"Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1937. CANADA AND UNITED STATES.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 407, 14 April 1937, Page 4

"Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1937. CANADA AND UNITED STATES.

At a time when the statements of Mr. Mackenzie King and some of his colleagues are being interpreted in London as an indication that, in the event of war in Europe, Canada will adopt the American policy of neutrality, it is'interesting to examine the real Canadian attitude toward Americans and their Government. Behind the visual signs of amity and goodwill, reciprocated by tourists who spend two hundred million dollars annually in Canada, and exchanged at “international” conventions, the average Canadian really dislikes Americns. That dislike dates back to the compaign for annexation of Canada to the Union. It continued down through the years, when Canadians and their industries suffered at the hands of American tariff-makers. It crystallised into openly-expressed disgust at the recent statement of President Roosevelt that his defence policies comprehended assuring against an enemy force gaining a foothold in Canada. The United States, due to its size and propinquity, has always been a subject of intensive study by Canadians, from childhood onward. A Presidential election was a reason for the issue of special editions of Canadian newspapers. By contrast, a general election in Canada passed unnoticed in the majority of American papers. It is doubtful if one person in ten thousand, south of the border, knows who is Prime Minister. This hurts the pride of Canadians, who visit the United States in tens of thousands each year. Apart from this ignorance are two main causes for Canadians’ dislike of Americans: the belief that Americans have consistently got the benefits of their neighbours in trade deals, and the flooding of Canada with American goods, newspapers, magazines, radio propaganda, and advertising. Before Confederation, the British colonies in Eastern Canada entered into a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, whereby “the products of the farm, the forest, the sea and the mine” were to be on a free-trade basis, for ten years, subject to renewal. A smouldering dislike for Great Britain, during the Civil War, led to the American Government abrogating the treaty. The Canadian farmer lost a rich mark et . The next outstanding incident that aroused Canadians against the United States was the declaration of President Taft that “Canada was at the parting of the ways,” as regards loyalty to Great Britain on the occasion of the pro posed reciprocity treaty of 1911. Laurier, a famous Canadian state sman, Prime Minister for fifteen years, who favoured the treaty, was defeated, and his successors went into office with the battle-cry: “No truck or trade with the Yankee.” Subsequent American tariffs have merely hardened the dislike. The Empire trade agreemen ts gave Canada an opportunity to expand her trade with British countries. The rest of the Empire may contend that Canada drove a hard bargain, but the result placed this Dominion in the position of reversing the position of the two countries when hhe recent Canadian-American trade treaty was under negotiation. For the first time, the feelings of Canada dominated the is-