NOT PRO-BRITISH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20088, 7 November 1939, Page 4

NOT PRO-BRITISH

U.S. NEUTRALITY AIM

KEEPING OUT OF THE WAR

ANTI-HITLER SENTIMENT

LOOKING AFTER PACIFIC

‘'From all that I heard during my short .slay in California and of course with the war starling, people talked of little else—-the American people are not pro-British in sentiment. I think it could be said with truth that they are anti-Hitler. They are keen to see the Nazis beaten, but their attitude is governed almost entirely by a desire to stay out of the war,” said Mr. I. Stephenson, in an interview to-day.

During the past three months, Mr. Stephenson, accompanied by Mrs. Stephenson, has been visiting Cali- ; fornia on holiday, in company with i a number of other New Zealanders | interested in the world open bowling tournament in San Francisco. They | did not spend all their time in the j city of great bridges, but broke their | journeys into short stages once j ashore, and took every opportunity to ! register impressions concerning ! American reaction to the war crisis. In the first days of the conflict, j there seemed to be a genuine impres- ; sion among the Californians encountered by tiie Gisborne travellers tha: the United States would be drawn in. The people were afraid of what that : would mean, and there was a distinct easing of pressure when it became evident (hat a chance existed of ; localising the war in Europe. Neutrality Act Then came the talk of amending the Neutrality Act, which would mean that war munitions could be exported. There was no particular pro-British sentiment behind that talk, so far as Mr. Stephenson could see, but it was regarded by the man in the street as one wav. short of war, in which the United States could help in the de- ! feat of Hitlerism. ; The attitude of these men was understandable, and the New Zealandj ors realised that profit-making was I one of the factors which counted in | the decision to amend the law; or j rather in the attitude of the average i man towards the idea of amendment, j To them it seemed n pity that such a | market should be barred to American ! manufacturers by the actions of Congress. Mr. Stephenson was assured that ; there would be no difficulty about making the revision, and everyone j assumed that the power of the manu- | facturing industry would weigh I strongly with many Congressmen and j Senators who. on a previous occasion, i had denied the President the power jhe asked for in the matter of cxI porting munitions to belligerents. With regard to Britain, he found ! that the ordinary American had the | impression that Englishmen were hard to get to know. He was complimented often upon the greater ease of approach they found in the Dominions visitors. On the other hand, while reguarding the Briton as stand-offish and slow-moving in matters of commerce, they expressed great admiration for his soldierly qualities, and particularly for his doggedness. Courage of British Troops j A great many of the men met per- | sonally by Mr. Stephenson during his | lour had served with the American I Expeditionary Force in the Great War, and their contacts with British troops had left lasting impressions of dour courage and tenacity. Thev even admitted that in tenacity the British surpassed the Americans. More than one told the New Zealander that they expected Britain to win by pure doggedness in the long run, though she had delayed action too long in their opinion. Whatever the sentiment behind the public approval of neutrality revision, there could be no doubt that the Allies would reap a wonderful benefit to their war effort from the change in American policy. While in California, he had seen some of the huge bombers built in American factories actually being tested, and it was hearteViing to think that the Allies would have the use of hundreds of these machines. Aeroplanes were, of course, only one department in which the United States couid help Britain and France. The regard of the Americans he met for New Zealand and Australia was quite parental in tone, continued Mr. Stephenson. They looked on the two Dominions ns falling within their sphere of protection. He was told that New Zealand need never fear enemy action in the Pacific, for thP United States would guard that ocean and keep the oeace there no matter what happened. “They feel that we are much more kin to them than the people of Britain are, and that they have some son nf responsibility for keeping us safe.” Mr. Stephenson commented. "It was quite comforting to realise that while the average American was anxious to keep his nation out of the war in Europe, lie had a different outlook in regard to Pacific relations. To keep that ocean peaceful, America certainly would go to war, I think."