It is not so much that the absence of these
four men from Europe will cause us to lose the Second German War. It is that their presence in the United States may lead Ameri- can opinion, which is all too prone to doubt the righteousness of our cause, to find comfort in their company. For if indeed four of our most acute and sensitive writers demon- strate by their exile that they wish to have no part in the blood-stained anarchy of Europe, then surely the ordinary American is ten times more justified in remaining aloof from so inhuman a business and in proclaiming that isolationism is not only comfortable and convenient, but righteous and intelligent as well? How can we proclaim over there that we are fighting for the liberated mind, when four of our most liberated intellectuals refuse to identify themselves either with thOse who fight or with those who oppose the battle? For in truth the Americans well know that this is no ordinary case of petty shirking. . It should matter little were a handful of interior decorators or dress designers to remain in, or to escape to, the United States and thereby to evade the anxieties and deprivations of their friends. The only feeling which that type of embusque could rouse among the Americans would be a feeling of contempt. But these four exiles are striking figures; they are men of high intelli- gence, honour and courage ; and if they, at such a moment, deny Europe, then the Americans will feel, with a relief of uneasy conscience, that Europe is in fact something which a man of integrity, strength and education has the right to deny. * * * *
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