§ Captain Cunningham-Reid (St. Maryle-bone)As I was prevented yesterday, unnecessarily, from completing my speech on the Motion for the Adjournment, I intend to attempt to do so to-day. It is somewhat of a novel departure, but it seems to me that I have to complete my speeches in serial form. The Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to whom I intimated that I was going to raise this matter to-day, asked me to state to the House that if it was possible for him to do so, he would be present.
As to my second instalment, I do not know whether the House is aware that the Isolationist organisation in the United States of America, which is known as the "America-First Committee," has during the last month increased its membership 431 from 10,450,000 to just over 15,000,000. I think it will be agreed that for a single organisation that represents a very large membership, especially as they are all paying members, and that even for a country with a population as extensive as that of America, an organisation with a membership of that size is enormous. It was also last month, I ask hon. Members to recollect, that the Isolationists in Congress only missed defeating the supporters of President Roosevelt by one vote. Raymond Gram Swing recently wrote in the "Sunday Express":
A tendency is discernible to consider this as Roosevelt's war, not America's. There was no resounding response to the Roosevelt-Churchill meeting.Hitler is well aware of the trend of public opinion in the United States of America. It only requires elementary reasoning on his part to appreciate that after his Russian campaign, whatever the outcome, an obvious move for him will be to make a peace offer which will be for him, '' Heads I win, tails you lose," because in the unlikely event of its being accepted he would be on velvet, and if it were turned down by us, as most certainly it would be, the Isolationists would make capital out of the cry, "Those obstinate British will not even listen to an offer of peace, and yet' they expect us to go on helping them and so drag us into the war." We should recollect that the masses in America have an all-absorbing desire to avoid going to war and to be able to continue leading their normal lives—a very natural instinct. They are so far away from Europe that they are not intimately concerned with what happens to individual European countries, any more than the masses in this country are concerned with what happens in the Chinese war. Then again, not having experienced the horrors of being bombed, they have no particular revengeful feelings. All they want is for the fighting to cease so that they cannot be involved and their menfolk killed. Miss Dorothy Thompson, that well-known and popular American visitor who was over here a short time ago, and who gave one or two interesting and intelligent talks on the radio, said, last year, at a mass meeting at Lake Placid, at which I was present:We in America suffer from having no popular education in world affairs. One has to explain to the masses the reason for things; but that takes time.432 That goes to bear out my plea, that from now onwards, and by all the means at our disposal, we should spend much money and energy, and concentrate on enlightening the American people as a whole, who are not so close to realism as we are, as to the dangers and pains that can be expected from even nibbling at an apple that may look so tempting, but which, in fact, will be rotten to the core. By doing this we shall be forestalling dangerous Isolationist propaganda, and helping the best friend that this country has ever had—President Roosevelt. I know that we are doing a certain amount in this direction, but I also know that we are not doing enough What are we going to do if American public opinion swings away from us to such an extent that their assistance becomes so half-hearted that it is quite inadequate for us to be able to continue the war successfully? It is no good saying that that could not possibly happen, because the signs, as I have attempted to indicate, have not only appeared but are increasing. Whatever the official view may be, the recent sinkings of American ships only make the masses in America the more apprehensive that they may be drawn into the war, and make them long for peace all the more. The incidents are by no means sufficient to make them clamour for war.One does not have to be a student of psychology to realise that it is a hundred times easier to influence people before they have made up their mind than after. A cleverly manipulated German peace offensive may be very difficult to catch up with in America. The sudden arrival of the possibility of peace will obscure the better judgment of many, unless the snags of a premature peace have been drummed in again and again. Therefore, there is not one moment to be lost, because these peace terms are certainly coming sooner or later.
Much to my surprise after three abortive attempts I have been allowed to complete a speech in this House. I would suggest that if any Member reading the OFFICIAL REPORT is interested in the information I have given, he would be good enough to glance through my first instalment of yesterday. Further contributions will be continued in my next, Whips permitting.
§ Question, "That this House do now adjourn," put, and agreed to.