Evening star., 1941-02-16

On the one side is Great Britain. whose
leaders shaped the economic machinery
within which the United States grew up.
The British Empire has largely become
an association of free nations. The eco
nomic and political institutions of those
nations are much like those of this
country.
On the other side are the relationships,
seeking TO break up this British Empire
and to absorb its units. They seek the
riches OF this empire and OF the aSsoci-
ated Dutch Empire to be exploited for
then own purposes Of world domination.
The economic and political institutions
of the relationships are in violent con-
flict with those of this Nation
The United States is on the side lines.
watching the struggle. Thus far the
United States has done little or nothing
to help the British for which it was not
handsomely paid in hard cash. Now the
question is whether to sit silently by
while England is destroyed and Ger
many grabs control of Britain herself, of
the riches of the Near East and Africa,
and Japan grabs control of Australia, of
the rich Malay Peninsula from which
come this country's rubber and tin. and
of the Dutch East Indies with their oil
and rubber and tin.
Isolationists say: What of it? The
United States is big and strong and can
get along at home.
Roosevelt says in effect: Why allow in
ferlor nations, the avoWed enemies of
this Nation, TO gain control of the re-
mainder of the world to grow strong
and rich at the expense of Britain and
this country, when that can be pre-
vented?
The lend-leaSe plan provides the
means for resisting the growth of Ger
man-1talian- Japanese power at the ex-
pense of the stronger but scattered
Anglo-Saxon nations. There are two
purposes: First, to help England save
herself, by assuring her supplies she
needs. This effort may now be too late.
Second, to provide the British and Dutch
Empire forces with the weapons and the
supplies to keep up the struggle if Eng
land goes down.
The Australians with their land, the
Dutch with their empire, the South Afri-
cans with their rich country to defend,
the British and Australians in North
Africa the British Navy itself, would be
assured of supplies and aid from the
United States. They would have reason
to keep up their resistance to the dicta-
tors seeking to take their lands and their
wealth.
The United States and the British
and Dutch Empires-workfng together
| might weld an association of free and
democratic nations that would continue
to control the seas and deny the fruits
of conquest to Hitler and his cronies.
| The Germans then might have Europe
and they might, temporarily, even have
England But they would trade in the
world and take their place on terms i'm
posed by the United States and the asso-
ciated nations of the British and Dutch
Empires. Either that, or they would re-
main bottled up in Europe, lacking those
resources required if they are to domi-
nate the world
The simple fact is that, throughout
American history, the British and Amer
leans have exercised the overall control
of the world by their joint control of the
seas. Now, for the first time, there is a
| threat to that control. Britain under
stands what that means because hers
has been the policing responsibility in
the past. The United States never has
| quite appreciated what sea power means
| to it, and today seems unwilling to make
| a great effort to sustain that power. The
lend-lease plan is designed as means
| of trying to maintain control with a
| minimum of risk and effort.
As an alternative, the United States
| could sit on the sidelines and see Britain
| go down After that, this Nation could
| adjust itself to isolation, trading with
Europe and Asia on terms laid down by
Hitler and by japan. However, isola-
| ton is not a simple sort of existence,
but one that, under the best of circum-
stances, requires overall planning by
| government.