Churchill Faces Up

Winston Churchill last week finally faced up to what the British had begun to call the "Winston Crisis." He gave his fast-multiplying number of critics some of the action they had been asking for. To those who said that his Cabinet was too stupid or too stiffly Tory, or both, he responded with a general Cabinet reshuffle in which some of the stiffest Tories went out of the window and Britain's most eminent Socialist, Sir Stafford Cripps, came boldly in the front door.

Cripps & Lyttelton. The Prime Minister cut his War Cabinet from nine to seven ministers. The appointment of Socialist Sir Stafford Cripps to sit among these seven as Lord Privy Seal was sensational, since he was also to replace the Prime Minister as the Government's representative in the House of Commons.

One of Britain's ablest corporation lawyers, Sir Stafford quit practice in the '305, saying that he was tired of "taking large sums of money from one capitalist to give it to another capitalist." Thereafter he became even better known for his Christianity, vegetarianism (he was nicknamed "Christ and Carrots") and socialism. Before the war he was ejected from the Labor Party for advocating a popular front. Like Winston Churchill, he constantly foretold war, attacked the Munich men. As Ambassador to Russia, he favored a British-Russian coalition against Hitler.

When Sir Stafford returned from Moscow last month he was widely credited with the intention of leading the opposition in the House of Commons. The great question last week was whether he would be able to keep his leftward weight in the Government, or would tend to be absorbed by the Conservative majority. Many Britons bet on Sir Stafford. Some were wary, like the Evening Standard, which commented: "[Churchill] has briefed the best lawyer in the country to defend his Government."

The other new appointment to the War Cabinet was that of spruce, red-haired Oliver Lyttelton as Minister of State, concerned with production. Onetime organizer of the world tin cartel, he replaced Production Minister Lord Beaverbrook, who was detailed to Washington as production liaison officer in the U.S.

Other members of the War Cabinet: Prime Minister Churchill, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, Labor Minister Ernest Bevin, Lord President of the Council Sir John Anderson (a high Tory with whom Sir Stafford Cripps may be expected to tangle), Laborite Clement Attlee, upped from Lord Privy Seal to Deputy Prime Minister & Dominions Secretary.

Grigg & Llewellin. Outside the War Cabinet ranks, two of Winston Churchill's Cabinet changes were striking. He ousted War Secretary Captain David Margesson, onetime Tory, whip who got out the votes for the Chamberlain appeasement Government, replaced him with a man who thus became the only permanent civil servant in modern times to reach the Cabinet without first being elected to Parliament or admitted to the peerage-Sir Percy James Grigg, Permanent Under Secretary of State in the War Office. Solid, profane, 51-year-old "P. J." Grigg is known as "the toughest man in the Civil Service," has had 26 years of it, mostly in finance, is vicious toward inefficiency and red tape. He was private secretary to Winston Churchill when the latter was Chancellor of the Exchequer, once maintained three angry weeks of silence with the Chancellor over a question of policy. Churchill finally broke the silence with: "James, you might at least treat me as an equal."

Prime Minister Churchill also ousted elegant Tory Minister of Aircraft Production Lieut. Colonel J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon. He was replaced by Colonel J. J. Llewellin, formerly one of Lord Beaverbrook's favorite hustlers in the Aircraft Production Ministry.

Churchill & Churchill. One of the most frequent criticisms leveled at Winston Churchill during the past weeks was that, as Prime Minister & Defense Minister combined, he had too big a job for one man, that as Defense Minister he had been a bad war strategist. Prime Minister Churchill responded to this criticism last week by remaining Defense Minister also. If he had been a bad strategist, his critics could only place their hopes in his newly appointed advisers. Even the most captious critics could agree with a Sketch editorial which said: "The Prime Minister, if he has not exactly bowed to the storm, has at least inclined his head in recognition of its existence."

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