1941-02-25 — Page 5

CHINA MAIL The British-American

WINDSOR HOUSE

PETAIN'S DILEMMA

The continued attacks upon Marshal Petain's government by the Ger-

Connection

In our which led to the Monroe Doctrine, any other power which threaten- should be New York and not New man-controlled press of generation the American people the French invasion of Mexico. ed to invade the North Atlantic and ending in 1815

For the second time

are greatly concerned

about

a the Civil War,

Venezuelno i world.

the Paris, admittedly with war which Britain is fighting, and affair, the Spanish War, the first Americans very much need to World War, the conflict in the Far

In the sixteenth century, as we have seen, the British struggle with Spain decided the very pos- sibility of the settlement of the United States by English-speak- ing men. In the next century, in the British struggle with Holland it was determined that New York

Amsterdam. Beginning in 1689 there were fought a great series of wars be- tween Britain and France which The British-American connec- determined that Canada and the support from Berlin, understand why their countryEast and the Pacific, and now the plainly indicates the should be so deeply involved in second World War-in which our tion was founded about a hundred Mississippi Valley and New Eng- Columbus discovered land and the West Indies should years after American fact, during the belong to the English-speaking necessity, from the vic-ed doctrines of international law

reign of Queen Elizabeth-after peoples. In all those wars Ameri- the triumph of British over Span-cans participated-in what we call Ish sea power in 1588. Before that in our history books, King Wi- victory there was already a great liam's War, Queen Anne's War, Spanish empire in the Americas King George's War, the French Peru. and Indian Wars, and the quasi-

the fate of Britain. The accept-

and the usual formulae of Ameri-

that all foreign powers look alike

This view.

to the actual practice

of

are

we

com-

By WALTER LIPPMANN

must

every

the con-

the

Thus, though Americans fought their inde- the British to win

though they pendence in 1778, fought them in 1812, though the two nations have quarreled dan- gerously over many matters, yet as against all other European powers that have had designs on this hemisphere or upon the con- trol of the North Atlantic Ocean, they have since the beginning of our history slood together. They

tors' viewpoint, of bring can foreign policy do not help. ing further pressure to For while in theory it is laid down bear upon that obstinate to Americans and that with some soldier-statesman. Evid- do they have a special relation- relations with Britain, co-opera-extending from Florida to ently he is not taking the thin practice they do not take live or antagonistic, were not the But there were no English-speak-war with France.

paramount and decisive considera-ing settlements. They were not tion in American foreign policy, begun until 1807 in the generation German medicine as will- Twice they have

after the naval victory in proclaimed

Surely, then, there

be English Channel. ingly as its compounders neutrality and twice, when Brit-

Because that think he should; and he ain was in great peril, they have something wrong with the theory naval battle was not lost but was Hone to her support. The ques-of our neutral indifference to Brit-won, the occan highway was open- still holds the reins in un-tion which any sober citizen must ain, and something very superti-ed to the settlement of Virginia occupied France. The new ask himself is whether twice we cial in the talk that propagandists and of Massachusetts Bay by men Eave strayed from the true doc-have suddenly and recently in-who spoke English and read the Constitution he has de-trine under the pressure of pro- vented the British-American con-English Bible and adhered to the creed documents and paganda, or whether the doctrine nection. A relation so profound English common law.

of American indifference to the and so persistent and, în legalises his dictatorship. fate of Britain is not contrary to practical test, so controlling must He can dismiss, punish the real interests and, therefore, reflect enduring geographic, his-

thetoric and political realities, and replace Ministers as American nation. Are we misled

This is the origin of the Brit-stood together against Spain from he pleases. The consulta-by propaganda or pelled by realities?

ish-American connection the the days of the Armada, through tive council with which he

common control of the North At-the negotiations which led to the lantic which has insured the de-Monroe Doctrine, to the Spanish- has replaced Parliament

In fact, the relationship is an-

War of 1898. common civilisa- American

They can be counted upon to

cient and is deep. Far from its velopment of a

Tion in the British Isles and in i stood together against the France being the work of recent propa-North America. Ever since this of Louis XIV, of Louis XV, of do precisely what he tells I 1917 had been the first tunegandists, the British-Americani

The beginning only the second connection is a continual develop pcopies on both 1941 were

