The Washington herald., 1922-09-26
By FRANK H. sIMoNDs.


Mr.. Kipling's alleged interview,
the Bahour note and Sun
dry British comments thereon. seems
to have caused many Americans
furiously to think about the whole
subject of our European relations
American relations. Moreover, IL Is
fairly clearly that
whatever the truth or untruth of
the ascription to Mr.. Kipling OF
certain views upon America, the
press are held in many quarters m
the British Isles.
what' is the explanation? Have
the British prepared a great and
sklliful trap by which to entangle
Santage2 Have they arranged a
method by which they would per-
suade US to remit their debts and
thus shoulder a considerable por-
tion of their burdens. And have we
by cIeverness or by luck or in some
fashion evaded the trap and Is
British indignation hnd resentment
the consequence OF this escape of
ours!
Obviously this explanation will
find support in nat few objections
and particularly afn0ns those, who
most strenuously opposed $the
league Of nations. Yet 'eoncedinx.
as one may. that English resent
ment now is due In measure and
in certain quarters to Immediate
and pecuniary circumstances and to
tie disappointment that follows our
categorical refusal to cancel debts.
it seems to me that any satisfactory
explanation of the whole phenome-
non must go much deeper.
Demolished British Conccptfon.
In point of fact. as / see 1t. the
American course since the Paris
conference has definitely and COM
pletely demolished a British concep-
tion which was by no means mere
ly mercenary or confined to those
clever politicians or hard-headed
business men, who saw in an asso-
citation with America a chance to
pull political strings in Europe or
escape financial obligations on this
side of the Atlantic. Mr.. Kipling,
for example would hardly have
been affected by either considera-
ton.
The larger truth is that with our
entrance into the war and the de-
cisive contributions which we there
after made. there developed in the
mass Of Englishman the dream of
an Anglo-American association in
the world. which should not only
advantage those two nations inn
mediately concerned but be of in
finite usefulness to the world. The
league of nations. as II was drafted
by Englishmen who merely adopted
Mr.. Wilson's title and wrote their
own constitution and bylaws, was
expressly designed to be an Anglo
Saxon document and to establish
Anglo-Saxon control in the world
The Brfton's View.
Looking back over the. troubled
years before the world war, a very
large. number of Englishmen be-
lieved that their own country had
been dragged into the conflict in 4
fashion which would not have been
possible had England been able to
preserve her traditional isolation
and to retain a deciding vote. In
stead the rapid rise of Germany
had compelled Britain to embark
upon an Anglo-French-R Russian en-
tente, the logical conclusion Of
which was a collision with Ger
many. from which Britain could not
abstain either in honor or in IN
terest
How much better these observers
reasoned, now the war Is over, now
the German peril is exercised 3sr-
haps forever, so far as Britain is
concerned. to make partnership
with the United States and thus escape
from all European dangers. Granted
that Britain would remain in Ed
rope to an even greater extent
than before the war, yet associated
with the United States, she would
be assured of immunity. for after
the display OF American material
resources and capacity for national
industrial organization, quite aside
from all question of military
strength. no nation would choose
by attacking Britain to invite Brit
aims American ally to cross the
seas again.
In an American alliance many
Britons saw security for their own
country. They recognized the war
had hastened what many of them
had fOreseen as ultimately inev-
table the appearance of the United
States as a great power in fact as