THE BRITON IN AMERICA
111,--British airmen whose training takes place in the United States ye, by the wisdom Of the Air Ministry, been furnished with some actical guidance about the way they should behave. It would prove our relations with America if other Ministries, and private tins, who send officials and technical experts across the Atlantic did ewise. I quote the following paragraph from a letter I have eived from an Englishwoman who has lived in the U.S.A. for me years and is married to an American marine engineer : "I am very disturbed by the type of English person sent out re on various jobs. Frankly, we were never frightfully popular, _ d in many cases we are becoming hated. The higher-up officials wally know more what it is all about, but then subordinates not y don't know, but adopt a very superior attitude and are dam- tidy lacking in tact. At the works, Z— has a bad time averting ws, and there are countless instances of quite unnecessary rude- is and snobbishness from the Englishmen who are there for various urposes. They seem to take a pleasure in being unpleasant. The it of thing that happens is that Z— has a boat ready - for a itish trial for perhaps three weeks, and then the Englishman con- red calls the trial for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or Christmas y. This happened. All the.:e times. Z— explains that the n need the holiday, that they worked overtime to get the boat eady three weeks earlier is requested in the first place' and so on, d the official says: 'Sorry, but we have a war to fight.' * The °utile is that really all these supplies are needed here and very n people will say: Hell, we'll keep them ourselves.' There isn't y need whatever for treading on people's toes like this. This is ust what happens at M—, a comparatively small concern. But it oes on all the time, and our popularity sinks."
If Englishmen could understand that in America they have not nly Liberty, but Fraternity also, their manners might improve when my are granted the privilege of working with the friendliest people earth. When I returned from my -first visit to America several ears ago a man for whose judgement and probity I had the highest pect, and who had the advantage of a public school education, and d.stinguished career at Oxford, asked this question:
"Well, did you .meet any gentlemen in America?"
That question symbolises the attitude of many members of what still call, fox the sake of convenience rather than of accuracy, the .erning classes. It is a good thing to include the teaching of rican history in our schools ; but a more pressing need is instruc- n for thousands of people over school age in the characteristics f the American people. Because the Americans speak our language ey do not think our thoughts. The future peace and prosperity of
e world depend largely upon mutual understanding between the sh-speaking peoples. That understanding appears to be reatened by ignorance and arrogance on our part.—Yours faithfully,
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