Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-13
KING MOST WORRIED
MAN IN ENGLAND
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
LONDON, February > 1910.
@ROBABLY there is no more worried
r man in England today than King
q Edward and no one who knows
the situation in which he finds himself
can deny that he has ample cause for
worry. Things have not been going right
with him at all, and he is really in a
most difficult position
To begin with, there Is the result of
the election. The king was very angry
at the lords when they threw out the
budget some months ago and SO precipi-
tated a constitutional crisis. Edward.
who Is a very sensible man. has laid
down for himself the rule that he must
never betray in the slightest degree any
prediction he may have in secret for
one or the other OF the great English
political parties. His theory is that he
is king of the wEcla English people and
not of any faction. For that reason he
has always refrained sedulously from
mixing In home politics, while he has at
the same time taken a keen interest and
a very active part in foreign affairs.
Now, however, 1t begins to look as if
he would have to take hand in home
affairs, and what displeases him most
about this is that the country has given
him no decided lead. The two great par
ties in the state, excluding for the mo-
ment the Irish nationalists and the labor
party, have come back just about equal
Edward would have preferred greatly to
see either party in an overwhelming ma
jority. 1t would not have mattered to
him which party won so long the
preponderance was great enough. for
then he could have taken the position
that the people had shown him clearly
what they wanted.
The reason he is compelled to make
the choice now is the fact that one of
the great questions on which the election
turned is the position OF the house of
lords. and the final word in regard to
its future rests with the king. Only he
can effectively clip their wings. and he
weeks. IL Prime Minister Asquith de-
mahdS from him a guarantee that he
viii create enough new peers to swamp
the present house and create a liberal
majority pledged to make it commit sui
eide, and he refuses. he will be faced
at once with an outcry from all the no.
erals and radicals in the country-and ap
parently they are about half the popula-
tion-that he is supporting the aristoc-
racy and the landed and moneyed inter-
ests against the common people.
II he does what Asquith asks, then he
will have to face an equally loud outcry
from the other half of his people that
ne is supporting the party that would
and backbone of his kingdom.
About the only way TO prophesy what
the king will do in this extraordinary
situation is to get on the inside of Lord
Roseberys mind. for the monarch is
becoming more and more under the in
tfuence of this brilliant man who was
once liberal prime minister of England.
out who now belongs to no party. Lord
Rosebery is essentially a moderate man
and his tendency in any situation of diff
RI ,fra Do ~lnTn
ne may find way by which the king
NAV satisfy both parties. On the other
hand Lord knollys. Edwards private sec
rotary, Is man of whose prudence and
Lord knollys is reputed to be an extreme
radical In politics, although. of course.
he is barred by his position from taking
an active part In political affairs.
Then Edward has number of other
little worries. He is great stickler for
the dignity of the aristocracy and he is
furiously angry at Lady Constance Stew
art Richardson for appearing as a CLASH
cal dancer on the stage of music hall.
He Is said to have declared that the
spectacle Of a woman Of one of the
oldest families in England .'capering
about before crowd of canaille with
nothing on" was disgracefu He even
appealed to the Duchess Of Sutherland
who is Kinswoman of Lady Constance,
to induce her to give up the idea but
the duchess was unsuccessful.
1t would be bad enough if Lady Con-
stance were only an ordinary member of
the aristocracy. but she has been men,
Der of the intimate royal set. and at one
time she was a great favorite with the
king himself.
Another OF the kings little worries is
the position of his friend Viscount
Churchill whose wife left him some
months ago and who refuses to come
back Now. Lord Churchill is the official
who has charge Of the invitations to the
royal Enclosure at Ascot and to many of
the royal functions. and naturally he has
made a good many enemies. Ladies to
whom he has been forced to refuse in
vitatons on account of their matrimonial
irregularities are losing no opportunity of
gossiping about his own marital troubles
The king was in hopes that Lord
Churchill might patch matters up before
the season opens, but there seems to be