Evening star., 1943-10-25
Senate Debate
As British See 1t

Editors Note: The tollouino edt-
torial IS reprinted from the Man.
chester Guardian of October 81
The United States Senate meets today
to hear reports from five Senators who
have been touring the Allied battle
fronts. Also today the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee meets to discuss
whether it shall put forward a resolu-
tion on postwar policy. A week ago the
committees feeling was to ignore the
challenge Of the House of Representa-
tives when it passed the Fulbright reso-
luton. 1t was ready for delay, partly
because Of its traditional pride in being
the arbiter Of foreign policy and its re-
sentiment at prodding from below, partly
because, so they said, its leaders were
afraid that an open debate might not
help matters on the eve of the three
power meetings in Moscow. But pres
sure OF public opinion led the Senate
leaders to change their minds. What
sort Of resolution will come out OF the
Senate committee it is not safe to
prophesy, but even one so vaguely we'll
1ntentioned as the Fulbright resolution
would be something. 1t would give that
touch Of earnestness about the future
policy Of the United States which has
been so lacking in all inter Allied dis
cussions. One American writer cyni-
cally said the other day that the British
might legitimately complain that the
uncertainty about the Senate was as
bad as the uncertainty about the Krem-
lin. We may be left guessing in both
cases, but an American declaration in
favor OF postwar participation" will
not hinder and may help towards the
understanding with Russia that most
Americans, no less than we, see to be
the only basis Of postwar peace. OF
one thing we can be certain: The vast
majority OF American opinion is par
ticipationist" in the sense that 1t would
accept some American liability in the
peace making The extent of that LA
bility and the form of the "appro-
pirate international machinery" remain
entirely open. On them the debate is
only just beginning.
The five Senator's have come back
with some decided impressions the dis
cuSsion Of which should be a useful
background to the foreign policy debate.
The Senators have seen that postwar
policy is not something to be argued
academically but something that needs
shaping now. That they have come
back with highly exaggerated notions of
the way in which British interests are
pushing in front of American is not the
real point What matters Is that they
see that the United States is tied up
with many things outside her borders
and that she must begin to realize that
her interests and her policy are related.
When they begin to wonder what will be
the future Of the air bases the United
States Is establishing through the world
in the territory of others, when they
begin to 60 into the details of lend-lease
and It's two-way traffic and study the
mechanism OF Anglo-American cooper
alton, their outlook at least is likely to
be broadened. Similarly, when Admiral
Vickery the vice chairman of the Mari
time Commission, tells how he
shocked a British audience with his
blunt words about the United States
as maritime nation we need not take
his further misleading comments on our
shipbuilding seriously. We would only
ask that he goes on to accept the corol-
larry of vast American merchant fleet
a sane economic policy which will fill
those ships with imports as we'll as with
exports. All these things are necessary
parts OF the rapid education of the
United States in her world RESPONSE
bilities
We in this country must be ready.
however to accept the part of Aunt
Sally while the debate goes on. There
is hardly a single point in it that does
not involve us, and we must not expect
that the common form of political dis
cussion will be dropped because we are
fighting partners. Stock perorations are
not so easily come by as that. And since
1914 elections it is inevitable that the
mud slung at the administration must
also bespatter us. The incredible fuss
over the rumors about Generals Mar
shall and Macarthur was a foretaste of
the kind of episode We have to expect.
The "Patterson-McCormic Axis as the
rabid 1solationist papers are called,
built up the scare that Gen. Marshall
was to be denoted" or, alternatively,
kicked upstairs" and that Gen. Mac
Arthur was to be pushed aside. Two
reasons were giyen-one that they dis
agreed with the British, the other that
the President wished to remove pos
sible opponent in 1914 and to select a
new military running mate for himself.
1t was a scandalous campaign. Yet
when the President protested that it
was bordering on the subversive" he
was accused Of trying to gag the press
and showing himself "despot." The
blame was on him for not telling the
press everything even before there was
anything to tell But though the
"raucous voices" in the American press,
as Mr. H. G. Wells called them, are in
corrigible, 1t IS to be noted that. they
are now being treated with far less tol-
erance by their contemporaries The
freedom Of the press carries obligations
OF decency and moral honesty. The
political rancours may mislead in an
other way. The testimony of observers,
like that in Mr.. Crowther's article we