Evening star., 1939-04-26

y
Charles g. Ross. good reporter.
| ne is gregarious, he knows how tn
get and sift information, and he is
able to tell what he learns. He is
about as far from the stuffed shirt
conception of diplomat as one
could imagine
In the early part of this year.
after a trip to Australia, Lord Loth-
ian made one of his numerous visits
10 the United States and toured the
country from coast to coast. Former
Rhodes scholars and others of his
VIDE acquaintance, among news
paper writer's, politicians and uni.
Wrslty men, helped to put him in
| touch with groups-from California
to Missouri to Washington-repre.
sentative of all shades of opinion on
foreign affairs.
Understanding of America.
He proved himself a fascinating
talker and an equally good listener.
Soon after his return to England. in
February, he wrote for the Sunday
Observer of London a series Of
articles on his observations in Amer
lea, entitled America After 'Mu-
nich.'" An admirable survey OF the
state of American public opinion,
they reveal the Ambassador -desig-
nate as one who can be relied upon
by his government for a dependable
appraisal of the currents and cross
currents Of our thoughts about Eu.
rope. They show too remarkable
background of knowledge of the
United States, and, joined with a
manifest desire for closer relations
between this country and Great
Britain, sympathetic understand
ing of the forces that have made
for American isolation.
There Is no space here for ex-
tended quotation, but the following
Will show the realistic note in Lord
Lothlans analysis. He raises the
question of what would happen if
America should be forced to choose
between underpinning the present
democratic control of the seas" and
seeing that control pass to the
Fascist powers.
An Objective Reporter.
There is little doubt, he says,
that If this choice were ever pre-
sented to the United States "she
would decide to maintain, in a new
form appropriate to her needs, the
control of the seas by the democra-
cies as being by far the most safe,
| cheapest and most certain 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 'imperi-
alism' or the political control Of
one people by another. If she acts
at all it 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
proceed 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 coun-
try"
Again Lord Lothian sees the pos.
sibility that the wave action Of
American public opinion" might
carry the United States into war
"if the dictators went far enough
in outraging and attacking the
democracies," but he is prompt to
add:
"On the other hand, II American
sentiment became persuaded that
the United States was being ma
neuvered into commitment to war
by foreign intrigue or for reasons
Of politics or finance, it might
equally be swung back violently to
the -isolation of the Lud-
low amendment requiring a refer
endum before the United States
entered a war except to repel ag-
gression against its own territory"
Lord Lothian, it appears, will be
a completely objective reporter
and that Is all to the good from the
point of view of both this country
and Great Britain.