During the month that I was in America I visited several of the camps.
The first draft army had been called. The first call gave the country
seven million men from which to select. I was surprised to find that
in many camps, before military training could commence, schools in
English had to be started to ensure the men's proper understanding of
commands. This threw a new light on the difficulties Mr. Wilson had
had to face in coming into the war.

The men of the draft army represent as many nationalities, dialects
and race-prejudices as there are in Europe. They are a Europe
expatriated. During their residence in America a great many of them
have lived in communities where their own language is spoken, and
their own customs are maintained. Frequently they have their own
newspapers, which foster their national exclusiveness, and reflect the
hatreds and affections of the country from which they emigrated. These
conditions set up a barrier between them and current American opinion
which it was difficult for the authorities at Washington to cross. The
people who represented neutral European nations naturally were anxious
for the neutrality of America. The people who represented the Central
Powers naturally were against America siding with the Allies. The only
way of re-directing their sympathies was by means of education and
propaganda; this took time, especially when they were separated from
the truth by the stumbling block of language. For three years they
had to be persuaded that they were no longer Poles, Swedes, Germans,
Finns, Norwegians, but first and last Americans. I mention this here,
in connection with the teaching of the draft army English, because it
affords one of the most vivid and comprehensible reasons for America's
long delay.

What brought America into the war? I have often been asked the