Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-01-07
The Reality of Cooperation
German Propaganda for Thirty Years Has Been Ime ~ A'"N' wa"
E,tranrcment from England. <

! Graftons and the Townscnds known
the truth the Revolution never would
have taken place. The war OF 1912
was again a misunderstanding. a clash
Of minor interests. the result In this
main of resentment in England and
America due to the first great mia9
understanding in the Revolution itseN!.
II the one had not occurred, the 9TH
er scarcely could have happened.
Today every issue raised at that
time is dead. Every difference which
either country thought existed has
certainly disappeared. Every interest
which seemed at the time to clash no
states in Europe today which have
not more real grievances against
their neighbors and friends and allies
than those which we fancied we had
against England a century and a half
ago. So slight a record of discord,
so extremely slender a list of reaH-
ties behind it IS almost unparalleled
in history. No Englishman,. indeed,a
wishes to undo the American Revolu- :
ton and the recognition OF its salu-
tary lesson, Of the gravity Of the
blunder in policy which they had
committed, was hearty and very gen.
eral at the time and absolutely uni
versal today. The British agree that
if the positions had been reverseM
and we had acted as they did they
would certainly have done not less
than we did. But they are also agreed
that it was nevertheless deplOrable
that we should have parted with bad
feeling. which was on the whole MT
warranted by the facts, and that chill
dren should have been taught in
America n England that a strong
permanent divergence of interests ex-
listed between the United States and
Great Britain.
Take. for instance, the fact that
France holds a large part of TIE
north African coast between Gibral-
tar and Egypt. 1t is not to the per-
manent interest of England to have
France between her and the Suez ca
nal, occupying so strong a position
on the road to India, NOR is 1t to the
advantage Of France to lave England
in Egypt. The two countries nearly
came to blows over this situation in
1898. On the other hand, the funda-
mental interests of both countries in
defense against the German military
machine at home are SO absolutely
identical that their differences in
Africa sink into insignificance in com.
parison.
Yet the divergence in interests bs-
tween America and England at TIE
time of the war of 1912 was infinitely
less vital than the question Of Egypt
is today for both Britain and France, d
There have been in quite recent :
years strong differences of opinion
between the English and the British
self-governing colonies upon the
rights of Hindus emigrating to any
part of the British empire. upon Gus
toms duties, and a variety of. topics;
OF the general issue and solidarity Of
the empire there is not and never
has been any doubt within SO years,
outside Of a few cranks in Germany;
and yet in both of these instances the
differences are much more real, much
more difficult to solve by argument
or reason, more impossible to explain
away by n subtleties, than the diff
%ferences which led to the American
Revolution.
No one is ~contending that there
were not differences, tina there was
not justification for what the Ameri-
cans thought and for what English
men did. The contention which is
correct is that there are few nations
in history who have ever existed f|r
and with as little reality behind their
.antipathies as there have been pehind
those of Great Britain and the Uni
ted States.
The realization of this fact isfone Of
the most important things in the
prosecution of the war; the spread
of this idea throughout the commu-
nifty broadcast is one of the sduties
that every mar and m should
take upon themselves in order that
this subtle and .insidious propagan-
da. so long and SO we'll planted by
German agents through the freedom
Of he press and liberty of speech in
this country, may be co~unteracted in
time and fail of it's deadly purpose.
II any man approaches you who
wishes to make you believe that there
is something unAmerican about SYM
pathy for Great Britain or co-opera..
ton with her, look narrowly to his
antecedents.