Mr. Runciman in America The fact that Mr. Walter Runciman,
who is visiting the United States, postponed his departure from Washing. ton by a day, suggests that his conversations with President Roosevelt and Mr. Cordell Hull concerning a possible Anglo-American trade agreement have already advanced far enough to justify considerable optimism. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Cordell Hull went so far as to say that Mr. Runcimin and Mr. Roosevelt had already reached agreement in principle on the basis of a reciprocal trade treaty between Great Britain and the United States. This is' all, and rather more, than couk be hoped for from Mr. Runciman's " social visit" to the White House. Though the conversations were said to have avoided questions of detail, which must be left to experts, they were reported to have covered such ques- tions as the manufacture of armaments, raw materials, neutrality legislation, and the Ottawa Agreement. It is clear that Mr. Rtmeiman must have shown some interest in the question' of American supplies- to Great Britain m time of war. - That the talks should have proceeded so far and so fast is a proof of the desire on both sides to reach agreement ; one reason no doubt is that without a freer movement of goods the tripartite monetary agree- ment of last autumn may be unworkable. The most- favoured-nation Clause. was apparently not discuss(k1 ; Mr. Cordell Hull has already shown that he will not insist on its application in all circumstances, but the British Government cannot continue for ever to insist on the clause when it seems to suit us and evade it (by dealing in quotas instead of tariffs) when that serves our particular interests better.
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