Evening star., 1940-06-02


His precise mind, his instinct for pro.
tocol, his natural politesse, his serious
feeling for precedent and the nrmness
of his diplomacy fitted him, in the
opinion Of the Coolidge administration,
for the difficult post of ceremonial ON
Ger, the man in charge Of the capitals
official punctilio, who seats the great and
the less great in proper gradation at
large functions, chiefly White House
functions. He operated smoothly and
had gone to Geneva for conference on
humane treatment Of prisoners Of war
before the whole world of protocol was
shaken from Washington by the grave
question whether Dolly Gam should be
seated at the place which would have
gone without discussion to Vice Presi-
dent Curtis wife, had he had q wife.
Takes Life Seriously.
Mr.. Moffat already has demonstrated
either that he gets things done or finds
out why not. He is hard working man
who takes himself, his profession and
his life seriously. His first merit is an
orderly mind. He is an analyst who
seeks quickly to discover all the parts of
any question. He has a good brain
which he suckles on European history.
He is a man in all things moderate
courteous but never ef1usive, amiable
but no back-slapper, sociable but no tea
hound. For him restraint is a virtue,
but he does not carry restraint to the
point where it becomes spectacular, as
his superior Welles does
He was among those in the State De-
partment content during the 1930s to let
Europe 60 which way it would, trusting
in the good sense of England no matter
how strange her policy toward the con-
tinent might seem while Germany was
arming, expanding and fighting her
practice war in Spain. This attitude
does not interfere with his present un-
derstanding of the meaning of events
abroad for this administration foreign
policy. Above everything it is hemis-
phere policy, New World policy. Can
ada is in the Western Hemisphere, is
part of the New World.
Not only is Canada our neighbor but
our sales and purchases from Canada
amount to more than our export and
import business with any other nation
Canada Is the munitions center and the
air-training center of the British Empire
for the European war. and the United
States helps in large measure to supply
the raw materials for her munitions and
airplanes. We have long taken Canada
for granted. but the fortunes of war and
our own aim to keep the peace make
Canada a major reality in the United
States picture.
Economic Threat Seen.
The opposition sentiment to closer
Canadian cooperation in the Western
Hemisphere movements of Pan-Ameri-
canism and Continental Solidarity was
summed up recently by Reginald D. Trot-
ter. professor at Queens College, the site
which Mr.. Roosevelt used to extend-or
as he feels it, to reaffirm-to Canada the
scope of the Monroe Doctrine Relations
with the United States DR.. Trotter wrote
in the Inter-American Quarterly for
January, are bound by geography to
be close, whereas the relations with the
British Empire, scattered as it is far
away in Europe, Africa and the South
Pacific, must be cherished. For her size
and population, Canada has a greater
interest than any American country in
Europe and Asia, too much so to adopt
a baslcally American outlook Further
more, DR.. Trotter fears the economic
consequence of Canadian participation
in Western Hemisphere affairs, for he
recalls that the United States and Can
ada are competitors for much OF the Pan
American market.
The essence of the question is the ap-
prehension lest an increased and for
malized interest in American affairs dis
tract Canada from her classical and
deep-seated interest in empire affairs,
Perhaps the time is coming when Can
ada must choose. Mr.. Moffat may be on
hand when she makes the choice.