need
1t is estimated that some $50 thousand
Americans become physically handicapped
each year. The total of such persons is ap-
prOXimately two and a half million. The ia
cilities and personnel available for rehabili-
tating these people and getting them back
to work are markedly inadequate.
There is, for example, a serious shortage
of physicians trained for rehabilitation of
those who are disabled. The nation could
make good use of many more physicians spe-
cializing in this field. Funds to increase the
number significantly would have to come
mainly through government appropriation
or public subscription.
The inescapable conclusion is that we
should be putting more money and effort into
restoring the handicapped to something ap-
preaching normal life. Compassion, and hu-
man concern for the welfare of ones fellow
men, are the best reasons for doing this. For
those who demand more practical" reasons,
there is the clinching fact that the govern
ment gets back several dollars in taxes for
every dollar it spends OH rehabilitation of
those disabled by disease or injury.
TN&@(&