I

THE TREATY OF PEACE

61

of good feeling and because many of them nowsuspect that any other course would upset theirown economic equilibrium. But they don’twant to be “done.” They do not want it tobe said that once again the old cynics in Europe have been one too many for them. Times,too, have been bad and taxation oppressive; andmany parts of America do not feel rich enoughat the moment to favour a light abandonmentof a possible asset. Moreover, these arrange-ments, between nations warring together, theyliken much more closely than we do to ordinarybusiness transactions between individuals. Itis, they say, as though a bank having made anunsecured advance to a client, in whom theybelieve, at a difficult time when he would havegone under without it, this client were then tocry off paying. To permit such a thing wouldbe to do an injury to the elementary principlesof business honour.

The average American, I fancy, would liketo see the European nations approaching himwith a pathetic light in their eyes and the cashin their hands, saying, “America, we owe toyou our liberty and our life; here we bringwhat we can in grateful thanks, money notwrung by grievous taxation from the widowand orphan, but saved, the best fruits of victory,out of the abolition of armaments, militarism,Empire, and internal strife, made possible bythe help you freely gave us.” And then theaverage American would reply: “ I honour youfor your integrity. It is what I expected. But