23 AUGUST 1940, Page 3

On Tuesday the Prime Minister gave us his long-awaited speech

on the progress of the war. Oratory will not die while he lives. Here are some striking phrases chosen at random. " The front line runs through the factories "; " Since the Germans drove the Jews out and lowered their technical stan- dards our science is definitely ahead of theirs "; " Our offensive springs are being slowly compressed and we must resolutely and methodically prepare ourselves for the campaigns of 1941 and 1942 "; " We have ferried across the Atlantic an immense mass of munitions "; " The whole island bristles against in- vaders "; speaking of our airmen, " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few " ; and finally, referring to Anglo-American co-operation, " Like the Missis- sippi, it just keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood, inexorable, irresistible, benignant, to broader lands and better days." But these are not mere phrases. Here speaks the voice of Britain in living and, athletic prose, to match the great occasion and to hearten a brave and patient people. * * * *