Whenever United States diplomats are reproached with the fundamental selfishness of a policy of isolation, and the suggestion made that for many years they have been enjoying the benefits of a world order without sharing in any of the responsibilities they have been accustomed to challenge the assumption on four counts. The United States disarmament policy has been positive, so has her good neighbour policy, so has her reciprocal trade policy, so has her monetary policy embodied in the tripartite agreement. In leach of these spheres the United States has attempted to get something done, instead of stating what she would like to see happen as in the Open Door policy, in which the United States announced that: she would like to see equality of trade in the Far East, the Monroe policy in which she states that she would not like to see any other power establish new territorial acquisitions in the western hemisphere and the non-recognition policy which dodges the issue of what should be done if an American policy was violated by stating that in such a case the United States would refuse to recognize the conditions brought about by the crime. There is of course always a possibility that an infringement of what might be termed these static doctrines would lead to positive action, but in the case of the other four policies an active programme is continually being pressed forward.
Why, ask American diplomats, have not the beneficent effects of these policies brought about a better world? Why have they not achieved success? And the answer is plain and disquieting. They have not achieved success because they have been met at every turn by the deliberate and actively pursued hostility of one nation, Germany. Two other nations which must be associated with her, Italy and Japan, would without German inspiration and support have been far less of a disturbing influence. Germany is the nation which is thwarting American policy and the fact is made clear by Germany's appearance in splendid isolation upon the Black List of nations which do not share the benefits of tariff reductions made under the reciprocal trade programme. by the relish with which the names of German high officials were disclosed in the espionage trial, by the refusal to supply Germany with helium for her trans-Atlantic service and in many smaller ways.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.