THE STATESMAN

Three years after his historic speech at Fulton, Mo., in which he warned the West to rally before Communist aggression, Winston Churchill spoke again in what he called his "motherland." At Boston Garden, under the merciless lights required by the soth Century triumph of television, he reiterated his warnings and expressed new hope. From a vantage point no other man can claim to occupy, he reviewed the half-century on which he left his giant's imprint. He called it "this terrible soth Century."

The Grand Illusion. "For us in Britain, the 19th Century ended amid the glories of the Victorian era, and we entered upon the dawn of the 20th in high hope . . . Little did we guess that what has been called the Century of the Common Man would witness as its outstanding feature more common men killing each other with greater facilities than any other five centuries put together. . . We took it almost for granted that science would confer continual boons and blessings upon us ... In the name of ordered but unceasing progress we saluted the Age of Democracy ... It was to ... tasks of social reform and social insurance that we addressed ourselves . . . The name of Lloyd George will ever be associated in Great Britain with this new departure.

"In the first half of the soth Century, fanned by the crimson wings of war, the conquest of the air affected profoundly human affairs. It made the globe seem much bigger to the mind and much smaller to the body ... In the 19th Century, Jules Verne wrote Around, the World In 80 Days. It seemed a prodigy. Now you can get round it in four; but you do not see much of it on your way. The whole prospect and outlook of mankind grew immeasurably larger, and the multiplication of ideas also proceeded at an incredible rate. This vast expansion was, unhappily, not accompanied by any noticeable advance in the stature of man, either in his mental faculties or his moral character. His brain got no better, but it buzzed more . . .

"Science bestowed immense new powers on man, and at the same time created conditions which were largely beyond his comprehension and still more beyond his control. While he nursed the illusion of growing mastery and exulted in his new trappings, he became the sport and presently the victim of tides and currents, of whirlpools and tornadoes amid which he was far more helpless than he had been for a long time."

The Best Hope. "After all our victories, we are now faced by perils, both grave and near, and by problems more dire than have ever confronted Christian civilization . . . There remains, however, a key of deliverance: . . . the creation of a world instrument, capable at least of giving to all its members security against aggression . . .

"The United Nations organization . . . has so far been rent and distracted by the antagonism of Soviet Russia and by the fundamental schism which has opened between communism and the rest of mankind. But we must not despair. We must persevere, and if the gulf continues to widen, we must make sure that the cause of freedom is defended by all the resources of combined forethought and superior science. Here lies the best hope of averting a third world struggle . . .

"I speak not only to those who enjoy the blessings and consolation of revealed religion, but also to those who face the mysteries of human destinies alone.

"I say that the flame of Christian ethics is still our highest guide. To guard and cherish it is our first interest, both spiritually and materially. The fulfillment of spiritual duty in our daily life is vital to our survival. Only by bringing it into perfect application can we hope to solve for ourselves the problems of this world, and not of this world alone.

"Three years ago I made a speech at Fulton . . . Many people here and in my own country were startled and even shocked by what I said . . . Today there is a very different climate of opinion . . . We have the famous Marshall aid, the new unity in Western Europe, and now the Atlantic pact. . . No one could have brought about these immense changes . .. . but for the astounding policy of the Russian Soviet government. We may well ask, 'Why have they deliberately acted for three long years so as to unite the free world against them?' . . .

"It is because they fear the friendship of the West more than its hostility. They cannot afford to allow free and friendly intercourse to grow up between the vast areas they control and the civilizations of the West . . .

The Only Fear. "The question is asked, 'Are we winning the cold war?' Well, this cannot be decided by looking at Europe alone. We must also look to Asia. The worst disaster since our victory has been the collapse of China ... On the other hand, the position in Europe has so far successfully been maintained. [But] fear and its shadows [still] brood over Western Europe today . . . You have much responsibility there, where much faith is placed in you ... It is certain that Europe would have been communized like Czechoslovakia, and London under bombardment some time ago, but for the deterrent of the atomic bomb in the hands of the U.S

"Another question is also asked. Is time on our side? This is not a question that can be answered except within strict limits. We have certainly not an unlimited period of time before a settlement should be achieved. The utmost vigilance should be practiced, but I do not think myself that violent or precipitate action should be taken now. War is not inevitable. The Germans have a wise saying, 'The trees do not grow up to the sky.' Often something happens to turn or mitigate the course of events.

"Four or five hundred years ago, Europe seemed about to be conquered by the Mongols . . . The chivalry and armed power of Europe was completely destroyed by the Asiatic hordes' mounted archers. It seemed that nothing could avert the doom of the famous continent from which modern civilization and culture have spread throughout the world. But at the critical moment, something happened--the great Khan died . . . The Mongol armies and their leaders trooped back on their ponies across the 7,000 miles which separated them from their capital, in order to choose a successor. They never returned--till now . . .

"We seek nothing from Russia but good will and fair play. If, however, there is to be a war of nerves, let us make sure that our nerves are strong and are fortified by the deepest convictions of our hearts . . . Let us then move forward together in discharge of our mission and our duty, fearing God--and nothing else."

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