Englishspeaking Napoleon 1. and, when in 1859 shores of the they did not at first stand to- it to do. Berlin, obvious-and

time we were involved in a great ment since the end of the six- North Atlantic have in the end gether, Napoleon III invaded and ly, is uneasy as to how he British war, a plausible case might teenth century-since the defeat

falways stood together to expel conquered Mexico. They stood to- will use his power.

perhaps be made out for the idea of the Spanish Armada gave the ether military powers from

this gether against the European al- that the British-American connec- English-speaking men

theliance of Prussia, Russia, Austria tion is the work of propagandists. trol of the North Atlantic Ocean.gion, to defend it against

entrance of any other military and France, against the Central The argument advanc-But the fact is that while Ameri-For three centuries and a half,

European alliance under the Kai- power. ed in Vichy to make suches have quite easily remained since the generation just before the

ser William II and now they are neutral in most wars--for exam- English-s,weaking settlers began

again standing together against a situation palatable is ple, the Crimean, the

Franco-to come to this continent, the Therefore, in every war be-the Nazi empire of Adolf Hitler. that a Petain dictatorships Japanese, and the Balkan and North America has been held power seeking the domination of Prussian, the Sino-Japanese, the ocean between the British Isles tween Britain and any European

Is it conceivable that this his- will be of great advantage wars – there has never been aby English-speaking men. This Europe and of the ocean highways tory of more than three centur- in negotiating the peace e dominant power of Continen- the can, regardless of political cans have participated. For, con- gandists and warmongers?

and has meant that on both sides of to the rest of the world, Ameri-ies is the work of clever propa- Is it terms which ultimately tat Europe in which Americans forms, the same kind of civilisa-trary to the general belief in this not evident that the British-

Moreover, tion established itself, and will end the present arm-did not participate.

it country, 1917 was not the first American connection could not be there has never been 2 serious has meant that, whatever the dif-American participation in Europ-so persistent if it were not always istice, but apparently that crisis in American foreign references-often very serious lean affairs; the truth is that there renewed by the compulsion of does not satisfy the Ger-lations--the so-called quasi-war among the English-speaking peo- has never been a great British war geography and by the ties of an with France, the Louisiana crisis ples, their common interest has in Europe, and there have been indissoluble and irreversible his- mans. They probably be-with Napoleon, the War of 1812. been so fundamental that they, many in which America was not tory? Can any small and super- gin to realise that there the crisis of the Grand Alliance have always stood together against involved. are two sides to that view. If Petain should demon- strate that he will act in consonance with a public opinion to be sensed rath- er than expressed, he will be strong; if he intends to force upon his people a cooperation with Ger- many

to antagonistic their every instinct, the why It would peace thus attained will endure only so long as there are sufficient Ger- man bayonets to uphold it. Nevertheless they still hope to use the Marshal, if they can.

great war between

Britain

'Planes For England

Bombers, bombers, bombers!

All the talk about American air- c:aft production for England seems to centre around hombing planes rather than pursuit ships. The layman is inclined to inquire the smaller, faster fighters are what

scem that -

Hence, one will hear more soon the Bell Airacuda pursuit types about the four-engine flying boats apparently depends in large part of the PBY series which are al- on engine production, particularly ready being delivered in some production of the relatively new numbers by the Consolidated Air-liquid-cooled Allison engine on craft Company of San Diego, which the General Motors plant Calif., either by way of Bermuda of Indianapolis has reached or over the North Atlantic. As the output of around 300 a month.

spring, the ten-

fogs lift in the is needed to keep bombers off hour northern route from New-

Britain, and these could be turn-foundland will become more and more usable. By May it is expect- cd out more rapidly.

are

an

ficial explanation account for the fact that the English-speaking peoples in the North Atlantic, whatever their differences among themselves, have always stood to- gether when there was any ser- ious threat from any other quar- ter?

what What we see to-day is

the the British and

Americans have always in the end been com- pelled to see-that both must sur- vive and be strong or neither can be truly secure and independent. When the British and the Ameri- cans have seen this truth clearly, The much larger and longer both have profited immensely;

horsepower aviation engines in

By Tully Nettleton established production of high- when they have lost sight of it

fulness, A new

suffered

the United States is in the air-temporarily, they have cooled types, with Wright Aero-seriously. They saw the truth nautical and Pratt & Whitney as clearly in the first phase of Napo- the principal manufacturers. Each leon and we obtained Louisiana. has a current output in the neigh- They saw it clearly in the Can- bourhood of 1,000 motors a month,ning-Rush negotiations and Latin with additional facilities under America was guaranteed its inde- pendence, The British did not see it clearly in 1859, and Louis construction.

