U.S.A.

White Ribbon, Volume 36, Issue 427, 18 February 1931, Page 11

U.S.A.

Read at W.E.A. (Contributed.) Tlu* time allowed for the following review of the United States of America is twenty minutes, but twenty minute ; is not enough. Twenty hours might Im> devoted to the .subject, and still leave much to be said al)out the mighty United States of America. We will start at tin* beginning with Columbus, who, with one hundred and twenty men

and an enormous amount of courage, set out on August the third, fourteen ninety-two, to find what was described as the ”lauid of Promise,” which promise has been amply fulfilled, and the honoured name of its discoverer will live for ever In the history of the continent of America, and by the way he has the distinction of being buried four times, the last removal l**ing 290 years after his death, when he went to his final rest at Havana, exchanged for Florida. No name appears on the first map of Ametica. It is believed to have got its name after the death of Colombia through the suggestion of a man named Martin W ddseemuller, who wrote a year after the death of Columbus a l>ook on the four voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, who knew and may have sailed with Columbus. Waldseemuller wrote, ‘A fourth part of the world since Amerigo found it we may call Amerigo or America,” and again. “Now a fourth part of the world has ls*en found by Amerigo Vespucci, 1 do not see why we should In* prevented from calling it Amerigo, or America.”

This seems to !»«* a reas: liable explanation of the name, which is familiar to all the world, and which is so often tielied by the Cress. 'Recently 1 asked a reading man what he had to say about America. "It's the greatest country in the world to-day,” was the prompt answer. The reply of another to the same question was, “It is the most wide-aw'uke country in the w-orld.” How often. In writing of things in America, we find th:* statement, “The greatest in the world," ana it is indeed the greatest English-speaking nation in the world, and its aims and Interests are very similar to England’s, and I like to think of it as just a greater Britain, without the class distinction of England, and with a greater freedom. The United States of America has three important advantages over the Old World. First, it is free from such vast deserts as cover a large part of Asia and Africa, which not only with-

draw the use of the soil from man, but are obstacles to communication between the settled districts, and generate the heat, which Is often injurious to health, and always destructive to industry. Secondly, no part of its soil is so far from the ocean as the central regions of Asia or Africa. Thirdly, the interior of America is penetrated by majestic rivers, greatly surpassing tnose of the old continent in magnitude, ami still more in facilities they present for enabling the remotest inland districts to communicate with the sea. America was once part of the British Empire, and is Britain's best customer, and is only separated from Canada, by a geographical line. America stands for Peace, Progress, and Prohibition. The area of the United States is 3.557,000 square miles, in the centre of which one could travel for weeks over almost perfectly level land. The chief industries are those connected with

agriculture, manufactures, mining, commerce. and forests, and fisheries. Full* one-half of its people are engaged in agriculture. The amount of production cannot be judged by the exports, as there is an enormous exchange of goods t>etween the States. The wheatgrowing occupies the central States near the great lakes, and lumbering is a prominent industry in the north-east and along the shores of the great lakes. Cattle-rearing is largely carried on along the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The States of Florida and

Califprnia excel! in fruit-growing. Coal fields are very extensive, and cover in area of 190,000 square miles, and extend continually from Alabama ‘o Pennsylvania, and se'irns art* found up to 2500 feet thick. The foreign commerce of the United States is very extensive. The chief exports art* cotton and grain, petroleum, flour, and timber, gold and silver, and tobacco. The chi *f articles of manufacture are cotton woollens, machinery, iron and steel goods.

America has derived much of its power anil greatness from tin* strength of its Presidents. Many of these have been supermen, men of character and decision, men who placed righteousness above gain. Beginning with Washington, whp refused to he crowned king, we find a list of men very fit to build up a great nation. Thomas Jefferson, the then most conspicuous apostle of democracy, and the best scholar of laitin and Greek in the State; James Monroe, the founder of the Monroe Doctrine, or neutial policy of America,

which prevents American interference in European politics, of spotless character; also James dadison, whose influence drafted the American Constitution, and by his force and oratory got it ratified against adverse public opinion; and Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the best known to all, who was great in every sense of the word. He had unchanging faith in self-government, and history must accord him a rare sagacity in guiding a great people through the perils of a revolution, and the courageous seizure of the right moment to free his nation from the incubus of slavery, a benefactor to posterity. As statesman, ruler, and liberator, civilisation will hold his name in perpetual honour. These men. right down to Mr Hoover, of the present day, can claim a place in history that many a king might envy. Here is a tribute to the language of tlu* Americans paid by a noted historian and a lover of the English language: “All through an immigration of every language and dialect under heaven, the English language has been protected *u its supremacy.” and again: “In two points the Americans were strong, an I had done good work. Such men p-s Jonathan Edwards had excelled In various departments of theology, and American preaching had reached a high degree of quality and influence. State papers ranked among the highest >f the*r kind, having a very clear idea of their political purposes. Having l>e *n restricted in study and reading of ih * great masters of pure and vigorous English, American leaders came to their work with an English style whi i could hardly have l>een improved.” -to much for the Americans of yesterday in Mu* way of our own language.

