THE NATIONS: Briefing for Washington

On the eve of the Washington talks, the bullyragging and the bitter recriminations that had passed between the U.S. and Britain faded into an abashed mumble-grumble. On both sides of the Atlantic, hot words cooled off under the growing realization that the British crisis was a crisis for the whole Western world.

The British press, as if a little ashamed of its earlier behavior, paused to recall how much the U.S. had already done for Britain; the U.S. press reminded itself of the harsh fact that, if Britain went down in economic distress,...