MR. BALFOUR'S MISSION.
ONE of the very best things that the present Ministry have done is the selection of Mr. Balfour to conduct a Mission to the United States. The other members of the Mission seem to have been equally well selected for the purposes probably in view, but Mr. Balfour necessarily stands apart. His long record as a leading politician, his growing years, and .his personal dignity give him a reputation throughout the English-speaking world that is possessed by few Englishmen or Scotsmen. The Americans, we are glad to say, have not been slow to appreciate the honour done them by his selection. The news from Washington shows that he and the members of his Mission have been welcomed With the utmost enthusiasm, and that great hopes are entertained of the practical results which will be secured by his visit. It is worth while to add, as we stated in a note last week, that Mr. Balfour has long been keenly alive to the importance of establishing a close and friendly relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. He has always regarded such a relationship as one of the objects most to be striven for on both sidea of the Atlantic. By good fortune, as it happens, the present occupant of the White House is a man of a philosophic temperament of mind more or less akin to that of Mr. Balfour himself, and the personal sympathy between these two spokesmen of their respective nations will undoubtedly facilitate the particular work which they have in hand.
Very wisely, Mr. Balfour's first communication to the American Press took the form of a warning to Americans not to anticipate that the war upon which they have entered is going to be a holiday jaunt. In the case of the Boer War we blundered badly in assuming that it would be a "three months' picnic." Many of us equally blundered when the present war began in hoping that it might be over by the first Christmas. We have learnt our lesson now, and it is well that we should pass on our experience to our new Allies. It is easier to enter into war than to get out of it. Happily, there is every sign that the Americans generally appreciate to the full the magnitude of the task they.have undertaken. They have begun_at once to organize compulsory military service in order that they may have a large Army trained to throw into the field at the later stages of. the war. But they are not content with making this preparation for future —or for possible future—needs. They have begun with characteristic energy to deal instantly with the immediate situation. They have grasped the fact that the most important help which they can render to the Allies at the present moment is to increase the number of cargo-carrying vessels. Orders have already been given for the building of a large number of new ships as rapidly as possible. The other direction in which immediate assistance is possible is in the matter of finance, and the presence of Lord °amide es a member of Mr. Balfour's Mission is important in view of the financial discus- aions which, according to Mr. McAdoo, the Secretary of the Treasury, have already borne fruit in a loan of £10,000,000. In addition, the Americans can give very valuable help in increasing the stringency of the blockade of Germany. This is a matter which is already being discussed in the United States. It is proposed to prohibit the export of foodstuffs to all countries not forming part of the Grand Alliance. Such a measure would undoubtedly make it more difficult for the neutral countries adjoining Germany to act as providers for her. There is, of course, no desire on our part to starve the inhabitants of neutral countries ; but we have to face the fact that Holland and Denmark, aud„ to a lesser degree, Norway and Sweden, do provide foodstuffs for Germany. It is certain that as long as they continue to import on a consider- able scale from the outer world, so long will they have the means of sending surplus food to our enemies. If they are deprived of the power of importing, they will be compelled to live upon their own resources and will have nothing over to send to Germany. In pressing this point we do not for a *moment wish to hold a pistol at the heads of the neutrals in order to compel them to declare themselves on our side. Denmark and Holland would commit no breach of neutrality if they were to refuse to supply foodstuffs to either belligerent. We should suffer to some extent by the loss of certain foods which we are importing from these countries ; but our enemies would suffer at least as much, and as their need is greater than ours there would be a net gain to our side, without any technical breach of neutrality on the part of nations whose geographical situation makes it imperative that they should remain neutral until the military situation becomes clearer.
These are directions in which the intervention of the United States adds immediately to the strength of the Entente Powers, and thus helps to bring the end of the war nearer. But there is another effect produced from which we may see practical results in a very few weeks' time. Already the example of the United States has affected in a definite direction Brazil, and is affecting the Argentine and other South American Republics. That these great States with com- paratively small populations will take any military part in the war is improbable, but by ceasing to be neutrals they do un- doubtedly inflict some damage upon Germany. German ships interned in South American ports will presumably be rendered available for the commerce of the Allied Powers ; while the interruption of commerce between these countries and Germany will effectively increase the severity of the Entente blockade of the Central Powers. Nor is it only in the American Con- tinent that the example of the United States is having influence upon neutral opinion. The recent change of Government in Spain points to a sudden awakening of the Spanish people to the possibility of a breach with Germany. That possibility im for the moment regarded with dislike probably by most Spaniards ; but events move rapidly, and what seemed im- possible a month ago, and seems disageeeable to-day, may conceivably be welcomed by the whole Spanish population a few months hence.
Apart from all these practical considerations, there is the sentimental aspect of American intervention, which in the long run is far more important than any immediate material gain. It is an enormous thing to have established a definite Alliance, even if only for one specific purpose, between the two great English-speaking communities of the world. Looking back upon the past relationships between the two countries, there is much to regret on both sides. The Americans for gene- rations never forgot the circumstances which led to their rebellion against Great Britain. They fed their children with tales—largely exaggerated—of England's misdeeds. We ou our side have long ceased to regret the American Declaration of Independence, but we have probably been guilty of faults of manner and attitude which have tended to irritate American feeling. These elements of disagreement have been skilfully exploited by Irish Nationalists, who have spread throughout the United. States an utterly false conception of the Irish problem. But in spite of these and many other factors, as for instance the large influx of German settlers, the forces making for friendship have proved stronger than the forces making for enmity. As a proof of the fundamental frien,dship of the American people, and also of their kindliness of temperament, it is worth while to call attention to a letter appearing in the Times of Tuesday sent by a British officer, who relates how when he was travelling in the States last autumn he was held up by a railway accident. The moment he reported to the railway authorities that he had received. urgent orders to get back to England as quickly as possible they provided him with a special train to catch the necessary connexion, and refused to allow him to pay a cent for it. In America they love a plucky man, and one who is determined to "get there" at all costs. This is a small incident, but it is tremendously illuminating. That the Americans should so long have hesitated to enter the war is perfectly intelligible. Two thousand miles of ocean is a fact which cannot be disregarded. Moreover, the gigantic size of the American Continent makes it impossible for a large portion of the American people to have any real appreciation of sea problems, and of all that follows from them. This is the final justification for Mr. Wilson's cautious policy. By waiting he has brought the whole American people to one manner of thinking, and that manner of thinking is leading straight towards the permanent unity of all the English-speaking peoples.
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