Mr. Truman Again
The British reaction to President Truman has progressed from sympathy through depression to annoyance. His latest pronounce- ment on Palestine points the way to alarm and despair, unless some drastic means can be found to bring home to him his respon- sibilities to the world as distinct from his responsibilities to Missouri and to the Democratic Party machine. To revive the demand for the immediate transfer of roo,000 European Jews to Palestine just when the more reasonable Jewish leaders were beginning to discuss the question in practical terms argues ignorance. To refuse to listen to an informed statement by the British Prime Minister on the position regarding the postponement of the Lancaster House conference argues deliberate ignorance. A year ago Mr. Truman postponed his agreement to the setting up ot an Anglo-American Commission on Palestine until a new Mayor of New York had been elected. This year he has upset a delicate and not unhopeful situa- tion because a new House of Representatives is about to be elected. It is useless to try to explain away this crude angling for the Jewish vote. There has always been a school of thought which represented the dangers of American intervention in world affairs as being as great as the benefits. They were, and remain, wrong. But Mr. Truman's behaviour indicates the sort of danger they had in mind.
