20 MAY 1943

Page 1

Battle in the Aleutian Islands

The Spectator

The war in the Pacific has mainly been a question of the posses- sion or conquest of island bases, and for some time it has been concentrated on the islands north and north-east...

estruction in the Ruhr

The Spectator

The breaching of the two great dams in the Ruhr and Eder 1 1 ;vs by bombers under Wing Commander G. P. Gibson was ahably far the most destructive blow ever delivered by aircraft...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

F the Prime Minister's address to Congress at Washington on Wednesday was listened to in high quarters in Berlin, as no oubt it was, its confidence and vigour must have aroused...

Page 2

The Home Guard

The Spectator

It was characteristic of Mr. Churchill that the one domestic engagement which he insisted on keeping even when absent in America was a broadcast to the Home Guard on their third...

The Coal Agreement

The Spectator

What threatened to be a serious hitch in the working of the new national conciliation and arbitration machinery for keeping peace in the coal industry occurred in the...

Freedom from Want

The Spectator

The " first United Nations' conference," as President Roosevelt described it in a message to the chairman, opened at Hot Springs, Virginia, last Tuesday. The subject it has to...

Impoverished Clergy

The Spectator

The underpayment of the clergy has long been a problem of deep concern to the Church of England. A report prepared by a Co mission of the Church Assembly shows that more than...

The Difficult Age

The Spectator

The registration during last year of 1,442,361 boys and girl between the ages of 16 and 18 in England and Wales has enable ' the Board of Education to get down to the study of...

Page 3

CONDITIONS OF PEACE

The Spectator

N one sense it is altogether premature to be discussing the conditions on which peace shall be made with either Germany Italy. Germany and Italy are still undefeated. Germany 11...

Page 4

A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK

The Spectator

O N Monday morning I observed to a squadron-leader attached to the Air Ministry that I could never understand why the Allies had never bombed Ostia,—an operation which, apart...

Page 5

THE NEXT ACT

The Spectator

By STRATEGICUS N the end General Alexander's offensive proved to be a model of the true " blitz " and, with completely unexpected suddenness, thieved a success which even the...

Page 6

HEALTHY AGRICULTURE

The Spectator

By WALTER WORCESTER A GRICULTURE has already staked its claim to early and special treatment in the reconstruction period ; as early as x94o it secured a Governmental pledge...

Page 7

COPERNICUS, 1473-1543

The Spectator

By PROFESSOR HERBERT DINGLE HE z4th May, 1543, the date on which Nicolaus Copernicus received on his death-bed the first copy of his great work, Revolutionibus Orbium...

Page 9

TRAINING (R.A. O.C.T.U.)

The Spectator

THE rhythm of seasons is irrelevant, The beauty of the buttercups has no part In this routine which we must get by heart, This fragment of a planned development Of huge and...

SOUTH AFRICAN ISSUES

The Spectator

By G. H. CALPIN GENERAL election is to be held in South Africa on July rich. It has more significance than is the case in any other Dominion, for the reason that the...

Page 10

MARGINAL COMMENT

The Spectator

By HAROLD NICOLSON A MONG the many devices by which the Axis propaganda machines have sought to distract attention from their African disaster has been an attempt to represent...

Page 11

SONNET

The Spectator

O WOMB of - the World, what more can you hold than this Small mansion of the dead wherein each sleeps Forgotten and uncounted, the cold kiss Of time and death upon them? Grey...

GRAMOPHONE NOTES

The Spectator

MAY brings a superb recording by Denis Matthews of Mozart's pianoforte sonata in A minor (K3to) Col. DX 1114-5. I recommend this warmly to all music lovers, and to those who...

THE CINEMA

The Spectator

Hitler's Children." At the Regal.--" Inside Fascist Spain " and " Greek Testament." At the Empire. — " The Edge of Dark- ness." At Warner's. THIS week there is plenty of...

THE THEATRE

The Spectator

Two revivals: one Frederick Lonsdale's well-known comedy at the Westminster, the other a farce, Vintage Wine, by Seymour Hicks nd Mr. Ashley Dukes (who are both still, happily,...

Page 12

WORKERS AND IDLERS

The Spectator

Sm,—May I raise a question which I believe to be of great importance for that post-war period bristling with problems which we shall soon have to face? The supremely important...

JAPAN'S NEW EMPIRE

The Spectator

Sta,—Mr. Simon Harcourt-Smith's review of my book The Japanese "New Order" in Asia in your last issue contains the following remark: " The key to the whole problem—and Dr....

INDIAN PERPLEXITIES

The Spectator

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SIR, —In the second letter which " Rusticus " has written you (May 14th) he raises a question of real importance, and a great deal of our per- plexity is...

