Human Touch '
Tin: most illuminating comment on Mr. Khrushchev's reply to Mr. Macmillan came in the Daily Telegraph. Ministers here, the Telegraph said, 'take the strongest objection to it on the grounds that 'they find in it not the slightest human touch.' But why should Ministers expect the slightest human touch? Not the least of the disadvantages of having a Cabinet com- posed largely of the Prime MiniSter's relatives, friends, school-fellows, and sycophants is that proceedings are conducted on the 'old boy' net- work, and they cannot accustom themselves to the notion that foreign dictators may not operate on the same level. The same trouble arose over Hitler. The Chamberlain /Halifax/Dawson group simply could not believe that they were dealing with a maniac; the whole deplorable history of appeasement arose from their belief that they could do business with him. In much the same way, the comical Summit fiasco came about largely because of the inflated value Mr. Mac- millan placed on himself as a Peacemaker; he could not, and apparently still cannot, see that to Mr. K the Summit or any other conference is simply. a device to be exploited for his own and his country's aggrandisement. If he now throws a sop to Mr. Macmillan, it is not because he takes the Prime Minister seriously, but simply because it may be useful to keep the British Government's hopes alive—in case some fresh meeting later may offer. another opportunity for another propaganda victory. To take Mr. K's pronouncements at their face value, and to be so naive as to complain of an inability to under- stand what Mr. K's purpose is today (if Mr. Macmillan does not know what that purpose is, it is high time he handed over to somebody who does), is simply to play the Russian's game.
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