BRITAIN AND AMERICA

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 26, 25 October 1921, Page 7

BRITAIN AND AMERICA

THE PROMOTION OF GOOD RELATIONS TASK FOR MEN OF GOOD WILL IDEALS OF THE ENGLISHSPEAKING UNION Three years ago the Englishjpeaking Union was formed for tha purpose of drawing the branches of tho Anglo-Saxon races together. The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour was the first British president, and ex-President Taft was the first American head of the organisation. While in Britain recently, Mr. W. Stuart Wilson, was authorised by Major ... Evelyn Wrench to spread the propaganda of the union wherever possible. At his request Mr. F. Milnor, rector of the Waitaki High School, delivered a lecture during the last voyage of the s.s. Marama from San Francisco to Wellington. A condensed report of this lecture, given below, is a valuable contribution to the ideas that tho union is seeking to develop. It is generally taken for granted that relations between Britain and the United States, no matter how strained at times by temporary disagreements and clashes of national interest, will never reach the breaking-point. A rupture of diplomatic relations leading to war and plunging/ these two great kindred peoples into the horrors of internecine strife is inconceivable by . the majority of Englishspeaking people. And yet, abnormal though it may appear, such a catastrophe must enter the consideration of any thinking student of the .world’s politics today. The history of Anglo-American re- ’ lations is a chequered one, and, though it fortifies one’s optimism for the future, a review must give due weight to certain sinister, influences which possess in themselves tin.ominous significance. PERVERTED TEACHING OF HISTORY. First let us survey the factors in the situation which make for misunderstanding and its concomitant psychic "symptoms” of suspicion and estrangement. Throughout tho American educational system great importance is attached to social science. Consequently, tho teaching of history, which comprises European as well as American history, is strongly emphasised in the pupil s ' mental equipment. Unfortunately the text books commonly in use have signally failed to give anything like an adequate or impartial survey of AngloAmerican relations.. Incalculable mischief has been done in the school room through this perverted interpretation of Britain and her Empire. The impress mado upon the. plastic and responsive 7 mind of the pupil, both in Jhe Ptopubescent and the adolescent stages, is extremely hard to erase, and so a hostile bias against Britain has been sedulously fostered by this agency Of re--1 cent years there has been authoritative . condemnation of this falsified teaching, as con be seen in Owen Wister s book but nation-wide action needs to be taken by State educational authorities, if this prolific source of trouble is to be eliminated. , Although there is no space here for elaboration of specific historical instances in illustration of this point, a few salient matters may bo briefly cited. First of nil, in the accounts of the War of Inde , pendence nothing like justice is done to the eloquent and far-si g hte<l great Liberal statesmen like Chatham and Burke, tho spokesmen of Liberal England. The implication is that England as a whole endorsed the bigoted autocratic policy of the King and the North administration. For many generations the idea has been impressed upon the popular imagination that Britain and her Empire stand in the world for caste domination, and for tne re- ■ pressing of triie democratic rights.

ANGLO-AMERICAN CO-OPERATION. Another flagrant instance of suppressio veil is the failure of school histories to emphasise the high moral significance of the Rush-Bagot agreement which must be regarded as the greatest political achievement of the English-speak-ing races. This statesmanlike apphjation of common sense to international relations gave, to the world from IbD onwards the inspiring spectacle of two great nations, separated by a tes i nt ° r . l “] border line of almost -WOO miles dn ellin„ together in perfect nmity-absolutfly free from military and naval defence*. Similarly, too, there is studied silcnc ado the effective and disinterested part ■nlaved by British statesmanship in connection with the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, which again affords signal illustration of Anglo-American co-operation. When the ■ powerful confederation of Juropoan stvled the Holy Alliance, at tho in stagnation of Metternich was' a boutto crush tho incipient democracies of South America and to reduce them .again under tho effete yokedom of Spain it was Canning’s resolute stand in defence of the. basic ideals of constitutional freedom, and England’s support-through the potentiality of her naval nction'which gave living force to this caidinal declaration of American foreign policy. Every school boy in English-speaking countries should be familiarised with the historic letter-penned by the a«ed Thomas Jefferson, the author of that masterly document, the Declaration of Independence—in, reply to Pre *'Jp nt Monroe’s request for his advice Jeffer■’•son’w enthusiastic endorsement of an Anglo-American entente is doubly significant, coming’ as it does from one of the great protagonists of the secession, end from the foremost constitutional expert of,tho time. Nor should America forget that Britain kept the ring clear of Continental interference in the Spanish-Ame-rican War of 1898. If space allowed instance/could be multiplied of the failure of tho. educational machinery to do justice to the history of Anglo-American relations, and thus through ignorance animosity is perpetuated just when the adolescent mind is open and hospitably receptive to more generous ideals. THE IRISH INFLUENCE. ‘ It is generally considered that the Irish question, owing to the bitterness of racial propaganda in tho United States; is a prime factor making for estrangement. The hostile motions introduced into State Legislatures and in Congress itself reveal the stiengdi of the political agitation behind them. Ihere is only too telling evidence of the altogether disproportionate influence exerted by tho Irish and by pro-Insh agitators in the United States. The Sinn i’.em organisation. which attains its culmination in San. Francisco (Sinn I'einnisco) and Boston, has for a long time past diawn its main financial support from America, and it may at once be said that the same party, spurred by fanatical clerics, is by no means anxious to entertain any policy of conciliation which shall dry up the perennial streams feeding their fisc. The pose of martyrdom must be theatrically maintained even in face of the magnanimous offer of unfettered P<im ' status The bitterness of Irish propaganda in American politics and journal- , ism is infused with a venom that reco„nises no bounds. The J rls \ Party’s definite repudiation of the libei ty wjoyed by Now Zealand, Australia, and

