SYMPATHY TO ALLIES

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20923, 30 September 1939, Page 6

SYMPATHY TO ALLIES

AMERICAN OPINION HAMILTONIAN’S IMPRESSION ITALIANS’ FRIENDLY FEELINGS The opinion that the sympathies of the public in America were with the Allies, particularly Great Britain, but that the people were not at all anxious to go to war, was expressed today by Mr C. C. Ross of Hamilton, who has returned from a tour of England, Europe and America. Mr Ross said that nearly every American with whom he talked realised that the present war was of Hitler’s making, and that England and France had no alternative but to check his advance and ambitions. The Americans were very concerned about the way the war was proceeding. Many of them to whom Mr Ross had spoken expressed the opinion that although no one in the United States wished to go to war it was felt that sooner or later the country would be forced into it on the side of the Allies. All realised that the democracies had to be saved from Nazism, and the majority of the Americans were prepared to help if that help were absolutely necessary. Regard for Royalty One of the features of the conversations with the Americans was the regard the Americans had for King George and Queen Elizabeth, who had shortly before completed their tour of the United States. People in all walks of life commented upon the popularity of the Royal visitors, and this had strengthened the bonds of friendship between England and America. The people in England, said Mr Ross, had been prepared for war for some time and the general feeling was one of relief when war was actually declared. It was realised by all that the continued scares and tension had to be stopped and that Hitler’s militaristic progress had to be checked. England was much better prepared than when war came suddenly in 1914. This was particularly so as far as public opinion was concerned. The inevitableness of it was realised and the people in England had become so sick of Hitler’s broken pledges that they were prepared to wage a long war as long as Nazism was defeated. Their morale would not be easily broken by the prospect of a long war. Throughout his tour of Germany Mr Ross found that the Germans, particularly the youths, seemed to delight in the military discipline and the exhibition of brute force. Their natures were entirely different from the natures of the Englishmen. Attitude to New Zealand In France, English travellers were very welcome, and in Italy an Englishman was treated with the greatest of respect. An instance was the crossing of the border from Germany to Italy where Italians, on learning that the party were English, waved umbrellas and shouted “Viva Chamberlain.” As far as could be gathered by travellers spending a short time in Italy the Italians, generally, did not want war with England and were more favourably disposed towards England than towards Germany. Most people in England, said Mr Ross, were very much interested in New Zealand. Even manufacturers, who had been affected by the New Zealand Government’s legislation, were still very kindly disposed toward the Dominion, and their attitude was typical of people in all walks of life. It was that New Zealand had tried a very interesting experiment but that now it had failed dismally, they should set about putting their house in order again.