The Washington herald., 1921-07-03
Simonds Sees Growing
Unity in Anglo-Saxondom
Imperial Conference Shows Harmonious Re-
lations in Empire and Friendship for
U.S.-Native States a Problem.

the balkans and spreading west
ward to France and Belgium, had
suddenly laid upon the people o
three continents, remote from Flu
rope, burdens and sacrifices beyond
anything in their history.
These burdens borne. these sac
rfices met. the dominions have now
come to London to ask that for tine
future, their rights be in proper
tion to their responsibilities. Tnes
have sought and will constantly
seek an evolution in the organixn.
ton Of the empire. which will give
each Of the domlnions an eouai
share in the making OF imperias
policies, that will transfer the pow
er 10 involve the British Empire in
war from the cabinet of London.
representing the house of commons
Of the United Kingdom. to some Inn
perial body representing all units
OF the empire.
ChanginE Balance OF Power.
Were It conceivable. as 1t is not,
that such a demand would be mes
by opposition. then one could easily
calculate that the days OF the
Ns
there is no greater proof of the wis
dom which underlies all British
policy, than the fact that. far from
opposing. the home government is
lending its aid and giving it's sym
pathy to the evolution. which un-
mistakably means that from the
present hour onward. the command
Ing influence OF the British Isles in
the empire will diminish.
Looking at the potentialitles of
Canada. Australia. even South
Africa. it becomes plain that . day
will come when all three may con-
tain greater populations and vaster
wealth than the British Isles them
selves. that a century hence the
Center OF the empire may be in OF
tawa and not in London, that the
voice of Australia may be backed by
as many voters as that of England
and the interests OF Canada and
Australia in the Pacific may hulk
larger in imperial councils than
those OF Britain in the Meditsr-
rsnean 61 the Aegean.
Independence Not An Issue.
However one may estimate the
elements in the problem ono must
conclude that henceforth the rela-
tive positions Of the British Isles
in the imperial federation must de-
cline-I do not mean the moral. but
the material position. 1t is not diff
ncult for Americans with their own
experiences in mind to foresee a
time when Canada, with its vast
area, its almost incalculable ra-
sources. will contain q population
larger than that of the United
Kingdom. What has been the con-
suming problem in recent years has
heen the speculation as to whether
Canada. become greater than the
mother country, would seek inde-
pendsncs or remain one fraction in
the empire.
The war and the events since the
war have fairly clearly answered
this question. The policy Of
George III. had it been followed In
the reign of George V. would have
led to the same inevitable ending.
The world war was in reality =
supreme crisis in the history OF the
British Empire. but so far as one
can see into the future the out
come will be just tho opposite q
the outcome of that crisis from
which was born the American in
dependence Of nearly a century and
a half ago.
Empire On Firm Basis.
One may speculate as to how
readily or with what reluctance the
mother country would have yielded
up imperial domination, consented
to admit overseas dominions on the
basis of full equality in the adjust
ment OF foreign policies as well as
ntra-imperial relations, il the
world war had not at one time given
shining evidence of the loyalty and
devotic2 OF these dominions and at
the saIHe time also revealed their
strength and their conception OF
their own rights. May one not say
in the long future that the German.
who set out to wreck the British
Empire really established IT on the
hrr7est OF all foundations and in
suTed that 1t would not break.
where so many other empires have
broken?
And what has the United States
to do with all this? Much, obvi-
ously, for dominating all else at
the recent London conference.
which in a sense must be regarded
as the point Of departure OF the
new imperial voyage, was the ques-
tion of present and future relations
between the United States and this
ancient but newly reorganized i'm
perial federation. Australia, Can
ada, South Africa even more en-
phatically asserted not only that
no alliance. such as was contem-
plated with Japan. could be made
without absolute avoidance of all
onense to the United States but
with even greater insistence de-
clared that any race for military
strength between the empire and
the republic meant calamity
which craftsmanship must avoid at
every cost.
Friendship for America.
One might almost say. although
absent, although separated by near
ly century and a half OF indie
pendent history, America, tho
United States, was viewed and
treated at this imperial conference
rather as an absent dominion than
as a totally alien state. In the
back of the heads of the imperial
statesman the supreme question
with respect of the new federation
was its relation to the United
States. Obviously there was no
thought of a sacrifice OF independ-
ence on either side. Even the nos
of alliance was specifically
Yet manifestly there
was in all minds the conception
that the new imperial federation
would hnd itself bound to deal
with two sets of world