Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-11


direct issue In the contest, the question
Of restricting the veto power Of the House
OF Lords holds as well the fate OF home
rule as II does all other reform measures
Of liberal party origin. The failure Of the
Irish natlonalists to participate in the
final scenes attending the burial OF the
budget was not because they loved the
lords any more than their more radical
assyc.aeos. IL was the eXigency Of party
policy which makes home rule the supreme
demand. Naturally the nationalists de-
sire liberal party success, but, as their
shrewd leaders view the field. they see in
their eighty or more votes the possibility
Of holding the balance Of power In the new
Parliament If this advantage Is realised,
the purpose of the nationalists Is TO insist
on home rule as the price OF support OF
either party. The destiny that doth shape
our ends" Is certainly shaping the mold In
which home rule will be cast. and the hopes
and aspirations Of a century realized. Rea-
sons for this confidence are two-fold: Lib
eral party success. IL It means anything,
means a restriction Of the co-equal power
Of the House of Lords. It Is to be expected
the peers will not assent to a restriction
Of their power. In that event Il will be
necessary for the ministry to demand the
creation OF a sufficient number Of new
peers to overcome the present tory major
ity. The most optimistic prophets of the
outcome scarcely hops FOR a clear tory ma
jority in the House OF Commons, In either
case a narrow margin would put in the
hands of the nationslists the fate of any
ministry that fails to give home rule the
right-of-way among reform measures. Lib
ersl party leaders are publicly pledged; DO
litical necessities may extort it from the
ancient enemy.
Dearly as al Bnglishman is said to love
a lord, few political prophets whose
opinions are worth while anticipate a rush
among the masses to assume the tax
burdens the landlord and liquor lords de-
ellned to shoulder. That affection, however,
Is expected to furnish a large part OF the
gain OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES look for in
England proper. Scotland. Wales and Ire
land are hopelessly anti-lords, T. p. o'Con-
nor, member Of parliament, who is we'll
posted on the situation, assumes that the
three divisions will remain practically as
they are, politically. The one hope Of the
Tories to get a majority, or materially re.
duce the Liberal majority, In his opinion
is among the 4s5 English seats. Three
hundred and twsnty-seven of the 1885," he
says, ARE at present represented by Liber-
ais or labor members. 1t is among these
s7 that the Tories must find their ma
jority il they are to get one. 1 don't
think they will make serious gains except
in London, where the liquor seller is still
a big power, and where also there ls that
love Of the wealthy which is natural in a
capital whore so much Of the profits Of the
aopanaa,niAy - 1bt.4n~a $780, 1orf.L
penditure Of the rich"
The All-American exposition which is to
open in the German capital next June and
continue through July and August, is going
70 surprise the natives, evidently, judging
by the fears expressed by the newspapsrs.
An extensive exhibit Of American manu-
features, the contrasts that may be drawn
from II, and the trade possibilities 1t may
develop, constitute ground for alarm In
interested German circles. The Reinisch-
Westfaclische Zeitung, a trade publication
Of Essen. attacks the exposition as one
most likely to injure German trade by
affording Americans an opportunity to
show the excelence OF their
lures. 1t calls Prince Henry of Prussia, an
official of the show, IAN agent Of Ameri-
can trade" and expresses a fear of the
effect Of a contrast between German and
American wares. The projectors OF the
exposition are not in the scheme for
amusement or recreation. They are in it
for the purpose Of extending American
trade, regarding Germany as a fertile field
for boosting business. Every publication
which draws attention to the show, even
though unfriendly, is to be welcomed. A
~megaphone knocker is preferable TO a silent
one.
A japanese newspaper Of Tokyo, the
Jill, laments the increased cost of living
In a land formerly renowne for its cheap
ness. The struggle for existence causes
the dissolution OF landed estates thai nave
been handed down for generations. In
herlted habits of idleness among the coun-
try gentry account for some OF this dis
tress. But the change in land ownership
may disturb the balance OF social affairs
in the villages. A part Of the trouble is
caused by taxation, which has affected the
pI osperlty OF farmers. When all the sew
eral forms OF public dues are deducted from
the proceeds Of the harvest, the landown-
ers' profits are cut down, while at the same
time the market prices OF all
ties are rising. One source Of expense and
cor sequent trouble SENS to be the intro
duetion Of western fashion. Tit sons OF
tenant farmers wear European hats and
clothing, The gentry take to stock specu-
letion ana to the promotion of risky and
unfamiliar business enterprises. thus en-
dangering their estates and perhaps Inn
poverishing their families.
sss
The money cost to France Of the war
with Germany, in 1879, as estimated by
the French minister Of finance, is aston
ishing. He says 1t was $4,000. 900, 900, The
indemnity that Bismarck eXacted was
81, 900, 900, 900, but that leaves S9,O0O. OO0,OOO 10
account for. The finance minister reokons,
OF course, on the basis Of the actual cost
OF the military operations during the war,
with the indemnity thrown in. and adds
the money value Of all the property and
lives destroyed, the paralysis Of trade, the
laten interest payments on the war loans,
the pensions and the like. Altogether, the
losses make a staggering Total for about
one year Of war. What might we not
have done" exclaimed the finance minis
ter, in a recent speech on the French bud
get, for the material and social progress
OF France, with the SO,OO,O00,OO which the
war cost US"