AMERICA’S WAR NERVES.

Evening Star, Issue 23451, 16 December 1939, Page 10

AMERICA’S WAR NERVES.

The opinion of a Wellington citizen who has just returned to the Dominion from Europe via the United States is that the Americans are much more nervous about the war than the British. His further observation that perhaps this is because of Great Britain’s determination to make a success of the task in hand and her ready adaptation to war conditions rings true. The fact is that the British people were probably more ill at ease during the pre-war period of recurring crises than now. The tension born of uncertainty has gone. The national conscience is clear and' the national arm strong. There is no course left open but to see the grim business through. In the United States the people must be still on tenterhooks. Perhaps only a small proportion wish to see the nation actively involved in the war, but all the evidence goes to show that a majority strongly favour the Allied cause. And they must be credited with a sincerity of outlook, for it is realised that, while certain industries will profit from the removal of the arms embargo, sacrifices in many ways will have to be made.

The effect of the new neutrality legislation and the fixing of combat areas by President Roosevelt is to cut off all American shipping from the most important North Atlantic trade. Many vessels are being laid up, and lines in which the Government has invested nearly 200,000,000 dollars are affected. It is stated, moreover, that other ■ countries are much better stocked than they were in 1914, and no quick call for American cotton and steel can be expected. The oil trade across the Atlantic has even decreased, except for certain special lubricants and fuel for aircraft. On top of all this the United States, aware of the dreadful potentialities of the world turmoil, can never be quite sure that she will not ultimately have to take up arms. Record defence votes have been passed, the new naval programme alone costing 1,300,000,000 dollars. The maintenance of patrols and the cost of the intensified anti-espion-age campaign must also be reckoned with. One foremost writer puts the position of the country in these words: Living in a war-distracted world has mental and moral costs which are difficult to measure. As the situation develops American obligations to other neutrals and American opportunities to promote positive peace-making will come clearer. They will not be without price. And surely Americans should be ready to pay, if not to withstand aggression, at least to foster a more stable world order after the war is over.” As they realise more vividly than in 1914 their country’s importance in the world scene Americans may be pardoned if, at this uneasy stage in both their foreign policy and in their internal development, they are nervous. ; ucy have reason to be.