LEITERS TO THE EDITOR
The Berlin Festival
Sul,—May I, as one of the non-Communist students who returned from Innsbrfick, comment on your remarks on the Berlin Festival in the Spectator of August 10th? It would, I think, be Impossible to disagree with your view concerning the seriousness with which the Festival must be taken, because of the effect it will have upon the minds of the German youth.
Occasions might arise when it would be necessary to curtail the right of the individual to freedom of travel and communication. However, this must only be done as an extreme resort, for it could easily degenerate into an excuse for inaction. Obviously the right course to take is to improve the situation, and to claim by concrete.effort the loyalty of the young people for Western ideals.
There can, however, be no justification for the way in which the American and Western Governments tried to prevent the British delega- tion from reaching Berlin. In fact the methods they used only succeeded in playing into the hands of the Communists, who are making capital from the whole affair. In this country, where the climate of opinion is • tolerably steady and reliable, it would seem to be both possible and of vital importance to retain our belief in the right of the individual to freedom of travel and communication. The danger is that, when the majority of a group is Communist, the individuals concerned will be denied their right, which is a travesty of our conception of justice. It would be tragic if we lost a sense of the values which we inherit from Western civilisation through fear of Communism.---Yours, &c.,
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