Canada is proof conclusive that their agitation is merely camouflaged under tho guise of a campaign for freedom. Those who value the unity of the great British Empire and the basic ideals of modern civilisation of which, it is the ruro shield will not be slow to read tho lesson and. to recognise tho ulterior and sinister motives behind this conspiracy. Unfortunately in tho United States the virulent vociferations and poisonous invective of tho Irish section. beget an almost hysterical response in emotional people who have rot tho opportunity of investigating the truth of the position. Lincoln’s .statesmanlike attitude io n similar attempt to dismember the great Union is disregarded, and the question as to how a reciprocal inquisitorial intelference with American domestic politics would be received by them never enters their heads. No frank review of AngioAmerican relations can possibly omit this fertile source of antagonism. GERMANIC AND FOREIGN RACIAL ELEMENTS. America has been characterised by one of our sociologists as a great worldunifying laboratory. ' Undoubtedly she is making a notable contribution to world citizenship by her living demonstration of the practicability of assimilating under one political order the most heterogeneous racial elements. The imposition bf the immigration quota system ( has been dictated by her realisation that her powers 'of absorption have reacted their limit. The cosmopolitan character of the population directly affects AngloAmerican relations, though in a minor degree. The Germans and those of German descent aggregate fully n'ine mil- , lions in number, and their influence and propaganda go directly ito embitter An-glo-American relations. Moreover, arguments fbr a rapprochement or an entente based on the inheritance of Common ancestry, language, literature, history and system of life fall on deaf ears in the case_.of the. large foreign population of America. FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. Although there is general recognition by the better-class American that Brittain has consistently used her dominant naval 'might in the best interests of humanity and civilisation, her so-called command of the seas has been vigorously canvassed of late in the Press and 'has been a popular theme with many demagogues in search of political . support from anti-British sections. Quite apart from provocative jingoism the very magnitude of the British Empire, its farflung dominance of the seas _ which is shcj.wn as much by the übiquity of the red and the white ensigns ns by the great chain <5? naval fortresses and coaling depots girdling the globe, is in itself productive, if, not of jealousy, at least of criticism. Even the many Americans who consider the wisdom and humanity/of Britain’s utilisation of her mighty naval power and the honourable traditions associated with her premier service are to-day extremely critical of any claim to rule the seas. It is their contention' that the freedom of the seas must be secured by international policing anef a joint guarantee. The recently announced drastic change in British naval policy, which has been endorsed even by the Navy League, should entirely eliminate thVt cause of friction. In passing upon herself this self-denying ordinance Britain has definitely abandoned her time-honoured standard of naval strength, and cut the ground from beneath the feet of those critics who descry arrogant implications in her prescriptive title of mistress of the seas. In reducing her fleet to a onepower standard Britain has magnanimously waived the well-justified claim to solid marginal superiority to which the unique geographical configuration of her world-wide Empire entitles her. The drastic cancellation of her shipbuilding programme, the huge cut m personnel, the scrapping bf 150 vessels, and the general reduction of squadrons has given the world a bold lead towards disarmament and an earnest of the good fai:a of Britain. One must go back to he 17th century to find a parallel to tho stagnation existing in British naval dockyards to-day. Moreover, this chan o e in naval, policy has been made in. face of the inflated programme of 1916. which tho United States is now steadily realising, and the fulfilment of which will, in 1924, give that Power a distinct naval superiority over Britain.