Hear the words of one of our own most cultured men; “They never get into a groove, or remuin satisfied with old methods, just because they are old This is especially noticeable in education, where they are spending millions in their endeavours to devise the best types of education for various districts and varied pupils. They have gone far to make the education suit th s child, instead of thrusting the chi! 1 into a standardising machine, and ar» making positively heroic attempts to convert a mass of races into one nation.’ It is common—lndex d, the usual thing to find schools vith pupils of twenty different nationalities, Asiatic and European pupils, whose home environment Is completely foreign, th *t is, the parents can only speak in Portuguese, Japanese, or Italian. Hence ail

the tluK-waving and parading of Ameritan patriotism that mo jar on English nerves, are really necessary for tils very existence of the USA. iy .schools and by adult education at night, America 1m tackling a tremendous problem, and giving an object lesson to the world. Their eminently practical outh>ok on life is a certainty. Their science is not searching after new stars, but it is the applying of scientific discoveries to their workshop methods and their mechanical contrivances. A boy going on the land is taught, not Latin and mathematics, but cropping and stock-breeding. A girl going into a home is taught not French and Alfcel .a. but house craft and home management, ‘They have wonderful administrative gifts in public life. The men at the head of the!** affairs, In business and in schools, pre freed from tiie petty details of their business, and are allowed to concentrate on large matters of policy. They do not allow their administrative officers to liecome mere glorified clerks, as we are apt to do. Their desire to experiment in all phases of public affairs has given them an openness of mind and a readiness to receive new Impressions, and an adaptability of characteer, and a cheerfulness in approaching new situations that is very remarkable. Their wonderful buildings and roads, and. by the way, they have just completed eight thousand miles of concrete road. Their engineering triumphs, turning deserts Into gardens, bringing water from hundreds of miles away over and through mountain ranges, and the amazing comfort and convenience of their public buildings and homes, and means of travel, and the resulting liberation of people, especially women, from the drudgerv of menial operations, to allow them to develop their social and cultural natures.” We And in “Outlines of History” this comment on America:—“Her people are as patriotic and spirited as ever. Why did not the l r nit«Mi States develop armaments, and an aggressive policy? Why was not the stars and stripes waving over Mexico? America had oi>ened up Japan, and after doing so had let that Power Kuro[>eanlse itself. If a Europeanised Power had l*een in the place of the U S.A., Great Pritain would have hail to fortify the Canadian frontier from end to end; it is now absolutely unarmed. The united States is constitutionally incapacitated from any kind of foreign policy that has kept Europe so long on the verge of war." These are facts about America’s part in

keeping the peace of the wjrld. America has commercial advantages over Canada, which has been settled almost as long, and has »mly about eight and a half millions of i>opulatioi, an 1 übout equal mileage as the U.8.A., which has over a hundred millions of population, and has advanced by leaps and bounds, and, I believe, can oe said to lead the world n agricultural as well as most other Lranches of industry. Com pure the United States of America with Russia, which is as gieat or a greater country, but how very inferior in conduct and conditions. Visualise if you can the great Jifference in the lives of thesv tv ’O |»ecpi**s of these two great nations. America's railways are th* most extensive in the world, and ha\e been put down at the rate of seven thousand three hundred miles per annum, and the freights less than one rent per ton per mile. We have it from high aithority that tlie United State.*, in 1911 controlled 20 per cent, of th>* world s gold supply, 25 |>er cent, of the wheat, 40 per cent, of the iron, steel, lead and silver, 50*)>er cent, of coal, 60 jer cent, of cotton and copper, 66 per cent, of oil, 75 per cent, of corn, and 85 per cent, of the automobiles, and of the world’s wealth it has twice as n.ich as the British Empire. In 1870 .unerlca stood third in world's wealth in 1880 they passed France, and stood sec >nd. This country, w hose p< pulation has been de veloped in 280 years, already does oncthird of the world's mining, and fourth of its manufaituring, ami one-fifth of its agriculture and at least one-sixth of the world’s wealth ;s concent rated mi the strip of territory in Central North America. Here are some in pressive figures o' America's industries: - Value of motor vehicles produced tn one year £944.000.000 Iron and deel furnaces produced in one year metal to the value of 740,000,000 Meat (Miik'ng products one year 6,000,000 Clothing i a I ue. one year 475,000,000 Newspape s, hook*, periodicals. etc. 450,000,000 Lumber a nd timber products 420,000,000 Cotton g >ods 360,000,000 Electric nachlnery 300,000,000 Bread hekery products .... 250,000,000 Silk goodJ, value 160,000,000 Butter, nltk and cheese 190,000,000 Boots _ .... 180,000.000

But it is not America's wealth that places her first on the list of nations. It is more her ability to get there in all she undertakes, her marvellous unity, with such a varied population, her splendid freedom, her success with great reforms, her now aggressive policy, and her wonderful progress. Much has i>een said and printed of the evils of America; in fact, the Press has spared no (tains to bias public opinion ugairst our cousins in America, and with the unthinking or ignorant the propaganda has been successful; yet to America It has been no more harm than a sandfly on an elephant; in fact, the harm has acted more as a Itoomerang to ourselves. Truly, America is very great. She was great enough to outlaw slavery, and is now at grips with another form of slavery, the Liquor Traffic, and we well know that what Americu undertakes America does, ami we can lx* proud to claim relationship with her people, ami take our hats off to them as the greatest and most progressive nution in the world to-day.