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The Political Background of the London Conference
By LEON PLATT
(conclusion)
THE STRUGGLE FOR HEGEMONY OVER THE DOMINIONS
The sharpening difference between the Dominions and the British Government directly reflects the growing antagonism between the U. S. A. and Great Britain using the Dominion as an arena for struggle. The failure of the Empire free trade movement, and the establishment of a tariff on products imported to the Dominion from the mother country, only shows how the United States is maneuvering to win the hegemony over the Dominions of the British Empire. Aside from  the growing revolutionary struggle in the British colonies against British imperialism, aside from the development of a native bourgeoisie in Canada, and Australia, in the present situation, the United States cannot permit British imperialism the unlimited and undisturbed right for the exploitation of this vast territory and the millions of people residing there: The defender of American Imperialist policy, Nicholas Roosevelt, plainly stated: "If England would clearly recognize the close kinship between the United States and the Dominion, she would find it easier to work out a form of partnership which would be based not on rivalry but on the pursuit of common interest to mutual advantages." From the above it is clear that United States capitalism is demanding a share, demanding the right to become a partner with Great Britain in the exploitation of the Dominion.
In Canada today the United States has a much larger influence than England. The United States is using Canada as a good channel thru which it exerts its influence upon the entire British Empire. The growth of American influence in the Empire, simultaneously with the decline of Great Britain is best exemplified by the figures given in the chart below.
Percentage of imports into various parts of the empire furnished by the United States and the United Kingdom:*
AUSTRALIA
[[7 columned table]]
|   |U. S.|U. K.|   |Gain|   |Loss|
|1913|13.7|51.8|   |   |   |   |
|1926|24.6|43.4|U.S.|18.9|U. K.|8.4
CANADA
[[7 columned table]]
|   |U. S.|U. K.|   |Gain|   |Loss|
|1913|64.0|21.3|   |   |   |   |
|1928|64.9|16.8|U.S.|09|U. K.|4.5
*N. Roonnet: America and England.
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