12 
Land & Water 
February 20, 1910 
America's Part : By J. D. Whelpley 
THAT America would contribute money, supplies and 
men to the war in vast amounts, quantities and 
numbers has been taken for granted by the people 
of the Allied nations, though even n these direc- 
tions foreign expectations have been exceeded. 
That American military representatives in France should, 
however, b^ able to present a workable plan for the Higher 
Command and prescjit it with an argument that eliminated 
other plans from consideration may have come as a surprise 
to many. In his speech in the House of Commons last week 
the Prime Minister said : 
I hesitated for some time as to whether I should read to 
the' House the very cogent document submitted by the Ameri- 
can delegation which puts the case for the present proposal. 
It is one of the most powerful documents I have ever seen 
submitted to a military conference. I do not read it because 
it is so mixed up with the actual plan of operations tliat it 
would be quite mipwssible for me to read it without giving 
away what tlie plan of operation is. If I could only have 
read it there would have been no necessitv for me to make 
this speech at all. 
The Amjrican Generals came fresh to the problem with no 
political or constitutional limitations to hamper them and 
the hLstory of the past three years and a half to guide them 
in their elimination of jwssible error. They also brought to 
the Council table those peculiar gifts, apparently' characteristic 
of American enterprise, the faculty of the " bird's eye view," 
the courage to make quick decisions and those talents for organ- 
isation in evidence in the widespread machinery of great 
businesses conducted so successfully in home and foreign trade. 
The principles underiying successful American business are 
unity of control, organisation and speed ; and it is apparent 
that these same principles are to be employed in the making 
of war and their undoubted value impressed whenever possible 
upon America's partners in the enterprise. 
The worid is being very frankly told from day to day what 
America is doing in a material way in the war. Admiral 
Sims says that everything in the American Navy that 
could be of use is now in European waters and that the 
Amencan Navy is not only co-operating but has become an 
mtegral part of the Allied Naval forces. The American 
Secretary of War says that a half-million American 
soldiers wiU be m Europe eariy this spring, in fact most of 
them are here now, that there wiU be a million before next 
wmter, and another million in training at home. The United 
States Government has already lent neariy one thousand 
mUlion pounds steriing to the AUies and is increasing this 
amount with every passing month. 
Food and Supplies 
u ■^u^ '» yP"" P^"^ °^ ^^^ ^°°^ ^"<^ supplies now being imported 
by the AUies is commg from America, and it is only a question 
of ships to mcrease the quantities. Mr. Hoover, the Food 
ControUer, has called upon the American people to decrease 
their already restncted consumption of bread, meat and sugar 
by another ten to twenty per cent, to furnish cargoes for the 
rapidly mcreasmg number of new ships carrying supplies to 
the Allies. What America asks of the AUies is that consump- 
tion of staples shaU be reduced as low as possible so that all 
ships needed for troops wiU be set free. It has in fact become 
a question of whether the AUies prefer a ton of food or a ton 
ot men, and the decision is left in their hands 
The buildmg of new ships is weU under way and the tonnage 
figures of 1918 wiU make a remarkable showing. This building 
of new ships is not only of vital importance to the world at war, 
but the safety and comfort of aU nations depend upon a large 
tonnage being avaUable immediately after the war to keep the 
food supply going and to re-stock exhausted stores of raw 
material for industry. 
r^.T!''"'^ if ".? q"f tion but that the American people now 
clu^'. fnr^.h^^' l^'y ^'' ^' ^^' ^"d ^h^t this is a^conflicT 
caUing for the entire reserve strength of the nation in men 
that for some time after the war the people of Europe are 
going to look to them for help in the rebuilding of a broken 
world. It IS with this in mind that the United States Govei^ 
ment is providing for after-the-war control of prices pS- 
tion, railroads, shipping and exports that the needs of foreign 
countries may not be exploited by private enterprise. It has 
wm be^'mn^y^ ^^ "^"7 Governments so tLt the worS 
will be run on a more or less communal basis untU at least 
ILll^T''^}' "°™.^' ^t^t*^ °^ ^«^'^ °nce more preSs 
after a day of peace has dawned. pievaus 
As American influence is increasingly felt in the war the 
line of demarcation between mUitary Ind politkal enterprLe! 