Page 13

BYRON SIR, —There are two other probable explanations of the effect

The Spectator

of Byron's death on the dinner party at Belvoir, described by Mr. Harold Nicolson last week, either of which would relieve the members of that company of feeling that the poet...

" THE TRIBUNE'S " LOSS

The Spectator

Sta,—The retort courteous from Mr. Wilson Harris giving the grounds for his statement in The Daily Press that during its brief career The Tribune sustained a loss in the region...

THE BANCOR PLAN

The Spectator

Sta,—There are three suggestions which, if adopted, would help very uch in considering Lord Keynes's plan: 1. That the authors of the White Paper ,should give a few detailed...

POSTAL WORKERS AT LAW

The Spectator

Sta,--e-In your issue of May 7th you comment on the attitude of Post Office workers in their decision to approach the General Council of the T.U.C. with a view to their...

SIR,--The criticisms of Byron cited by Mr. Nicolson well exemplify

The Spectator

the variety of impressions made by that strange genius on his contem- poraries. More striking still is the divergence from Gocthe's dictum of a comment by F. T. Palgrave on the...

Page 14

COUNTRY LIFE

The Spectator

ALL over England, in each of the " coloured counties," small groups of naturalists are meeting to select blessed spots fix sanctuaries or Nature reserves for the preservation of...

BACK TO REALITY

The Spectator

SIR, I think that Mr. G. E. Lee misconceives the situation. The responsible allied leaders are not in the least striving merely for a Four-Power Concert. They see that if...

B.B.C. BROADCASTS Sta,—I would like to reply to Mr. G.

The Spectator

F. Bennett's letter to you recently on the subject of B.B.C. broadcasts and the " up in the morning early " serier — t - would like to point out that there is no necessity for...

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN SPEAKING SIR,—Mr. Connely is mistaken on several

The Spectator

points. I am not a casual visitor to the USA., or a lecturer drawing conclusions from limited groups in the Eastern States. Over a period of thirty years I have studied the...

THE KING'S CONSCIENCE SIR,—In these times, the question whether or

The Spectator

no the Lord Chancellor is the keeper of the King's conscience is not of so great importance. What is important is who is the keeper of the Lord Chancellor's con- science. If the...

Page 15

The Problem of Inheritance

The Spectator

Habit and Heritage. By Frederic Wood Jones. (Kegan Paul. 5s.) NOBODY who has ever listened to or read the work of Professor Wood Jones can have failed to recognise the spell of...

David and Mr. Duff Cooper

The Spectator

David. By Duff Cooper. (Cape. los. 6d.) THERE are two possible ways of reviewing Mr. Duff Cooper's book. One way is the way of historical scholarship. About that, the less said...

BOOKS OF THE DAY -

The Spectator

A Great Italian The Seed Beneath the Snow. By Ignazio Silone. (Cape. los. 6d.) Amour six months ago, before the final Italian debacle in Africa, the Fascist Government put...

Page 16

Acting' and Thinking

The Spectator

FROM the time when St. Paul first turned to the Gentiles, there has been tension and often conflict between the Hebraic and the Greek elements in Christian life and thought....

A Year of Battle

The Spectator

Auchinleck to Alexander. By Major-General H. Rowan-Robinson, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. (Hutchinson. 125. 6d.) A Year of Battle. By Alan Moorehead. (Hanish Hamilton. los. 6d.) THESE...

Page 18

A Scholar's Memories

The Spectator

Cambridge Retrospect. By T. R. Glover. (Cambridge University Press. 6s.) • WHATEVER other effect Dr. Glover's reminiscences may have, they will give every Cambridge...

Fiction

The Spectator

Captain Smith and Company. By Robert Henriques. (Heinemann. 75. 6d.) Golden Coney. By Eleanor Farjeon. (Michael Joseph. 6s.) The Faithful River, by M. Stefan Zeromski, is a...

Page 20

Shorter Notice

The Spectator

Pilot's Wife's Tale. By Esther Terry Wright. (Bodley Head. 78. 6d. THE heart of this record is in these words, written about supper together in digs, when the pilot husband was...

Page 21

THE SPECTATOR " CROSSWORD No. 219

The Spectator

[A Book Token for one g uinea will be awarded (0 th e sender of the fi rst correct solution of this week's crossword to be opened after noon on Tuesday week, 7ane ist. Envelopes...

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 217 SOLUTION ON JUNE 4th

The Spectator

The winner of Crossword No. 217 is Mrs. F. Village, Lawhitton, Launceston, Cornwall. LEWIHWAITE, The

Page 22

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

The Spectator

By. CUSTOS As usually happens when markets fall into an indeterminate condi- tion, two schools of thought have emerged. At the moment the pessimists in Throgmorton Street are...