New-York tribune., 1919-02-03
GuAHAN TE E
Hearst VS.. England

Poison gas that blows back upon ones
own trenches is not pleasant or good for
the circulation. Hence a season of in
activity. People must have time to for
get But now the wind blows east suffi-
ciently to try again, and by lucky
chance comes Mr.. Bernard Shaw with
just the poison needed.
1t is interesting to see the Hearst gas
squad at work with this new material.
One cannot, perhaps, carve up or edit Mr..
Shaw's writings, but one does not need
to. That is the beauty of hiring an
Irishman to write about England, espe-
cially an ego-mad Irishman who was
choked off suddenly by the exigencies of
war from explaining just how he would
have prevented the war and just how
much to blame England was for not TAX
ing his advice.
The present series of articles takes up
Mr. Shaw's bile just where it left off. 1t
is wittily done and interesting. There is
great deal of what Mr. Shaw told Lord
Grey and the rest of the diplomats of
the upshot of which is, as Mr.. Shaw
plainly declares, that the Liberals of
England were not such fools about the
German menace as they pretended to be.
In short, as to Mr.. Shaw's gihed Eng
land
"She will act in this way because she
must. She may never let her left hand
know what her right hand is doing Her
non-intervention Liberals, her Quakers,
. her little-minded insular commercialsts,
may repudiate such designs; her imperi-
alists may profess ententes cordiales
and unions of heart and championships
of oppressed little nationalities; her
preiates may preach peace on earth and
good will to men; but at the first extra
battleship built abroad, at the first men
ace TO Antwerp, at the first possibility of
hegemony, all these calculations will be
swept aside by the surge of patriotism or
duped by diplomatic secrecy, and all the
pities and professions will veer round to
the point at which the whole duty of man
in England will be 20 maintain the free
dom of the seas and the guardianship of
the British feet 20 Antwerp from a
fate worse than death and to rescue Eu-
rope from being crushed under the heel
of a brutal despotsm.
Four Of these clever outbursts of
omniscience appeared in the course of
two ~eeks~in the Hearst newspapers.
under headlines cunningly devised to
produce the impression that there had
been plot in England to destroy Ger
many. Then the real attack began.
England announced renewal of her
embargo on American imports Of
course, this was only what America had
done toward England as traditional
policy for generations. We have to-day
tariff schedule against the world, includ-
ing England which effectually keeps out
a large amount of British trade That is
our domestic concern--just as England's
embargo IS her domestic concern. Even
Mr.. Wilson, when his utterance against
tfade barriers was attacked, came out
with the explanation that he did not pro-
pose any interference with nations
tariff, which was domestic concern.
But The american makes no such
statement of the facts. 1t spread-eaples
the news of this embargo under the line
BRITAIN PUTS UP BAR AGAINST
AMERICAN-MADE GOODS" and sup
ports its attack with fiery phrases about
TRADE WAR" and "MOVE TO
SEIZE MARKETS OF WORLD" And
the next day there are tidings from
Washington that Britain's embargo
"Arouses National Indignation" and
obliging Senator'S are Stirred" and
quoted in bold type upon this 'strade
war" OF England's making. And Mr..
Hearst assumes the back page in behalf
Of Hearst~Americanism--"The Policy OF
the United States Should Be One of En-
lightened Self-Interest." The statement
OF this alleged policy is pretext for at
tacking England. We quote from Fri
days Mem Yoyk Auericans
And our people must get it clearly in
their minds, too, that Spain having been
eliminated az rival Of England CONNER
eialiy; and Holland having been elini-
mated and reduced TO tbird-rate power;
and France having been eliminated as q
sea power and commercial rival; and Ger
many having been eliminated and dis
r1srnbered and destroyed az a commercial
riyaI, THERE REMAINS JUST ONE
GREAT COMMERCIAL RIVAL or ENG
LANDS, AND THAT rs THE UNITED
STATEg or AMERICA"
Nothing more abominabIy or cunningly
devised TO create disharrnony between
this country and its allies has perhaps
eyer appeared IN the Hearst newspapers.