"America must discard the attitude of petty hatred toward England if she is to get along smoothly with that country. And it is essential to the welfare of both countries that they be in harmony," said Major General H. T. Allen, in a recent interview with a CRIMSON reporter. "England already realizes the necessity of being on good terms with America and has done a great deal to alleviate tension between the English speaking countries.
"This is a problem which confronts every intelligent citizen of the United States, for when two of the greatest of all nations fail to cooperate, it is an un-excusable calamity." General Allen was then asked if a stronger treaty alliance with Great Britain would be the steadying and binding influence. "That is not the idea at all" he replied. "We do not need political union with England, in fact we should keep away from the network of international rules which in themselves furnish plenty of ground for all sorts of bickering. Friendly feeling is the thing that should be developed. This does not mean that we, as a nation, must give up those principles of independence for which we fought with England at the time of the Revolution. That time is past and those problems have been met. Now we must fix firmly the bond of the readjusted relations of friendly equality in place of subservience."
Advocates Closer Relations
When asked how the proper spirit of friendliness with England could best be established in the minds of the people of this nation General Allen suggested increased relations. "The large majority of the people have nothing on, which to fix their opinions of England," he said. "If they could become better acquainted with that country they would be less critical and would benefit by it.
"I am very much in favor of the exchange athletic meets between Harvard and Oxford and similar colleges of the kind that have been held in recent years for they tend to prove to us that the English are not so bad after all. In France the doughboys did not know the English soldiers at all during the earlier part of the war, but they soon got to know and like them.
"It is a case of a few people with bitter feelings toward Great Britain inciting the greater part of a nation and blindly turning them toward their narrow viewpoint." General Allen pointed out next.
"Exchange speakers, provided they stick to facts and are not anti-everything can do much to promote proper Anglo American relations. Lloyd George has been of unlimited value by presenting England in a tactful and proper manner.
"New England should have such men. She was the first part of the country to free herself from the English and the last to be willing to forget it. New England might even be called the seat of anti-English feeling in America."
Read more in News
The Student Vagabond