June 14.
Mr, Winston Churchill's speech before the meeting of all the Allied Governments in St. James's Palace on Thursday will go down in history as a parallel to the U.S. Declaration fof Independence. The verdict of history may very well be that it surpasses that great document in importance, for the sins of the King of Great Britain, which called forth the rebellion in America, pale into insignia fiance when compared with the iniquities, nay, the atrocities which Hitler and his satellites have perpetrated upon unoffending people. Mr. Churchill, that command of the English language which is outstanding. in these days, has drawn up the most damning indictment that it is possible to conceive.
plain, simple, forceful words, short sentences' almost brutal in their intensity Mr, Churchill tells the world what the evil dictators of Germany and Italy have been doing:
We see them (the eonguered peoples) hounded, terrorized. exploited. Their manhood By the million is forced to work under conditions indistinguishable in many cases from hhelual slavery. Their goods are pillaged or filched for worthless money, Their homies, their daily life are pried into and spied upon by the all pervading system of a secret politico! police which having reduced the Germans them. Selves {0 abject docility. now stalks the streets and by-ways of a dozen lands. The! Feligious falls are affronted. persecuted or oppressed in the interest of a fantastic paganism devised to perpetuate. worship and Ausiain the tyranny of one abominable creature, Their traditions. their culture. their Jaws, their institutions, social and political alike. are suppressed by force or undermined by subtle. coldly planned intrigue. The prisons the Continent no longer sullied. Concentration camps are overcrowded. At every dawn, German volleys crack.
It Is to save the world from a like per~ manent fate that Great Britain a year ago, when she was almost defenceless before Hitler, when most of her material had, been lost in France, declared her intention of continuing the fight for freedom. The Dominions, the Colonies and the Government of the overrun countries are solidly behind Mr, Churchill in that determination, and the resolution passed in St. James's Palace is indicative of that important fact. It is indeed a clarion call to fight on. The sky is not so dark as it was twelve months ago. The Allies may be said to have reached the nadir of their fortunes during those. distressful days, and since then there has been a gradual climbing back, a preparation for the time] when the offensive will pass to them and they can carry the war to the aggressor Powers inn manner which they will not Li Me. Churchill in- comparing the situation fas it was last June and as it is now shows that with the efforts which have been made by the British Empire, aided by the growing activities of the United States the menace which hovers over the dictators increases in importance; as each day passes the forees of freedom gather in strength. Hitler cannot hope to win unless he can subjugate the British Isles. He has (alked a lot about doing it, but there is now being shown a reluctance which in the circumstances is perfectly comprehensible. But, as Mr. Churchill points out, he may yet, driven by desperate hazards, attempt an invasion, a supreme trial from which the British will not flinch. The soul of Britain has stood up under blows passing the former knowledge of mankind. There is abroad in the land and in the hearts of Britain's Allies that readiness to endure all things that the liberties of man shall be preserved, and there is more than a little reason to believe that they will be, The Prime Minister's peroration should be read and remembered by every Briton and by every Ally:
"With the help of God, of which we mus, all feel daily conscious. we shall continue. steadfast in faith and duty. till our task is done, This then, my Lords and Gentlemen, is the message whioh we send forth today to all Stateg and nations. bound or free, to all men jin all lands who care for freedom's cause. 10 Our Allies and well-wishers in Europe. to our American friends and helpers across the fcean—this is the message Lift up your hears! All will come ight, Out of the depths fof sorrow and sacrifice Will be born again the Blory of mankind 'There is every reason why the Prime Minister faith in the ultimate triumph of the democracies' Their cause is a just one. 'Unprepared as they were in 1939, badly hurt as they were in 1940, they have survived' their misfortunes and stand today stronger than they ever had been. The times may. be grim and the sky lowering but the sun of victory will yet shine and mankind saved. from the abominations which evil men would foist upon
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.