ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 38, 9 January 1945, Page 4

ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS

MYSTIFICATION as to the upshot of the sudden estrangement growing at this crucial juncture between the two great champions of democracy, the United- Kingdom and America, has caused the peoples of the southern Pacific to ask themselves, how long has this been going on; why has the rift been permitted to become so grave that it figures almost daily in the press of both countries. With the Battle of Germany now upon our combined armies, with all the bitterness of a ruthless and desperate people playing their ' last cards for the miracle of a belated victory, it is an ill omen to learn that the subject has become listed as one for open debate at the next meeting of the U.S.A. Senate. The American allegation that appeasement has been resorted to by their heroic leader, President Roosevelt, is probably as petty as the forthright allegations contained in the British paper 'The Economist.' The whole circumstance of the differences between the two champions of freedom is mv fortunate, and unless broader opinions prevail can have serious repercussions. There is always the excuse during periods of strain and worry for frayed nerves and quick tempers, but such should never be permitted to enter ,into international relationships between allied countries who are engaged in a life and death struggle against the forces of Dictatorship. Unfortunately our conception of a T free press' even in war, has probably been responsible for the development of the controversial war, which so far has largely been carried out on paper. It is part of the price we must always be prepared to pay for an openr expression of opinion. The. testing ground is however our ability to 'take it.' Thus we have grounds for feeling that had such criticism arisen in normal times it would have drawn a casual reference for either side of the Atlantic, but because it has, arisen at a time when tens of thousands of young Americans are fighting in a European theatre of war, shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of young Britishers, ths matter becomes highly personal, and cuts deeply into the consciousness of both peoples. The question of who is the aggrieved party is to our minds a thing which is too paltry to be of any consequence at the present time. Let the nations align themselves with the soldiers of the front line, where there is a common purpose, a common foeman, and a common goal to be achieved —complete victory over the Nazi spectre, which two short years ago, all but engulfed the civilised world.