Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-22

wv e1t"Nt " fHsN SEEsSs~~N - Nf'hNs"
Prime Minister b Washington cor
respondent Tor the London Daily
Telegraph
Foreign Secretary. Mr., Selwyn
Lloyd, happily will not be like
that. Few Americans may know
that Mr.. Lloyd. q professional
lawyer, won the rank Of a one
star general in the last war. More
may recall that Mr.. Macmillan
served with distinction in the First
World War as a Guards officer.
and that to this day he still re-
tains, at IS, the bearing Of q
Grenadier.
That in itself is not too inn
portant. What is important is
that one of the most skillful, in
telligent and modern thinking
neeotiators Of the Western alli-
ance is talking with Mr.. Khru-
shchev-on his own initiative.
Why has Mr.. Macmillan gone?
The official answer is easy. In
1856 Mr.. Khrushchev and Mr..
Bulganin Cor K & B, as they be-
came known went to London
during Sir Anthony Eden's pre-
miership. Their visit was unex-
ceptional, except perhaps for the
quiet rebuffs they suffered from
the British public. At all events,
the Soviet government invited Mr..
Eden back. and Mr.. Macmillan
has now taken up the invitation.
II am not going to conduct a
negotiation, but something per-
haps of the nature of a recoAnais-
sance," he told the House of Com
mons earlier this month when
Mr.. Gaitskell, leader of the OPP
position. was quizzing him about
his Moscow trip.
The Purpose Of the Mission
Mr.. Macmillan went on: What
we have to do is, with our allies,
to work out positions which might
lead to the solution of the very
difficult and, indeed, almost dan
gerous situation which may de-
velop in Europe. I thought it was
a suitable moment to take this
initiative and see whether could
be of help in that"
Berlin and the whole German
problem are on Mr.. Macmillan's
mind, but beyond that he feels
the need for a united Western
approach to the future top-level
discussions with the Russians.
This year, as he sees it, will bring
great decisions. He may be able
to discover in Moscow whether
there is anything to be gained
from a new summit meeting. AS
he told the Commons last Thurs
day:
THE truth is that I have been
making, for some time, quite
strenuous efforts to get to the
summit, but it has seemed to be
a very difficult and disappointing
journey"
The Prime Minister has al
ready stated that he may come
to Washington after his Moscow
talks. 1t remains to be heard
officially where and when the
Western leaders will meet next
at high level, and whether Mr..
Dulles can travel or not. The
reaction from the American Gov
eminent to Mr.. Macmillan'S trip
has so far been rather lukeWarm.
Whether this is because Mr.. Mac
milan decided it upon his own,
or because of Mr.. Dulles in
capacity, or lack of imagination
in the administration, or even a
certain mistrust of British soli-
darity over fighting for Berlin,
one does not know. At all events,
the doubts are surely misplaced.
Advocate of Alliance
Never has there been a better
advocate OF the grand alliance
than Mr.. Macmillan; not even
Mr.. Churchill. Both had the adj
vantage of American mothers.
Where Mr.. Churchill was readily
acceptable as an international
ana provocative figure before the
last war, Mr.. Macmillan was I'M
known to most Americans. Even