THE BROTHERHOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1915, Page 8

THE BROTHERHOOD.

AMiatICA—AXIJ Till'] wa;

The tiood Templar Hall was well filled i yesterday afternoon, when the members ! of the Xe-w I 'lymouth Brotherhood attended in large numbers to hour tlie address by 11 r. 0. IT. Poole, M.P., on '•The ileal America,'' with special reference to that country's attitude in connection with the present war. Mr. J. li. Ley presided. '.Mr. Poole, who lias visited Xorth Ainerha several times, dealt with Ms subject in a very interesting manner, and twite, when lie suggested bringing his address to a close, he was requested to continue, 'hi opening, Mr. I'oole referred to the great war, remarking that some of the nations had not, apparently, taken the attitude expected in the great world crisis, and foremost amongst these was the United Statea of America. Hut, Lf the facts were generally known, people would realise that this idea was wrong. Hard remarks had been made for want of a better understanding of the true position between the countries, which lack of knowledge and understanding was being steadily reduced hy gatherings such as that of the brotherhood. The American people, he declared, were a wonderful people, i but the international complications they were, faced with were taxing the greatest brains in the world to solve. o>etaiiinu' the recent political history of the States. Mr. Toole said that Dr. Woodrow Wilson was elected President bv accident. MY. Theodore was not satisfied with Mr. W. Taft as President, and. leaving the ranks of the. republican Party, caused a split in them. This gave the Democrats the victory, but Mr. \V. J. Bryan, a strong man in'the Democratic Party, wouhl not accept the party's candidate. Mr. Carter, and Dr.. Woodrow Wilson was accepted as a compromise. On the Democrats achieving success, Mr. "Bryan, who held decided opinions of his own, and was a difficult man to deal with, was appointed Foreign Secretary, the | duties of whirh post are rendered very light by the Monroe Doctrine, and where he could do hut little harm. Unfortunately, however, the world crisis arrived with Mr. Brynn holding what then proved a most important position, where his strong convictions against anv form of violence nude itself strongly felt. (President Wilson certainly did not represent a majority of the people, and his task was'a dilli'iilt one. In Xew York itself, British and fiorman influence often cime into conflict, and storekeepers tiiere had had to place notices in their windows, announcing that they were neutrals, and also in some cases such statements as: "X T o Fighting Wanted Here." fiermans had been working verv hard and exerting their influence towards the one great object of placing the whole of the. world under Prussian military control; hut that wouhl never ho. (Applause.) Tlie commercial ties between the States and Britain wctc so strong that they could never ho broken. -(Applause.) Millions nf dollars of American money were invested in the big British shipping combines alone, from which much better returns could be obtained than from Americanowned lines, with ships registered in the States and American crews. Altogether, the common interests of these countries were so strong that they must ever an hand in hand. Referring to the history of the Slates and their treatment by the Home Government in the early davs, Mr. Poole said the signi ing of the Declaration of Independence on" Julv 4. 177'f1. led to the defeat of Britain's despotic control by force of arms, as also wouhl the Germans' despoI tic swav in Europe he very shortly ended. (Applause.) The. United States was, said the speaker, hut a young ancr growing nation. Its present population was one hundred millions, of which twelve millions were negroes, while the remainder comprised every race of iduro'pc. In a similar manner was the Bri-

tish race built, and as they had progressed so would America, but to a much greater extent. He predicted n wonderful future for America. With this great population they possessed a navy which could not face the British—undoubtedly the best in the world —(applause)—for .half an hour. Their army in lt'ibl numbered only 29,414 men and I4!>o officers, or, as the Secretary for War staled, just twice the number of tiie Xew York Police Force. The naval men seldom stared in the service for

more than the tihree years for which they joined in the first place, while the army possessed only sufficient artillery ammunition to serve their guns for one day. A sixteen-inch defence gun was made but lay without a carriage for several years. There was no Prussian militarism to be found in America, and he considered that the Americans were reah'ing a higher plane of civilisation than other nations of the world, and were lending themselves to other pursuits than war. At any rate, they might well do this now, for there was not likely to be another war for many years to come —if, indeed, another was ever fought, fie did not wish to pose as a prophet, but could not abstain from stating that he was strongly inclined to the latter belief. He had. he said, referred to the segments of which the growing American nation was composed, and a powerful one of these was the Germans. There was a settlement of ."00.(W0 Germans in Chicago alone. The negro. Japanese and education problems were probably the greatest with which the flovernment had to contend,

lint all the various races liad to 'he considered, including the flermans. (Brutal as tlioy all knew the Germans to lie, yet there was one trait in their character that all must admire and take into account, and that was their great love for the Fathering. He thought that this love for their country and tlleir idea of nationhood was so great that the young (lerman was practically dedicated to it. This and British influence had always heen at war in America, and were factors with which America had reckon. 'Many declared that the United States should have become active participants in the war long since, hut lie could assure them that she. was lending the Allies much greater assistance at. present than she could ever hope to do with lier armv ami navy. How was America doing this? .Ships were continually crossing the Atlantic with stores for the armies of the Allies, including food supplies, munitions of war, clothes, motor vehicles of fill descriptions, etc. As an instance, the speaker read ont. a list of part of an order "■placed" in the States of tile value of one hundred millions sterling. These tilings were manufactured in American factories hy men of all nationalities, and this was America, helping its. Tt was often fiaid that America was out after

the dollars. lint wort; they not nil tlie .-amc in that rcApi-cl. in AliU'rii-a, in No'.v Zealand, or in England herself? If not, wily was Mr. Lloyd George going to tax tlie high profits of tlu: l>ig munition (inns in Great lirit.-iiiilie riinM assure tlicm that many and big mistakes were made in gauging the American people and their attitude in the present crisis.