The Bridal Gown?

Delegates from 26 Socialist Parties cheered British Labor Party Secretary Morgan Phillips in Copenhagen two weeks ago. Speaking at the plenary session of the International Socialist Conference in the flag-hung Folkets Hus, Phillips said: "It is high time Socialists stopped nagging the Americans and denouncing them as capitalists ... At present, most European governments are less progressive than the Truman Administration . . . We must not be too smug about European traditions . . . Between the two world wars, America reacted to the world crisis [with] Roosevelt and the New Deal, while Europe produced Hitler and Mussolini."

It was the most important sign to date that European Socialists are about to give up the old game of pulling Uncle Sam's goatee. Danish, Swedish and Dutch delegates to the conference congratulated Phillips on his speech. At home, many British Laborites also agreed with him. Said one: "[At] our present stage in history, when everyone must determine between the fundamentals of democracy and dictatorship, we've got to drop the comparatively shallow discriminations that once seemed important." Outside the Labor Party, Britons were not so pleased. Said one Tory: "It's no use Labor putting on the bridal gown for the Americans--they won't be fooled by that."

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