LETTERS- TO THE EDITOR
In American Eyes
SIR,—In two recent Foreign Affairs Debates in the House of Commons I have made speeches about' Anglo-American Relations, which were reported more or less extensively in an influential American weekly. As a consequence of this, I have had many letters from the other side of the Atlantic, all of them interesting% and some really rather touching. I believe that readers would, in particular, be interested in the following extract from a letter, dated June 1 1 th, written by an Attorney at Law, who lives at Fort Worth, Texas.—Yours faithfully, ( . . . " It may be of interest to you to know what the common reaction in my locality has been to the recent truce talks in Korea. Generally I have found them to be this: 1. Most of the people to whom I have talked expressed the opinion that, if peace can be effected without further concessions to the Communists, it is probably best; 2. But there is a strong feeling that too many concessions have been made already and that we may have come very close to sacrificing honour for an armistice; 3. There seems to be a strong sentiment that we are selling South Korea out and that we have failed to accomplish that which we set out to do in Korea; 4. Many people feel that we have failed to wage war in Korea as we should have done and that conse- quently we will lose face in Asia; 5. Most of the people I know are very sympathetic towards the stand that Syngman Rhee has taken in opposition to the truce. All in all I have gathered the opinion that most of us in this part of the United States feel that we have failed to exercise our strength to winning Korea and that we have sacrificed at least a part of our honour to achieve peace. I have the strong impression. that Korea has left a bad taste in the mouth of most Americans, along with a feeling that we have " dragged our feet" and let down our friends, the South Koreans, and that we have allowed the Chinese Communists to win not by their own strength, but by our lack of will to win.
" I find that there is, hereabouts, a strong and determined opposition to any talk of allowing the Chinese Communists to take a seat in the United Nations. Most of the people whom I have talked to feel that we should resist their admission even to the point of with- drawing from the United Nations if they are seated. In evaluating this sentiment that I report, as well as those listed above, you must realise that this part of the United States, i.e. Texas, the American Mid-West and the deep South, is what is sometimes called the Bible Belt. of America. That is, it js the section of the country that is probably most religiously inclined. Because of this the 'moral issues involved i11 the question of Red China's admission to the United Nations play a very important part in the consideration given by the people. Many people in this-section feel. that to admit Red China to the United` Nations is to invite the Devil to supper.
" I have not found, in my conversations with my friends, much enthusiasm for the proposed meeting of Mr. Churchill, the Premier of France—if they ever get one—and Mr. Eisenhower. While Mr. Churchill is greatly admired and respected in this section, it is feared that he will press too strongly for admission of Red China to the United Nations. Also the instability of the French government makes Most of us feel that anything that might be accomplished at such a meeting will go for naught and that France will continue to " drag her feet" as far as taking any decisive steps are concerned. This is particularly true about the question of allowing the West German Republic to participate in the defence of Western Europe, which is very popular here.
" I read again in this morning's newspaper a report of the indignation expressed by much of the English press concerning the commercials which accompanied the showing of the films of the Coronation. It may be that they are fully justified in their wrath, but I think that they mostly do not realise that to us commercials on radio and television are understood not to have any relation to the subject-matter of the broadcast which accompanies the commercials. In other words we accept the commercials as a necessary evil which is tolerated because of the good programs (sic) that they bring us.
. . . " I, personally, am a native Texan, the third generation in this State, and the sixth generation in America. I am a veteran of World War II and of the. Korean War. We live in a five-room house, which I own, in a middle-class neighbourhood where the average home costs about 10,000 dollars. I own a cars radio, television and the usual conveniences found in American homes. I would probably be classified as a very average middle class professional man. I very sincerely hope that I am not too presumptive in writing to you as I have done. My intentions are not to be a home-grown' ambassador, but I would like, in my small way, to contribute something to better understanding between your country and mine. . . .")
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