WORLD HEGEMONY. Many European students of international politics claim to see in the growing trade rivalry between Britain and America evidences of friction that must culminate in war, and profess to confirm their gloomy prognostications by the statement that history teaches the impossibility of two supreme Powers with rival 'interests functioning in amity. Those who so confidently predict a titanic fio-ht to the finish have not the vision to" conceive of these two great peoples through sportsmanship and chivalrous dealing keeping the faith with each other and jointly accepting the moral primacy of the world and safeguarding the basic interests of civilisation in harmony. It is true that America, after being stirred .by the fine spiritual enthusiasm with which Britain entered the war now views with resentful criticism the’fresh territorial accretions gained by this champion of humanity, and finds it difficult fo square the acquisition of Mesopotamian oil wells and Nauru phoaphafe'TTeposits with heroic pretensions to the disinterested service of afflicted Humanity. An equally provocative cause of criticism is the secret diplomacy, the entanglements and chicanery of European alliances and ententes in which Britain is enmeshed. British retention of Egypt and India under Crown admisistration, in spite of claims for national autonomy, tho Gandhi agitation, and the sympathy of a democratic people with Indian aspirations, these are features which, through lack of adequate corrective information, feed the fires of antagonism.

TRADE RIVALRY AND TARIFFS. Economic dislocation caused by the war and the decreased purchasing power of the nations havei intensified commercial competition for foreign markets. In China and Siberia especially there are potentialities of commercial, exploitation beyond tho drcams of avarice. It remains to be seen how the American doctrine of equality of trade opportunity in the Far East wilj square with entrenched Britsih trade interests and with her sphere of influence in the Yang-tse basin. As has already been said, British moral prestige suffered depreciation in America because of her emergence from tho bloody welter with war spoils. Critics have repeatedly said that her ineradicable lust for pelf and power was only camouflaged under protestations of altruistic service in the cause of freedom and democracy. The motivation of these territorial aggrandisements was not dispassionately examined nor judicially reviewed, probably because of the influence exerted upon , public opinion by interested trading corporations. The recently-published report of the American Committee on Tariffs is a very valuable statistical investigation into colonial trade. It is increasingly recognised that the colonial possessions of the various Powers offer the most lucrative openings for trade expansion. Hence it is that discriminating tariff walls are far from being a negligible source of international friction. It. stands to the everlasting credit of Great Britain that throughout the long period of her colonial history she has until the last year or so steadfastly set her face against tariff discrimination in her favour, and throughout her vast possessions, comprising severity per cent, of the colonial empires of the world, she has refused to differentiate against other Powers. Britain has long led the world in tariff liberalism. Her conversion to preferential tariff in the interests of Imperial solidarity may usher in a regime of restriction which will be severely felt by tho United States. Although America, like Ja-

pan, practically assimilates her colonies as territories of the Union, so far as tariffs are concerned, she would readily forgo exclusive rights with. her comparatively insignificant colonial population of twelve millions to gain access on equal trading rights with the 525 millions in foreign colonies. Already American foreign trajje. owes one-quarter of its volumn to th® source, and she looks to it for further expansion. Differential tariff treatment in tho British colonics will be keenly resented, and will be construed as provocative by the huge trade interests of America. CONCLUSION. It is now a platitude that the next war will not be one of professional soldiery. The full gamut of national, human. and material resources will be thrown into the scales. To-day, in point of their man-power, their vast range of economic resources, their powers of organisation, and their transportation facilities, Great Britain and America stand pre-eminent in the world as arbiters of the future of mankind. The peace of the generations depends upon their united action. This lesson has been burnt in upon our consciousness by the war. No effort can'be too costly, no sacrifice too great to ensure tho harmonious co-operation of these two giant Powers in tho maintenance of the world’s _ peace. Another great war must inevitably shatter the tremulously fine economic fabric of the world and precipitate into the abyss of destruction that system of life, that consummation of man’s evolutionary progress through.tho ages, which wo term civilisation. Common heritage of of history, and of literature, basic' identity«"of fundamental political institutions, common standards of ethical values all this rich inheritance predisposes these two great peoples to mutual understanding and good-will. In a recent communication to tho Sulgrave Institute, President Harding emphasised the joint responsibility of the two great branches of the English-speaking race to mankind as a whole, and expressed the earnest confidence that they would accept these high obligations in a fraternal spirit. Similar authoritative pronouncements emanating from official circles in Great Britain have met with enthusiastic endorsement from all parts of the British Empire. Lloyd George told the House of Commons 'that a sympathetic understanding with the United States would henceforth bo tho cardinal principle of British foreign policy. His statement has been amplified in even more cordial terms by tho Foreign Secretary and by tho First Lord of tho Admiralty. The whole sorely-rack-id world nerds their concerted moral force in redeeming civilisation from tho possibility of another war. Tho dominating clamant need in the international sphere to-day is an Anglo-American entente, and given faith and confidence in enc.h other, those two proud nations could jointly bo the arbiter of the world. So mighty is their potentiality of offensive action that their joint demonstration of force could ensure the peace of the world. These two should bo apostles of the high cult of humanism, and laying aside parochial prejudices and estranging suspicions should dedicate themselves in tho right fraternal spirit to tho faithful accomplishment of this high mission.