Public Opinion in America
SIR,—I will try to answer briefly some of the questions in Mr. Bernays' letter. I cordially agree with him that " there is no one public opinion in. America "—I learnt that important fact during visits to the United States forty years ago. I never meant to suggest that " very many, perhaps most, Americans are pro-British today" ; what I said was that I had " never found so much genuine friendship for Great Britain in all walks of life."
" Why British goods cannot Compete with American goods today." My reply is: the tariff wall of nearly forty per cent. Since August, 1914, Great. Britain has been fighting for her life during ten years ; in the same period the U.S.A. has been at war for five years, and during the other five years was able to•develop her industry free from war-time controls and restrictions. British goods are not usually advertised in the U.S.A. on the same nation-wide scale as American products, nor have some British exporters sufficiently studied local markets and psychology.
Why do Americans " prefer to buy an American car to an English car, even though the price may be the same " ? Presumably because the average American—if there is such an individual-1--likes to own the same kind of car, with the same gadgets, as his neighbour's and enjoy the advantage of an efficient local service-station for repairs and spare parts.
Why we prefer English to American tweeds." Probably because in the past London has been regarded as the male fashion centre of the world, and British exporters of cloth have long studied the requirements of their customers and gained a great reputation.
Mr. Bernays suggests that I am " mistaken in thinking that Americans as a whole are against Attlee and for Churchill." I wrote: " Mr. Churchill's stock is very high, and several times I heard him referred to as ' the greatest man of the age.'" I continued: " Americans are puzzled why during the present cold war the British electorate does not summon him once again to guide the nation through its difficulties." The majority of Americans of all classes with whom I talked were cordial admirers of Mr. Churchill, and as far as I remember Mr. Attlee's name was only mentioned twice ; once by a Harvard professor, who said he thought that in political matters Great Britain was usually several years ahead of the United States, and that before long America would be following the example of the British Labour Government!
Finally, on the subject of imperialism, Mr. Bernays observes: " England finally let India get its freedom, but that was long after Franklin D. Roosevelt, by his good neighbour policy, broke up U.S. dollar imperialism
in Latin. America." Does your correspondent seriously suggest that Britain only offered India_ its freedom after Mr. Roosevelt's good- neighbour policy had been introduced ? Has Mi. BernayS f6rgotten the holding of the Round Table Conferences in London in 1930 and 1931; when the British Government offered India practically dominion status ? On that occasion, I understood at the time, agreement was reached on practically nine-tenths of the points at issue when Mr. Gandhi intervened, and the conference broke down. One ot,the leading Indian delegates who .took part in the discussions, whose name I can furnish to. Mr. Bernays, confirmed my views afterwards.—Yours faithfully, EVELYN WRENCH.
The Mill House Marlow, Bucks.
Previous page
