The Brunswick news., 1921-12-18
THE TWO ANoLo-sAxoN NATIONS

Wickham Steed says foresight and
insight will remove all sources of
misunderstanding between America
and Britain, and the Richmond Times
dispatch adds: Even a ready and
acute hindsight will be better than a
total blindness" Everyone appreci-
ates the value Of foresight and in
sight, but few realize to what extent
the two depended on hindsight. We
judge.tsae. future by the past; we fore
see that this or that will happen un-
der gtrpr conditions, and the more in
yariably it has happened the more GER
tainly we can judge that it will hap
pen again. We also get an insight IN
to questions or motives or natures
by our knowledge Of the past. We
can see a line of conduct that a man
of nation has pursued and the in
consistency of conduct points to a mo-
tive which we reason will continue to
govern in the future, because it seems
to have governed in the past Hind
sight is the foundation on which in
sight is based.
sight is based, says the Florida Times
Union.
The British and Americans may al
most be sadi to be of one blood. We
hear great deal of their kinship
which is paraded as an influence that
will keep the peace. OF course, there
is a vast adnixture Of other bloods
in America besides the British, but
that came first, and has been able to
absorb other elements. But this kin
ship OF blood is not the factor for
peace that it is frequently represent
ed to be.
A disturbing element is the inner
ent arrogance and self-conceit Of the
Anglo-Saxon. He imagines he is bet
ter and greater than anybody else in
the wnrld. He thinks everybody ought
TO know that. Years ago the arro-
gance Of the British was not display
ed alone t opeople Of different blood.
but it was displayed towardseAmerica.
All who have read Dickens know the
vile things he said about. America
Now Dickens was but one man, but
he said these things because the Brit
ish public wanted to read them. Like
other literary men, Dickens did not
care a rap about what was the truth.
He offered wares 10 sell that he
thought would be salahle. and the fact
that his vile stuff about America was
salable showed that at that time the
people of England wanted to read it.
The British seem to have reformed,
and we do not see much In their lit
erature disparaging to the American
people, and what we hear from their
statesmen Is in the highest degree
complimentary. But we see gooa
deal OF ridicule Of Englishmen IN
American literature. Americans have
inherited as full supply of sense
less arrogance as the British ever
had, and the certainty Of the two An
glo-Saxon masses each that IL Is the
only pebble on the beach, and that
everybody else knows 1t is to some ex-
tent cause of irritation.
hut the tie that binds is one OF self.
interest. The two nations are kept az
peace by the knowledge that "a war
between them would prove very I'M
profitable. II would be so unproftable
that II has been possible to keep the
peace for more than one hundred
years without fort or a gun between
the United States and the British pos
sessions of North America. In case
Of war each would be badly punished
aud would gain nothing, and so Il Is
stated with a great deal of truth thai
war between the two English speak
ing nations Is inconceivable.