Lend-Lease all Round
Another aspect of Allied co-operation was given last Saturday by Mr. Edward Stettinius, the Lend-Lease Administrator at Washing- ton. At the start we quite rightly thought of the Lend-Lease arrangement as a magnanimous action on the part of the United States by which she put immense quantities of war material at our disposal without any payment, except in so far as the fighting we were doing for all the democracies might be regarded as payment of another kind. But as the war progresses there are increasing oppor- tunities for us to repay the compliment, and render goods or services to the United States on the same Lend-Lease basis. Mr. Stettinius pointed out that as the number of American troops abroad increases the reciprocal benefits grow in importance. Thus American ships in British ports are repaired at Britain's expense, air services are supplied by British authorities, and in one place a complete factory was handed over to the United States. The same sort reciprocity exists in Australia, Russia and other countries. In fa the large plan of the war is based on the pooling of resources, an willingness to discard the whole paraphernalia of debts and credit which caused confusion and bickering after the last war. It wa President Roosevelt who set the ball rolling, and has helped di United Nations as a whole to take the same view of unstinted servic as animates the individual patriot who fights for his country. Every one 'Scow sees that it was the only sound course, but to take the ste at the time when he took it was an act of far-seeing wisdom.
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