The Washington herald., 1908-04-05
LIBERALS MAY SPLIT
Party Faces Crisis and Con-
sePYatiVes Loom Up.
PREMIER'S DAYS NUMBERED
Asquith, who VIII Follow Hammer
man as Party and Cabinet Leader,
other sIde-Much Beer Consumed
In Past Twenty-Five Years.

London, April AUST such a split as
occurred in the Democratic party in the
United States when Bryan was first
nominated. threatens TO rend the Liberal
ranks in England.
The break VIII bring the Conservatives
again into power The Liberals, with the
Radical and Conservative elements acting
independently of one another. cannot last
a day
Premier Sir Henry Campbell Banner
mans personality alone has helS the two
factions together so long. No other
Liberal leader possesses his gifts as a
conciliator.
Sir Henry's days are numbered. He is
! seventy-one years old and mortally iii.
Though he should live for few months
more, his retirement is imminent. Already,
| from his sickrOOm in London. he is corre-
spending with King Edward at Biarritz.
relative to his resignation.
Asquith to Succeed Him.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Asquith
viii succeed him as party and cabinet
leader, and party chaos must soon follow.
| The Liberals themselves are as sure OF
it as are their political opponents. The
/ Radical element does not conceal its de-
termination TO wreck the general or
ganization rather than let the Conserva-
tive wing have its way. The reactionaries
would rather merge their identity with
the real old Conservative party than sub
,s-4
The militant Radicals number abont two
thirds Of the Liberals present majority of
( $50 in the House of Commons They have
/ it in their power to defeat the administra-
tiOn whenever they please by an adverse
vote on party measure, and pl plecipitate
a general election. There have been signs
of late that the Conservatives would win
az this time against the combined Liberal
vote. With the latter party split in
twain. there can be no question of Con-
seTvative majority
Indications of Revolt.
Several times during the premiers III
ness there have been indications Of a
revolt The breach opened since the first
of the year is too wide ever To be closed
again.
The Radicals are devoted to social re-
/ form, and particularly to schemes for
eliminating poverty from England. They
1 insist on a reduction In naval expendi-
lures and the use of the money on pub
lie works. where all the country's idle
can find employment
Chancellor Asquith. a red-hot Conserya-
tive, can no more see the Liberal side
( of the controversy than could Grover
Cleveland sympathize with the Bryanites.
/ He is a fighter, too, "A strict disciplinaTian,
and believes in handling the Radicals
without gloves.
/ The Liberals stand, in general
/ way. for free trade. greater moderation
/ than the Conservatives in military and
naval expenditures. and. of late, for vast
reduction in the number Of the country S
/ public houses and stricter regulation OF
/ the liquor traffic.
! The Conservatives have protectioniSt
leanings, want a stronger army and a
stil stronger navy; look down on the
radical Liberalist plans for social reform,
and regard the Liberals proposed liquor
legislation as the worst form of conisca-
tion and tyranny.
Consumes Much Beer.
England's temperance reformers figure
that Great Britain has consumed sos
679,S ,S29 barrels of beer in the past quarter
of a century. The brewers themselves
furnished the statistics, which may be
taken as accurate down to the fraction
of a barrel
The brewers point with pride to the race
their product has built up. The teetotal-
/ eTs are shocked by the showing
The Metropolitan board officials estimate
that If people used beer like water-drank
it, bathed in 1t, sprinkled the streets with
it, and what not, the specified supply
would last a population of 8. 10000 for
100 days. It represents the average flow
of the River Thames at Teddington for
| twenty-eight days.
Room for Playwright.
Now is the time for American play.
wrights 10 break into the London field
if they have good material. English
dramatic founts seem to have dried up
and the managers have been turning 10
the dramatized novel as a last resort.
Well, the dramatized novel hasn't helped
them much. A revolution seems, in fact,
to have set in against it.
". J. Bocke's The Beloved Vagabond,"
presented by Beerbohm Tree at His
Majesty's Theater, is the latest failure
The book had an enormous sale. Ap-
parently that was what hurt tle play
Almost every one who went to the theater
had a preconceived idea of what ought
to happen. and the thing they saw pre-
sented was not what they had looked
for.
E. ". Hornung's "Stingaree," Dickens
Mystery of Edwin Brood" and Field
ing's TON Jones" were only a few
among the other novelistic lemons"