MORE DESTROYERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20486, 21 February 1941, Page 11

MORE DESTROYERS

AMERICAN'S BELIEF ALL-OUT AID FOR BRITAIN INFLUENCE OF MR WILLKIE So strong is the desire of the United States to help Britain in her fight against Hitlerism that Mr. George P. Dyer, a retired American naval officer, of California, believes that Washington would be prepared to transfei more destroyers to Britain if she hao sufficient trained crews to man them. The United States, he is convinced, will back Britain to the end, cost what it may. And this despite the fact that nobody in the United States thinks that loans or gifts, if made, will be paid back. Mr. Dyer, who is at present Visiting Auckland, said he had been told by high naval officers in Honolulu that the United States Navy to-day was never in better shape. Efficiency was, at a maximum and the morale of the personnel was excellent. Close Watch On Japan The visitor said his personal view was that the United States would no. tolerate for a moment any Japanese expansion in the Pacific. If Japan made any move to establish her socalled “new order” in the south, especially if it involved the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies or Malaya, he thought the United States would “jump right down her throat.” The significance of Mr. Wencjel) Willkie’s visit to Britain was emphasised by Mr. Dyer. Mr. Willkie, he believed, had felt a moral obligation to the 22,000,000 Americans who had voted for him, to make a firsthand study of the position in Britain. His supporters wanted a lead as to how far Britain needed aid, and how far it should be given. When he returned home this week, Americans believed lie would make a nation-wide broadcast reporting on conditions as he found them, and giving his conclusions and recommendations. “Gift To American Politics” Mr. Dyer said that in addition to Mr. Willkie’s irresistible charm he wa; a man of complete sincerity. He wa:. a very keen and shrewd observer anc a man of wide knowledge. If he hao been elected President, Mr. Dyei thought, he would have been able to give more effective aid to Britain tnan even Mr. Roosevelt, for he knew better how to get things done, anc quickly. He was a practical man. Mr. Willkie was described by Mr. Dyer as “a gift to American politics." Five years ago he was unknown to the nation. Never before in the history of American politics had two such outstanding men as Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Willkie stood for the Presidency. His followers, in his. own Words, constituted a “loyal opposition’ to the Government.

The United States, continued Mr. Dyer, was not giving all possible aid to Britain because she was fighting for democracy. She was not. She was fighting lor her very life.

"The reason for the universal desire to help is through the miracle of our inheritance of the English language, literature, ideals and sportsmanship, said Mr. Dyer. “This young nation, conscious of her strength and idealism, is going to the defence of the house of her fathers.”