AMERICAN SYMPATHY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 747, 20 February 1915, Page 7

AMERICAN SYMPATHY.

The average Australasian is inclined to think that tha United States should, as a matter of course, throw in her lot with the Allies on account of the racial bond with Great Britain. We note Roosevelt thinks the same; but for otter reasons.

If we take aa foreign the actual immigrants and their children and aa American their grandchildren, we get the following figures as the foreign population of the United States: - Germans 82 millions, Austrians 22 millions, total 11 millions of the enemy. Ireland 4J millions, Canada 2| millions, England 2£ millions, Scotland | million, Wales 1 mi lion, Russia 2| millions, total 13£ millions of our side. The Allies have therefore a clear majority in new chums and their offspring of the first generation without counting the fow French and considerable number b£ Japanesa. The foreign element is practically a quarter of the whole population. An influential American paper, the Literary Digest, published by Funk and Wagnalls, a firm of German descent, sent out circulars all over the country to ascertain the bias, firßtly of the press, secondly of the people. Ihey were not pro-Britishers by any means. As to the newspapers, 1()5 editors replied that they favoured the Allies, 20 the Germans, and 242 Were neutral. As to the people the replies were mostly frum the centres of population. They reported that 189 cities and towns favoured the Allies, 38 the Germans, while 140 were neutral or divided in opinion.

Ab might have been expected the original New England States were strongly with us. New York State and Pensylvania were more evenly divided. In the Middle West (as Ohio) the German sentiment was strong. As we approach Canada the feeling in favour of the Allies increased, except in some sections with a large German population. As a whole the Southern States were proAllies and so were the west, the mountain division and the Pacific Slope. This bias in our favour does not warrant engaging in a European war with an army which is nominal and a navy only second-rate in size though good in quality.—The White Mercantile Gazette, Brisbane.