Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-10-04
BY CROSBY s. MOVES

announced that this phase had
now been reached and that
Labor from now until election
day would be increasingly on
the defensive.
Conservative Garb
The Prime Minister showed
up at the conference CARRIED in
an appropriately conservative
pinstripe, guards tie, blue car
digan sweater and a heavy OUT
er coating Of righteous indig-
nation.
He was clearly upset over
promises by the Laborites that
II elected they will raise old-age
pensions and liberalize health
insurance and at the same time
cut certain taxes. But while
this plan was roundly de-
nounced as q fake, the vehe-
mence Of his rebuttal is evil
dence that he is well aware Of
its effectiveness as campaign
material. In contrast, Mr.. Mac
millan's appeal for support on
issues of foreign policy came
almost as an afterthought.
The Laborites, said the Prime
Minister. are deeply divided on
every major issue" of foreign
policy, including the questions
of nuclear disarmament and
Britain's part in the Western
coalition. In these circum-
stances he could not see how
Britain under such leadership
could play an important role
either in dealing with the Rus
slams or in the formulation Of
Western policy"
No Summit Date
Replying to a question, he
said he now does not expect
that a date for a summit con-
ference will be announced be-
fore the election. The issue,
however, was not important, he
said, since "the summit con-
ference is fixed except for the
date and place." And, Mr.. Mac
milan added with a smile, 1.-The
people"
The conference ended with
q curious little speech of
appreciation. He had been
struck, he said, by the mice
ness" of the people he had
seen in his campaign tour. II
sense a kind of personal friend
ship which I haven't felt be-
fore. I thing it's because q lot
of ordinary people-including
many who certainly won't vote
Tory-think here is q chap
who is trying to do something
to save the world"
Britain's Prime Minister then
rode forth to battle in a gray
convertible Ford fianked by his
wife in a sensible pink hat and
trailed by struggling caval-
cade of reporters anxious to
witness for themselves the over
flow of kindly popular senti-
ment Of which he had spoken.
The trail led southwest of
London to the suburb of Clap
ham, a district held by Labor in
the last election. AS the caval-
cade pulled up, a crowd of sew
eral hundred people were sur
rounding a platform where the
Conservative candidate for the
district, Alan Glyn, was already
holding forth.
At least half the crowd SEEM ,
ed vociferously devoted to the !;
cause of Labor and Mr.. Glyn, p,
hemmed in by placards reading !
Remember Suez" or, even !
more unkindly, Sack Mac" ,
was looking rather like a freed
cougar. The reinforcements ar
rived in the. nick of time as
Mr.. Glyn, under the goad Of
hecklers. was about to launch
into a defense Of the Conser-
vative policy in the invasion of
Egypt three years ago.
Outshouts Hecklers
Even Mr.. Macmillan had his
hands full trying to get over
his message to a crowd whose
privilege to heckle any and
all politicians is guaranteed by
law and regarded as something
of a sacred duty. With an old
hands dizziness, he managed
to seize on "these beautiful
posters" to tee of on Labor's
election promises.
Don't be deferred by this
nonsense" he warned. They're
the last minute desperate
promises of desperate men who
know that they cannot win an
election" For his part, Mr..
Macmillan asked "for the au-
thority to speak in the name
Of Britain and go on with the
work of peace"
This performance with minor
variations went on throughout
the day as the caravan wound
its way along at a pace that
would put any whistle-stopping
American politician to shame.
In the conservative residential
area Of South Battersea, the
Prime Minister, his voice rising
with anger, answered his
hecklers:
What we did at Suez saved
us from the threat of major
war and was the right thing to
do"
Behind the Pub i
At footing, behind the town
pub, he told his beer-drinking |
audience:
Last November when the
Russians issued their ultima