so sharply defined by President Wilson, becomes more apparent 
and his purpose more intelligible. The President is deter- 
mined if possible to confine America's effort in Europe purely 
to military and economic assistance and to stand aloof from 
aU political discussions. He wishes to avoid even the appear- 
ance of dictation in European affairs, and above aU he does 
not want the Government of the United States through the 
presence of a large number of American representatives in 
AlUed Councils to drift into the position of a referee or a 
" balance of power." 
The original idea as conceived in Washington was for the 
Allies to agree as to their needs and for America to supply 
them as best she could. It was found, however, that this plan 
has grave disadvantages, and that it was absolutely necessary 
that Americans should be on the spot in London, Paris and 
Rome to discuss ways and means at length when occasion 
arose. It is significant that the return of Colonel House to 
Washington from his visit to Europe was foUowed by a 
decided broadening in the operations of the American 
Government abroad. This astute and unofficial adviser to 
the President grasped the situation as usual. Commissioners 
were appointed, delegates to Conferences appeared in London, 
Paris and Rome, and the American Government, through 
carefully selected men of high character and reputation, 
entered into closer personal relations with current European 
affairs than heretofore. These men are working in closest 
co-operation with representatives of the Allies, and they are 
in a position to achieve a real understanding of the necessities 
of the day, the order of precedence to be given to these 
necessities and to keep the Washington Government informed 
daily as to the progress of events. AU this is more or less 
distinct from the purely mUitary situation, for that lies in 
other hands and has nothing to do with national or inter- 
national politics. 
President Wilson has been so careful not to give even the 
appearance of attempting to play a part in European politics 
and not to allow the United States Government to become 
the arbiter in inter-AUied affairs that he has created an 
impression of American aloofness from the war. It is im- 
portant therefore to understand that this aloofness applies 
only to matters not directly concerned with military or 
economic operations and that it is but the expression of an 
Amencan foreign policy, the only principle held and practised 
consistently since 1776, that of non-interference in the 
political fortunes of other Powers. There is no aloofness 
from the war itself, for America has entered into that with 
aU the ardour of a people engaged in a sacred cause, and the 
nation is led in this by President WUson himself with words 
that have been voluntarily adopted by the AUied Governments 
as a complete expression of their own ideals and purpose. 
Several speakers in England have recently referred to the 
wonder of Amencan participation in the war " in spite of 
the Monroe Doctrine." 
There seems to be a slight misunderstanding here, for the 
so-caUed * Monroe Doctrine " was simply the enunciation of 
a purpose to the effect that no foreign Power should be aUowed 
to acquire landed possessions in the Western Hemisphere 
other than those already there. It is weU understood in 
Amenca that if Germany won this war in Europe the United 
States would shortly be caUed upon to defend the Monroe 
JJoctrine against an all-powerful and victorious Germany. 
American soldiers in France are now, in a sense, fighting for 
the Monroe Doctrme on a far-flung frontier. 
It was not President Monroe, but President Washington, 
m his fareweU address, who advised his feUow countrymen 
against entangling aUiances " with foreign Powers, and this 
warning was adopted as an important feature of American 
foreign policy from that time on. By entangling aUiances 
Washington meant those " offensive and defensive " treaties 
which in the past have dragged unwiUing Governments and 
unhappy peoples into wars not of their making, but if Wash- 
ington was President of the United States to-day he would 
undoubtedly haU with satisfaction any suggestion of foreign 
worid^''^ sufficient strength to ensure the peace of, the 
The presence of an American army in France to-day is but 
an expression and a culmination of all President Washington 
fought for and mterpreted to his people. It might have been 
him and not President WUson who said the other day that 
to the vmdication of human liberty the American people 
are ready to devote their lives, their honour and everything 
they possess. The moral climax of this, the culmination and 
final war for human liberty, has come, and they are ready to 
put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own 
mtegnty, to the test." f f > 
