The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-09-26
MR.. STEAD'S VIEW.

NIX. SI6AU'S VIEW.
The distinguished editor of the Re-
view of Reviews, William L. Stead, is
one of the few Englishmen whose
judgment and insight is not dwarfed
by over-appreciation Of everything
English. He has the courage and
frankness to criticise his conntrymen
where criticism is deserved He has
no sympathy for Chamberlain or his
imperial ideas. He says that there is
no protection sentiment in England,
and that England is nowhere near
as close to protection to-day as the
United States was to free trade when
Cleveland was elected president. "All
this agitation" says Mr.. Stead, comes
direct from Joe Chamberlain and he is
all there is to the whole issue. Cham
berlain is a dead one He is a goner.
This campaign on which he is just
started will wind him up, just as sure
as you sit there, and good thing for
Britain, too
Joe is only dragging herring
across the trail, but his game won't
work. He has taken up this idea of Il
great empire tariff merely to divert
attention from the horrible plumbers Of
the last war. The people cannot be
fooled in that way, and the report of
the war commission, now being pub
lished. is day by day exposing the
gross incapacity of the government,
and it has put Great Britain in a place
where we have had to bow our heads
before the whole world.
THAT war was intended to develop
the idea of Il great military empire,
but it cost us S2OO,OOO,OOO sterling, in
addition to terrible loss of prestige.
We can hardly claim to be great mil
itary power in view of the disclosures
made regarding the conduct of our last
war;
''Thinl of the shame of it all. rails
ing an army Of 100000 men to put
down the Boer people, who, counting
the entire number of old and young
men and strong boys, could not pos
sibly have put 10000 into the field.
The TransvaaI is worse off today
than it WAS under old Kruger. There
is Il terrible deficit in the labor mar
ket there, and the war, which was
hoped would boom the mining coun-
try, has had directly tile opposite eff
feet, and it will be entirely impossible
to develop the mines until they per-
feet some plan for importing Asiatic
labor.
1--WE stood by Chamberlain during
the progress Of the war, because Eng
lishmen will always stand by each
other when the fighting is on, and that
is one of the best of our characteris-
ties, but we always reserve the right
to count the cost of it after the danger
is past Joe Chamberlain has had
dreams Of perfectng Il great empire.
We arc not an empire at all, but mere
ly a federation of independent repub.
lies, bound together by self-interest. 1t
is a federation Which will be dissolved
whenever the necessity for it disap-
pears"
1t would he hard to administer a
more scathing reh,lke to the man re-
sponsible for the Bocr war. Mr.. Stead
shows wisdom and foresight when he
says that the SO-callcd British empire
is not an empire at ALL but only a fed
GRAFTON of Independent republics which
will he dissolved Whenever the ncces-
Sity for it disappears Recent events
have proven the truth of the above as
Srrtion. When an imperial army was
proposed to be made up of con,ingcnts
from the colonies. the proposal WAS at
once opposed by the colonies. Speak
ing in reference to the tariff question:
Mr.. Stead says. I'VE might as we'll he
honest about this thing ut once. and
for my own part I have made it a
practice to speak my mind on the sub
jcrt Great Britain is 10 longer an in
dependent nation. so far as the United
States is concerned. We cannot make
tariff arrangements with our own col
onicS without taking into consideration
our relations with your country. We
can never fight you. because Great
Britain would have to so out of bust
ness the minute you stopped our sup
ply of corn and cotton"