Evening star., 1941-09-21
Roosevelt Aid to Britain
Really Helping America
By OUen l.. Scott.

Americas S relationship to the war: Is
this another war to save the British
Empire for the British or is it war in
which vital American interests have a
part?
Much of the division of sentiment
within the United States obviously
grows from the stress that is placed
upon aid to Britain. The idea is culti-
waited that Americans are doing what
they are doing to help the British rather
than to help the United States Isola-
tionists base their whole case on the
resulting confusion They appeal to
groups who do not see how aid to Britain
can be of great importance to this
country.
The argument of isolation rests upon
the experience of the last war, when the
United States came to the aid of the
British and ended up with a headache,
while Britain gathered territory and
then baked at paying her debts.
Furthermore, this line of argument is
being supplemented with a whole series
of other arguments that appear to grow
in rather close relationship to the
growth of collaboration between this
country and Britain and to the cor
responding increase in the size of the
British colony of officials in Washington.
The amount of anti-British sentiment
among his own high officials probably
would surprise President Roosevelt Some
Of the evidence of this sentiment prob
ably will appear in the debate that is to
grow from request for added billions
of dollars of lend-lease money.
Yet the fact of the matter appears to
be this: The United States to date is
getting far more out of its bargain than
the British are getting out of theirs.
There is growing evidence that President
Roosevelt has been and is shrewd and
hard bargainer, who has placed
American interests first in his dealings
with the British. For every complaint
that the United States is being used
once again by the British there is an
answer that seems definitely to indicate
otherwise
A complaint now stressed is that the
United States is being invaded by an
army of thousands of British officials.
all in search Of something that this
country can give to Britain. Two points
are overlooked. One is that a large
number of these officials are here to
impart information of incalculable ad-
vantage to the United States concerning
the lessons being learned in actual COM
bat in this war The other is that Great
q fornho hlv ic u-itt
American officials than there are British
officials here.
American officers are and have been
on British battleships as observers learn
ing all there is to learn Of modern
combat. American airmen are flying
as observers in British combat planes,
again learning what there is to learn
Of present-day fighting. The British are
giving this country their Rolls-Royce.
aircraft engine. They are letting US in on
all of their military secrets.
Next. there is the argument that
Britain is getting the airplanes and the
other equipment that American troops
should be getting. But it is forgotten
that British investment in American
aircraft plants makes possible the pro-
duction that now is being realized. The
American Army and Navy are further
along in airplane design and production
than they would have been had they
depended upon their own appropriations
and their own effort. This isn't true of
some other lines of development in arms
production, yet the advantage gained
in aircraft appears at least to counter
balance the shipment to Britain of other
types of arms. And, as matter of fact
those shipments have been very small
in terms of the demands of modern war
One more argument is that lend-leaSe
Is nothing more than gift. Charles A
Llndbergh even goes so far as to suggest
that this gift one day may be turned
against the United States with the
British lined up with Hitler to fight
this country.
Yet, in answer, there are several things
that must be remembered. One is that
the British, in effect, turned over a
dominant position in the Atlantic to
the United States when they leased
Atlantic bases to this country. The
British Isles themselves are America S
most advanced base in dealing with
Europe. But if those isles should happen
to fall, the United States would be vastly
more secure for the bases it is holding
all the way from Iceland to Trinidad.
Also the British are doing the fighting
and have done the fighting that pro-
videS security for the United States. As
a result of that fighting this country is
in position incalculably stronger than
it was one year ago. The value to the
United States of what the British already
have done probably cannot be measured
In dollars
A further argument is that the British
are taking commercial advantage of lend
lease to make trade gains at the expense
Of the United States
Actually, that argument is untenable
For one thing, the British this time have
pledged their American security holdings
as collateral for loans. They are not
going to end this war; as they did the
last, with their security holdings intact
while their debts were unpaid For an
other thing British businessmen are sac
rificing export markets to this country
under an agreement that almost assures
that they are to take a secondary posi-
ton in world trade after this war is over
Then there is one further dominating
consideration. Even Hitler agrees that
the nation or group of nations that con-
trolls the seas can make the rules fol
running the worlds trade. The British