AMERICAN VIEWS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 July 1941, Page 4

AMERICAN VIEWS

REGARDING INTERNATIONAL SITUATION ATTITUDE OF ISOLATIONISTS NOT ENEMIES OF BRITAIN. A Mastertonian’s views on the American outlook on the international situation are contained in a letter received by the Masterton Trust Lands Trust from Mi’ E. G. Buckton, of Springfield College, Massachusetts, U.S.A., under the date of May 21. “We are seeing tremendous changes over here regarding the outlook upon the international situation. No longer does one find the daily newspapers proffering a neutral front as they did at the time I first arrived in this country, but rather their policy is allout aid for Britain. This does not mean, however, that the country is not divided,” Mr Buckton states. "Even in the New England States, which not only have one of the densest populations in the U.S.A., but are the centre of much scholarship, there are any number of so-called isolationists, following along with Colonel Lindbergh, Senators Wheeler, Nye and such like. To many of us these people adopt an ostrich-like attitude.

■'Their arguments are similar to those presented in 1917 and are inclined to view the British nation of today as if it were the Imperialistic opportunist it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Their arguments are lulling to many people, particularly the college youth who, it is now admitted have been given biased historical viewpoints during the last two or three generations. Thus we find that many of the college student bodies, >■ particularly the smaller colleges, not' so much institutions such as Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth, are merely lukewarm to the international situation, particularly in respect to the entry of the U.S.A, into the war.

‘•Excuse the frankness,” Mr Buckton writes, "but one isolationist put it to me recently in the following fashion: ‘To hell with Britain, save America!’ Admittedly the fellow \<as emotionally heated'at the moment for we had been arguing for over two hours, but here basically is much of the feeling which exists among, at least the college youth of this country. Now, please don't misunderstand me. These people are not enemies of Britain but frankly admit that basically they stand for many of the same things that England and her colonies are fighting for. However, by reason of the preachings they have received since they started grade schools they now view England as a nation which first and last is responsible for this fantastic situation a present raging throughout the world However, he concludes, the trend of public opinion was swinging more and more toward complete aid for Britain. In his opinion America would ente the war in the near future.