Evening star., 1933-07-02
Our Allies SIS Years After


the Department of State in consequence
had to discourage loans. When the ex-
tremely generous debt-funding agree
ment was finally made it was greeted
In France with a storm of abuse and
In America was characterized as a weak
surrender of American rights.
French policy on the restriction of
imports has appeared more and more
to be aimed directly at the United
States as the years have passed. There
nave been protracted discussions in
volving double taxation, which amounted
to practical confiscation of American
property in France, and concerning the
French import quota system, which
touched many phases of American in
dustry and, therefore, became burning
issues IN different parts Of the country.
The apple growers Of Virginia and
Oregon were as angry as were the
producers OF motion pictures. It has
often seemed as though France went
out OF its way to irritate, through re-
strictions OF various kinds which in
many cases were obvious discrimination
against the United States.
We Americans have a way Of deciding
quickly. We like to say yes" or no"
and have done with the matter. This
Is not q French trait. Discussions on
all subjects are prolonged indefinitely,
and the fnterminable delay in reaching
q declsion is OFTEN as serious. or more
serious than fiat negative would have
been at the beginning. If, for example,
per1shable crop Is held pending a de-
cision which is never reached, the pro-
Queer OF the crop makes no effort to
dispose Of 1t elsewhere and the crop is
q total loss. The same disastrous con-
sequences may and do result when an
urgent economic issue is involved.
When. in 1881. Mr.. Hoover proposed
his years moratorium on intergovern-
mental debts it was the French delay
in reaching a decision, a delay which
caused fear to grow by leaps and
bounds, which very nearly destroyed the
beneficient effects of this American
proposal. In the face of a rapidly dis
integrating situation the endless French
discussion of what the world recognized
as unrealities seemed modern simile
Of Nero playing his fiddle while Rome
burned The American point Of view
prevailed-with damaging reserva-
tions-but it prevailed too late. There
was probably never anything more try
ing, to Franco-American friendship
than those terrible days in Paris while
Rome was burning and the French
calmly discussed the difference between
conditional and unconditional repara-
tions and whether or not the deferred
payments should really be deferred to
the end of the period as Mr. Hoover
had intended or distributed over the
next S or 10 or 20 years. Everybody
recognized the question as academic,
but to the French mentality an aca-
one Of life or death. The great op-
portunty was lost.
Arms Issue Irritating
One more question has deeply irri-
tated American opinion. The Ameri-
can people are really interested in pro-
gressive disarmament. Their common
sense tells them that two is to four
as four is to eight: that it costs more
to maintain eight men than four. But
again it is always France which blocks
disarmament.
There is no doubt that the French
are unreasonable, that they resort to
every kind of evasion to avoid meeting
the issue. There can be no shadow OF
doubt, also, that fear, a healthy, hon.
est fear of invasion, is at the bottom
of it all Centuries Of warfare. or of
living on the brink of war, must have
its effect on a people, and the French
are human like the rest of the world.
Perhaps America itself, with history
like that of France behind it, would
take much the same attitude.
But America would attack the ques-
ton in the Anglo-Saxon manner;
would say frankly, I'VE do not intend
to disarm unless and until We con-
slider ourselves safe" We should not
give lip service to a principle which
we reject. After all, perhaps our irri-
tation arises more largely from the
manner than from the purpose be-
mament but in other matters as we'll.
But whatever the cause, the sad
fact remains that the old enthusiasm
for France Is gone and in its place re-
mains profound diStrust and irritation.
It is not only the fault of France. To
the French we have often seemed
overbearing and selfish and mean.
There are no differences which are
really fundamental On the con-
trary, there is every reason to be
friendly. Let us hope that the Lon
don Conference will iron out some of
the difficulties so that we may regain
the old cordiality.
It has seemed to the American peo-
pie that Belgium was the nation most
sinned against, the nation which most
Largely on this account, there is still a
large resiGue of sympathy for Belgium.
But even this Is no longer active.
We have grown, and rightly, to con-
slider Belgium as too closely related to
France to carry on Independently. In
trade matters, in disarmament, the
Belgian voice has too often been an
echo of the French, and the result has
been a 1essening of the old-time re-
gard, following, although not equal
ing, the downward trend of our af-
fection for France. Americans be-
ieved that they saw a close connec-
ton between French and Belgian fall
ure to pay the December debt install
ment, and were not satisfied with the
Belgian claim of financial inability.
This cooling of our friendship with
Belgium is sad because the nobility
of nature shown by King and people
during the war still remains in the
brave little nation.
FriendIier to Italy.
Strangely enough, our relations with
Italy are distinctly more cordial than
before the war; It Is fair to say
strangely enough" because the sys-
tenn of Fascism was repugnant to
American traditions and ideals. To
America relationships, of which we
knew only the ugly sides, were distaste-
full, partly because they were generally
corrupt, partly because we really be-
lieve in democracy as the best pos
sible principle of politics and of life,
We thought of Mussolini as a combi-
nation Of tyrant and play actor.
But as time went on, though still
disapproving the system and often
shocked at Mussolini's fre-eating
speeches, we began to realize that he
was . patriot, that If he ruled with an
iron hand, his rule was incomparably
better than the politics Of earlier re-
gimes, that italy was gaining new vigor
new pride in herself and her great ira
ditions. Very few disputes arose be-
tween the two nations. At first the
Italian Fascist In this country were In
clined to be troublesome, but this was
promptly corrected when Washington
protested. There are, Of course, Bit
terly antagonistic groups of Italian
Americans, but the American Govern
ment cannot any longer complain, ex-
cept In rare instances, of any propa-