But from talks with technicians and military men several reasons for the procedure appear. In the first place, the British with their decentralised plants are almosted that the Bocing Company of cockily confident of their ability Seattle will be in production with to turn out, even under fire, the its "flying fortress." The touchstone of his Hurricanes, Spitfires or other pur-

suit types. Moreover, they intentions, as

Thus far the the Ger-close enough to be able to adopt

American 'plane mans see it, is what he in- most quickly any changes of de- most heard from In English use is sign und armament which combat the Lockheed-Hudson, not pri- tends to do about Laval. It experience shows to be needed.

marily a combat 'plane but a re- Within four or five months the Napoleon was permitted to invade is still insisted that Laval

connaissance or patrol plane of Packard Motor Car Company ex-Mexico; they did not at first see great maneuvreability and use-pects to be in production with its it clearly during our Civil War must return to the Cab- sign for bombers is more settled, Comparatively speaking, the de-

model of this edition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin and the British ruling class very destruc- inet in

engine. Shortly afterward Henry nearly connived at the some capacity; more like the construction of the plane is on the way.

Ford, will be turning out some of tion of the Union. They saw it otherwise further negotia- in which American builders have large passenger transport 'planes

In the field of medium or dive the 4,000 Pratt & Whitney-type clearly in 1898 and stood between tions with Germany will done exceedingly well, and apt to bombers, called "attack" "planes engines which he has contracted us and the intervention of Ger- be able to make use of the mass by the American Army, the Bri- to build for the War Department, many on the side of Spain. In bog down in hopeless production facilities of the Ameri-tish are receiving supplies of the and within the year Buick also 1917, but only when the situation deadlock. But Berlin can motorcar industry.

Douglas DB-7 and Martin 167, will be producing Pratt & Whit was grave; we saw that the sur- both ordered originally by the ney engines and Studebaker willvival of Britain was an American interest. In 1941 once more, but wants more than that. It Finally, the large bomber types French. The factories reportedly be building Wright engines,

again slowly, dimly and turdily, seems to be insisting up-bombers have enough fuel capacity of each of these models, in addi- and even some of the medium, are turning out about three a day

we see that the survival of Brit- Actually the total reported pro-ain is an American interest. on the Marshal's granting and flying range to be capable of tion of which the Douglas Com-duction of 799 military aeroplanes will eventually havé the in December exceeded a schedule power to this man whom being flown across the Atlantic to pany

The testimony of experience is the production of its new plant and which forecasts deliveries of 1,500 the lighting zone, whereas all France, and the out-pursuit planes, being built for re- Martin will have an added plant planes a month at the middle of more revealing than abstract theo- side world to boot, regards latively short fights, must be at Omaha, Neb. The new Martin 1941 and of 30,000 planes for the rising, private wishing, and ances

B-20 bomber is to draw extensive- full year of 1942. On a conserva-tral prejudice: that testimony is as Hitler's willing tool in

ly on the automobile industry for tive basis of one-half of Ameri-conclusive that the North Atlan- parts. the defeated state. Pe-

can production to Britain, T. P.tic Ocean joins the British Isles Wright, Defence Commission con- and North America in one insov- tain's hesitation in going will be required to insure At Buffalo, NY the Curtiss sultant, calculated that parity in erable system of security. that far is the stumbling that the aid he perforce division of Curtiss-Wright is pro- total air forces between Britain the British are the first line of

ducing eight fighter 'planes a day and the Axis would be reached our defence and we are 1 block. No one knows bet-denies to Britain shall not for Britain, according to recent early in 1942. Since it is proving citadel of the British defence ter than the Marshal him- covertly be extended to announcement. These are of the possible to allot more than half against all who invade the ocean single-engine P-40 type. Produc- to Britain, the turning point may which connects the homelands of self how much vigilance, her bitter foe,

Datenmakelition on the Lo kheed P-38 and comor gooner fees !

M

taken over in cargo vessels.

Thus

the final

1