Evening star., 1939-05-01

little doubt that, If ever this choice
were presented to the United States,
she would decide to maintain, in a
new form appropriate to her own
needs, the control of the seas by the
democracies as being by far the
most safe, cheapest and most Ger
tain road to her own security and
the method most likely to save her
from being drawn into world war.
But this will not be because the
United States has now or ever will
have any intention of underwriting
the British or the French empires.
She is traditionally opposed to i'm
perialism" or the political control
of one people by another. If she
acts at all 1t will be because she feels
that her own vital interests, includ-
ing her belief in democracy, require
it, and she is far more likely to pro-
ceed by the method of unilateral
declaration of policy, involving no
commitment to anybody else. as she
did in the case of the Monroe Doc
trine, than by any kind Of alliance
with or pledge to any other country.
Anglo American Relations.
So one comes to the problem Of
Anglo American relations. The CEN
trail difficulty is represented by two
phrases. On the one hand We have
the title to Mr.. Quincy Howe's now
famous book, England Expects Every
American to Do His Duty" This rep
resents the inveterate suspicion in
the United States that every British
proposal is designed to induce the
United States to underwrite British
interests suspicion which rests
on the fact that Anglo-American
cooperation obviously operates to
the benefit of the British Common
wealth and not so obviously to the
benefit of the United States. On
the other hand is the statement at
tributed to the Montreal Gazette
during the Munich crisis that THE
United States will fight for democ-
racy to the blood of the last Eng
lishman." This represents very well
the instructive reaction Of the av-
erage Briton to the combination OF
moral censure with a national policy
Of neutrality.
But 1t is well for us to remember
that the present American attitude
is exactly that of Great Britain her
self during her own period of "splen-
did isolation" We always insisted
on standing uncommitted on the
side lines of the European conflict,
until menace to our own interests
compelled us to intervene. We long
ago realized that the best and
cheapest way of assuring our own
security was to encourage other ma
tions to fight for their own security,
and when there was doubt as to
their ability to do so by themselves
to assist them with finance and, II
necessary, with arms. This policy
suited us, but 1t also corresponded
with the liberties and vital interests
of the great majority Of other ma
tions. That was the secret OF its
success.
But this policy never made us
popular with these nations. They
wanted us to commit ourselves.
They wanted to know where they
were. They called us "Perfide
Albion" AS I see it, the United
States is being driven, not by propa-
ganda or the pull of finance, but by
the facts, into adopting an analogous
policy, because owing to the change
in the strategic position of Britain
we can no longer conduct that policy
for ourselves in the old way. But
do not let us, on that account, feel
annoyed. Just because we once oc-
cupied the position now filled by the
United States we ought to be able
to see that it is inevitable, and in
fact for the benefit of all. We are
going to occupy different place IN
the next century from that which
we were able to occupy in the last.
We shall no longer be the sole i'm
portant world power. But we are
not going to become a second-rate
nation or suffer the fate of Venice
or Holland. We are going to play
a great but a different role, as the
United States, as Cecil Rhodes fore
saw, comes to occupy its own position
of world responsibility and power.
This will not be because she now
aspires to any such position. Quite
the contrary-her desire is still for
isolation without responsibility. But
it will be forced upon her, as it was
forced upon us, mainly against our
will. The reason is to be found in
Bacon's words: Rome did not
spread upon the world; the world
spread upon the Romans II the
Nazis, the Fascists, and the japanese
had even glimmering of this pro-
found truth they might become the
centers of lasting world systems.
But it is of their nature that they
are blind to the eternal laws. They
try to spread upon the world and the
world, in due time, will cast them off.
The Lesson for British Policy.
But what is the lesson of this for
ourselves? The first is that we have
to play our own hand without wait
ing for the United States. The more
independent and vigorous and
powerful we are in resisting black
mail, or squeeze, or threats the more
likely is the United States to rally
in support. But she will never allow
us to transfer to her shoulders bur-
dens which she thinks, for reasons
Of geography or otherwise, are ours.
But the United States is not in
different in the long run to appease-
ment, provided it is not throwing
sops to Cerberus. Herr Hitler has
recently deployed his general case
for a redistribution of the worlds
resources. He followed his usual
plan. He represented Germany as
a poor nation of 85,000,0O0 people
who only ask for the right to live,
by being given a fair share of
colonial territory or assured access
to markets to enable her to ex-
change her products for the re-
sources she canont produce in her
own country.
There is substance underlying