LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
[Letters of the length of one of our leading pzragrap‘s are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] "HOW IT STRIKES AN AMERICAN." [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."1 Sin,-31r. Edward Price Bell in his interesting article, "Holt It Strikes an American," omits to mention that to many Englishmen and women there is another powerful disintegrant of goodwill besides our assumption as to America's worship of the dollar—often quite unjust—and that it, as well as the dollar question, springs from a fundamental difference between British and American national character and outlook. Great Britain as a mother of nations has the maternal instinct more strongly developed than any other nation. She feels it incumbent upon her to protect weaker nations and even to take over the reins of government pro fem. if those nations appear incapable of governing themselves and are causing unnecessary suffering to innocent people. It was the appeal of Belgium that really roused the British nation to war. It is the suffering Christians in Asia Minor that are forcing the British nation to contemplate the appalling possibility of another war.
As one of Southern Irish parentage and a citizen of Ulster at present, I should also like to impress upon our American brothers and sisters that they have many of them quite failed to realize that England's attitude to Ireland for many years has been that of a mother towards troublesome but charming children, and that the pity is that, against her own good judgment, influenced considerably by a desire to fall in with American sentiment and opinion founded on false propaganda, she has finally repudiated her responsibility for Southern Ireland and left them to rule themselves. The result needs no comment—civil war, terror, bloodshed, destruction of millions of pounds of valuable property, including beautiful historic buildings, desolation, misery—a sad monument of England's desire for America's friendship. America, on the other hand, a young nation in comparison with England, is with the characteristic of youth absorbed in her own well- being and singularly careless as a nation to the sufferings of other nations. Had she been willing to sacrifice herself and accept the Armenian mandate in order to protect persecuted Christians, might not the present Eastern crisis have been avoided and the war cloud be no longer hanging over the world?
Deeply as we desire the warmest friendship with America, and much as we admire her high ideals for herself and the
philanthropy and munificence of many of her citizens, we cannot but deplore the Sinn Feinism—for herself alone—in her inter- national policy. This is written in no spirit of carping criticism, but as Mr. Bell has courteously pointed out our mistakes towards America in the desire to promote a true world unity by strengthening the bonds of friendship between Great Britain and America, he will, I am sure, recognize the same friendliness and objective in this letter.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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