The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-17
London the Londoner.

ae !
~REAT; BRITAIN Is In the throes OF
q revolution. Her antique customs
ss ~ and vcneratcd institutions arc; IN
process OF destruction. From out their
ruins there is rearing the framework OF
J. ain edf.cc which may tynfy 5neW clvili-
cation. The revolutionists are In absolute
control yet their numhcrlcsa VICE f'cs
lnye been won without blow struck III
4 anger.
I claim credit for a discovery. ! lie
United States Is the most conservative
E nation on the globe and Grea. Britain IS
the most radical. We smile a the vision
II nrv8und hesitate. 10 grant Ills theories Tho
favor or bored tolerance; Great Britain
Il elects him 10 office, indorses and adopts
Ills tancics, and by the expenditure Of
countless millions OF treasure. Willingly
raised, transforms his dreams into moLu-
& ,ncnta | and seemingly practical rcali-
tics.
Il In The United States the proposition
that our cities should own and operate
q such utilities as street ra always, gas and
electric lighting plants and other works
susccptible Of monopolstic control, has
rot grar progressed beyond the stage OF
ncademic discussion. In more than ono
hundred Of the larger cities OF tho United
Kingdom the right of private ownershl,
in such properties has been repealed by
legal cnactmcnts. Those OF US whose
knowledge OF what has happened is con-
fined TO occasional newspaper comments
have not the faintest conception OF the
stupendous momentum Of this movement,
or OF what 1t portends. not to England
nlone hut 10 every civilized country on
i the face OF the earth.
Even more startling Is the paradox that
g THIS municipal .radicallsm has developed
among the people who yet stupidity cling
10 obsolete customs and traditions, ana
whose commercial and manufacturing
prestige Ia mcnaccd By their refusal 70
adopt mctlod3 ard devices Of proved SUI
perlorty. 1t shall be my purpose In the
articles which follow to show In sharp
but acc,ira te contrasts the products Of the
new radicalism and tho time-worn instl-
tutions which surround them. may
wander at times from the exact limits
of my subject. but that Is ono OF the.
i privileges of am author who travels be-
Sond the confines OF Ills familiar hort
y zon. .6s f'gtf VA
For4 three days our steamship ploWed
through the long hcayc OF the North = +
lantic. the freshly painted deckwork gl1s;-
tenIng in the rays Of m unclouded De-
Il gopher sun, pointing her bow, steadily to-
ward Lar1's End. The gentle breeze
WIS laden with the caressing balm OF
spring. The sun blazed away at the star
hoard promenade deck. compelling the
casting aside OF wraps and rugs. Tho
weather was that which one would en-
pect In June. Holding an even keel on
that parallel OF latitude which p'sects
Hudson's Bay,tit seemed difficult to real-
ize that more than a thousand m'les !'o
the south OF us the United States was
laden with snow and blocked by Ice. iSE
The morning da wned glor'ously on the
day we were to have our first view or
the out-juttlng land OF ENGLAND. The
sci!ly Isles were due to raise their ia gReu
crests on the eastern horizon az ABOUT
noon. and as the hour approached scores
OF glasses were levcled In that direction,
At 10 o'clock there was not susplc %
Of yapor beneath tho huge vault OF shy
and sea. Like magic the aspect OF the
seascape changed, Between us and Erg-
land there was reared a. wall of smoke
like fog. B swirllng clouds offmlst wrlthea
above our heads The sun strusG Cd
bravely for a moment and then disappear
Y cd, nor d d 4 see his face ne In save y {,
brief and rare Intervals for more than
4 two months when homeWard bound ana
4 fal out on the Atlantic 6a
The observat on is p obRbly not orlg nal,
but n aojourn In the great English me-
tropolis and In the provincial cities Of the
K United Kingdom, combined with q stuuy
of Its bus ness men and their methods,
suggests the theory that their TRADITIONAL
ana bonslea conservatism Is nothing more
OF less thanEthe evolutionary outcome %
successive generations spent In fog ln-
closed and mist limited horizon. y may
DO set down az q plausible proposition
that the inhabitants Of ANY community
who for long periods Of time are denied
u range Of vision not exceeding few
hundred yards must be more than ordi-
narily gifted with imagination In order
10 escape the handicap OF mental nar-
I a'owness. This theory is fortified by the
lfact that your travelled Englishman,
broadens 30 rapidly and thoroughly TINT
he bears only the faintcst5 resemblance
80 tlluso who Yet peer di'pls clown the
z siapolors Streets of London Birmingham,
Manchester, ella ssow and other cries.