Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1940-12-24
BY wEsTBROoK PEGLER

T Is pretty silly 10 argue the
a proposition that the British -
people do or don't love the
Americans. or vice versa, and l
would be willing to concede that
they hate US. and that the feel.
ing is mutual. to get at the only
question that matters in our
present fproblem. VIII ich is
whether they are fighting our
enemy.
Often on ball club there are
men who detest one another and
don't speak in the clubhouse, on
the trains or in the hotels and
speak no more than they have
to when they are on the field.
But they cooperate in the
ball games. because each man
has TO play his best to hold his
own job, and if the club is in
the running for a pennant any
little failure by one of them i'm
pairs the chances of all to catch
a bonus of several thousand dol
lars out of the PLAYERS pool.
So. although the two men
may be enthusiastic personal en-
emies. they will back up one an
other instinctively at every OPP
portunity
There is no particular reason
why we should love the British.
and any one who thinks they
have no reason 10 dislike us
must have been way off some
where during the late campaign
when we were telling ourselves
and the world some very un-
pleasant truths. but truths.
about ourselves. If you take
your own word for II we are
not so hot. either
DUT whether or not we are
- fond OF the British in the. so
10 sneak. personal sense. they
certainly do deserve the admira-
tion of any one who's respects
bravery
| doubt that any other people
in the world. including the Ger
mans. would have stood up
under the intimate hammering
that the British have endured
since Hitler cleared his enemies
out of France and went TO work
on their homes.
I think New York would have
panicked very quickly under the
SHr11r- kind of punishment. 7
would exnect Chicago TO be
much tougher.
ASIDE from the cffuSivcncss Of
tho French. who never seemed
10 mo 10 be Al all sincere. no
people really loves the Ameri-
cans. bat We arc always getting
brushes on others. and we seem
10 think that we have to kid
ourselves into romantic state
about an ally or partner before
we can cooperate effectively.
In that respect we are per-
petual sophomores. and conse-
ouentlv we are always fetching
deep signs and burning the gals
picture in the CRATE.
No other nation IN the world
has reached into its pockets for
dough and into the larder for
hams and canned goods TO rush
help 10 stricken nations as often
as We havp.
IF a high wind blows down A
covey of haystacks for houses
or a river runs wild or the earth
gives her hide a little twitch and
shakes down a city somewhere
abroad. the Americans have A
lot of committees going all over
the country before the flash is
cold on the wires and are rails
ing money to ovcrwhelm the
victims with earmuffs and draw
crs-- condensed milk, canned soup,
toothpaSte and night shirts.
DUT when did the people or
ID any foreign country do the
like of that for us? They may
send us telegram OF coincidence
in the case of an extreme disas-
ter. but the odds are that it will
come collect at that.
OF course. the British don I
love It's, and IL wetiid- be foolish
to say that we do or should love
them. But if it is recognized that
Adolf Hitler is our enemy, and
certainly nobody is crazy enough
10 suggest nc is our pal. we owe
il to ourselves to do everything
we can 10 help the British.
That isn't favor'ing the British.
although we may tell ourselves
that that is the way of il just
for vanity and emotional fun. 1t
is smart-doing. They do the
fighting and take the Jumps
while we stroll down 10 the gym
and take some exercise and
learn some holds from the pro-
feSSor.
Then. if they be licked. we are
in shape TO do our own fighting.
and if they win we are in po-
sition to give them the glare
when they start saying we threw
them down.
The British aren't fighting
Hitler for our sake. They just
! happened to be right under the
gun geographically which was
their hard luck and our good