The Spectator at war: American sympathy

From The Spectator, 31 October 1914:

We do not ask for help of any material kind from the United States; we recognize that a strict neutrality is not only her proper course, but represents her true interests. All we desire is the sympathy of comprehension, the sympathy of a clear understanding of the principles on which we have acted. When a man is in a great crisis, whether of sorrow, adversity, or illness, he craves for the sympathy of persons of his own flesh and blood. Their money and their energies may be of no use at all to him, but he does value their thoughtfulness and their regard. We feel somewhat in this relation with the United States, and that the sympathy we prize is being amply offered to us by Americans we must gratefully acknowledge. We do not want to involve the United States in our struggle, or expose her to any sort of attack through her approval of our courses, any more than .a