Ripples Reach United States

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 48, 26 February 1938, Page 5

Ripples Reach United States

Effect of Eden’s Resignation

ON AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY United Press Association—Br Electric Telegraph.—CopyrlaU t. Received Friday, 9.50 p.m. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25. Careful inquiries among high Government officials responsible for American foreign policy, convinces the correspondent of the Australian Associated Press that the immediate effect of Mr. Eden’s resignation has been to strengthen the hands of the isolationists but probably it has not affected the United States long range view. More realistic groups of the State Department can be said not to have been surprised at Mr. Eden’s resignation but are not a little surprised at the time it came. It can also be said that the realistic groups are not sorry over his leave-taking, not because they do not sympathise with his viewpoint but because strong isolationists here are extremely suspicious of his efforts, alleging that they are designed or destined to involve the United States in foreign entanglements. These isolationists have proved the single greatest force in interference with the State Department’s conduct of American foreign affairs. President Roosevelt’s position is described as something in the nature of an umpire. It can now be said that concepts of his Chicago speech concerning quarantining aggressor nations have not been acceptable to the bulk of American opinion and that they have been abandoned by the President himself. It is stressed that President Roosevelt is trying to keep the door open to both schools of his advisers, isolationists and parallel actionists. The ritate Department may be inclined to dislike to see England negotiating with dictator Powers but it is hardly unwilling to accept the benefits if any arise from the situation.

It is felt that Britain, if freed from. Mediterranean pre-occupations, is likely to make a definite gesture in the Far East. Som6 quarters conjecture that this is possible to take the form of stationing half a dozen battleships at the Singapore Base as a token of her deteVmination to make redress for the position in the Pacific. Such a move would immeasurably strengthen parallel actionists here and it even stresses that the success of the Anglo-Italian negotiations would automatically prove a restraining influence upon the military clique in Japan. The best informed circles here are completely convinced any action either by England or America in the Far East would necessarily be parallel. Considerable interest has been aroused here by Hitler’s references last Sunday to the Pacific, and diplomatic circles interpret his remarks to mean that he is not aiming at New Guinea, as well as assuring Japan that he does ■*t aim at her mandate. SHIRT-TAIL BRIGADE BRITAIN MOULDS AMERICAN • POLICY Received Friday, 7 p.m. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25. Representative Maverick at the naval hearing, alleged that the administration was keeping secret reports from the army showing the vulnerability of battleships to attack from the air because it was committed to the construction of capital ships. “We have no need to worry about Herr Hitler because he won’t come over here, but if he does we already have a good array and navy,” he said. Representative Koppleman asserted that Chamberlain double-crossed the United States when he decided to go along with the dictators. Representative O’Malley asserted that Britain was moulding United States policies. “Downing Street has a shirt-tail brigade—our own Stale Department,” he declared. He expressed the opinion that the Hitler and Eden developments diminished the need for an increased fleet.