MR. BALFOUR AND THE UNITED STATES.
IF Mr. Balfour , could possibly add to the invaluable services which he rendered. not only to the British Empire but to all humanity by his leadership of the British delegation at Washington, he added to them by his speeches when he was entertained -at luncheon by the _British Government and at -.dinner by the ,Pilgrims. i These speeches were a message to all men of-goodwill, and were the crown of his work at Washington—a work --which exceeded in importance' anything that he has done in his long career. • Nowhere have we :seen the philosophy which is the foundation of a new order for the world better. expressed. Mr. Balfour- is first-. and foremost a. genuine friend and a convinced admirer oklmerica. This, of course, is no new thing,' for eveD since he. was a young man Mr. Balfour has regarded Anglo-American, friendship as a cardinal point in a wise foreign policy. What we like in particular about his survey of the whole .situation is that he, so to speak, insures us against failure by picking out friendship with -America as the thing--to which we must hold fast m any ease. He thus provides something permanent which even in the worst circumstances will be the nucleus of a larger constructive _policy. .of - world-wide conciliation. Of course he hopes that the first. attempt at world-wide conciliation will be successful, as. is obvious from the fact that he insists that Anglo-American friendship must not be culti- vated as an isolated thine. It is inclusive and compre- hensive, not exclusive. Mr. Balfour has thus displayed caution and practical common sense in combination with a far-ranging, idealism.
The nature of the circumstances enabled Mr. Baliceu.'s ideals to yield their. due results from .the first moment at Washington. He--tells .us that he was quite unaware -of 'what Mr. .Hughes, the American Secretary of State, ',was :going -'to say on the opening day of the Conference. When Mr. Hughes:- startled-- the --world by proposing one . of the boldest-acts of. good. faith -which- history can record, Mr. Balfour did not need, to-consult. -hla colleagues or ask for instructions - from , Landon. lie immediately recognized that Mr. Hughes's programme met - at every :point the instinctive longings. of the British people for; peace and -safety; for-agreement instead of war, and--for-an end to the half-witted policy of ruining oneself by -means: of expensive -preparations for ,ultimate . annihilation He - welcomed with -open arms the Hughes plan. which we have now the :satisfaction -of believing has ruled out dangerous disputes from the . Pacific. It --was a ease . of the natural leaping together of British. and American minds. Thus :there is no -doubt that even if Mr. Hughes-and-Mr.; Balfour did. not 'convince -all the foreign delegates, at -Washington—though -for our part we -believe they did—they established for their two countries -a moral- hegemony-of the- world which will never be forgotten and which .-will. grow in--strength as- time goes:on. America and Britain led the world. curious to notice -when one looks into Mr. Balfour's philosophy of international co,operation how closely it resembles economic law. Mr. Balfour, while saying all that there- was fairly and reasonably- to be said-in defence oh the old diplomacy declared that in former- -days he was the -best diplomatist who carried off from, a dispute or a -conference the greater part of the spoils. Of course under any conceivable system of diplomacy there must be occa- sions on, which not- to make good-a-claim to a particular thing demanded is to suffer -a matetild 149s. But 'apart from speoial+cases, Mr. Balfour asserted that in -a general -way "the good of the part is always the good of the whole." That is to say, . in -the complicated and. closely-connected - state of :the . world-to-day. every oountry 'gains- something hy the prosperity -of- -its neighbourand loses-something by -its -neighbour's . adversity. • If this principle . could he -appreciated- in -every . country the new diplomacy would iastantly have, won the..day. It ought ,-to be understood that-.a: nation. which retires: from a conference feeling that it has been "done in ". is bound to suffer from restlessness or- a sense- of .grievance . which may • fester into violence until the wrong is righted. ;Yet there -are--actually • people who imagine theta- the. other -party to a dispute expresses satisfaction:with the -settlement they themselves must have -behaved foolishly and might-have gained more if they had -held out for more ! . They . are like the horse-buyer who suffers. agonies -of annoyance when the .copes accepts his -offer with alacrity. " What.a -fool I have been ! "- laments the. buyer, " the. man /would- evidently have': taken less." -.In: the new, order of the -world it is- essential to remember that -any nation -which is dissatisfied. with its- bargain will try to .1 get out of .it. The rule, therefore,,should -be to 'deprive: nations -of grievances, not to provide. them -with -grievances in- the belief , that this provision is a . brilliant example -of clever statesmanship.
Mr. Balfoues argument most closely resembled economic law when. he expressed -his .-belief that there is no such thing as ".a fixed amount. of advantage" out of which each nation can- get its- share and no more. The study of economics shows.-us -that there, is no such thing as a fixed amount of money to be handed out in -wages ; nor is there +any such thing.as.a.fixed amount of work, eo that workers who. areloyal to one -another -ought not to, do too much ...work lest _their mates-should become unemployed. In the eeonomic sphere -.money • wisely applied to . production :produces more money ; .and hard work makes new openings -for..work. So it is in diplomacy. No country can be truly prosperous unless it associates and deals with other nations -on friendly and mutually trusting terms.
Britain and - America.- stand for theee. ideas -before the world and . they hope to • 'draw every-body else into the same orbit of thought and action. . As -Mr. Harvey the American Ambassador said, "Mr. Balfour triumphed by truth, not tact." Before the Washington Conference Mr. Harvey had-remarked that Mr.-Balfour would undergo -atrWaslaington not an ordeal of battlabut an ordeal of faith. Mr.. Balfour came through the ordeal not only unscathed but victorious because he had recognized from the beginning that., if Englishmen and-Americans-followed their instincts in keeping together, -every other good thing -would be likely .to follow. lie:did -not go .haggling. Ile .dealt as- a man of :honour deals, privately +with other men of lonour.
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