El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-22

ONION, England, July 22.-Her-
bert Henry ASquith, prime minis
ter and head of the government
of Great Britain since April. 1908 is the
first middle class, Nom COnforrnist. dem
| ocratic premier England has ever had
His predecessor, Campbell Bannerman,
was democratic, but his wealth and his
landed estates caused him to be classed
with the gentry" Baifour and Sails
J bury were of Cecil blood. born with the
| governing instinct" Roseberry was and
is an aristocrat TO the tips of his fingers,
| and he now appears to repent in sack
| cloth and ashes the fact that once he
| was the leader of the democratic hosts.
| Gladstone, radical democrat by con-
} viction was yet an ariStOcrat in instinct
/ and feeling. 1t never can be forgotten
! that he first entered parliament as
/ Tory, the beneficiary of a corrupt NOM
! nation and corrupt election under
| the patronage of a VIGOROUSLY corrupt
| duke. Gladstone was like Jefferson in
| that the volcanic fires Of his political
| and philosophical democracy were hot
| enough TO set nation ablaze, but not
/ fierce enough to destroy his personal
aristOcracy. And, like Jefferson. Glad
stone thereby earned from his enemies
the dishonoring epithet "demagog."
| DssraeIIs Principles Simnar.
| OF al Mr.. AsquIth's predecessors per-
! haps the one whose origin was closest
! TO the people was the Tory DisraeH. The
| father of the primrose statesman was a
struggling author, and therefore en-
titled to rank in Che profe ssionai class,
! but Dizzy had to struggle upward
against the disadV antages impCSed 10y
his Jewish birth and his actual poverty
Put whatever his origin. Dlsra-;ii Ger
t.liply cannot be remembered rs cham
pion of democracy.
Mr.. Asquith came to his present posi-
tion of supreme power from youth OF
poverty He sprang from an humble
middleclass family engaged in the cloth
ing trade. he had no money he EO- his
education by winning Scholarships ana
he made his way to prominence by hard
work at the law. British prejudice
against lawyers in high political place
is marked, and Mr.. Asquith is the first
lawyer to be prime minister since the
days of the Inflated Spencer PercavaI
who held office from 1909 TO 1872
Throughout his entire career Mr. AS
Quith has enjoyed no adventurous aids,
He has risen by sheer force of his own
Will He has none of the arts of the
intriguing politician Disraeli, and none
of the oratorical magic of Gladstone;
he has not the wit ola Roseberry, nor
the icy logic of a Balfour; he never can
hope to have the cavalry dash of his sup
porter Churchill. nor the fiery tongue
of the tempestous LlOyd-George.
Asquith Dealt With Conditions
The Asquith mind is a legal mind 1t
deals with conditions, not theories. An
Asquith policy is a case to be won in
court, not a cause 20 be died for in bat |
tie A democrat always, he is adamant |
to resist the passionate clamor of the |
people unless they show that they have |
reason as we'll as right, conviction as !
well as prejudice, upon their side. He |
has the hard common sense of a Grover /
Cleveland and the clarity of expression |
OF a Benjamin Harrison. without Cleve-
lands egotism and lacking Harrison's I
eioquence.
While Asquith is the leader and cap
tain of the organized forces of the Lib
eral party, 1t cannot be said that he is i
the moving spirit in the present swift
progress of political thought. 1t is
who is leading the actual
battles of democracy in Great Britain
Asquith never could have invented the
radically progressive schemes proposed
by his WELSH chancellor and Winston
Churchill His is not The offensive gen
exalship of his party. But he Is power
full and wise in>defence. and therefore
he remains the actual as we'll as the |
titular leader of Liberalism because he
Is recognized throughout the kingdom
as the chief champion of the doctrine !
of free trade. After all free trade is
the citadel of the Liberal polity. and if
that fortress should fall the cause of
social reform would be left hopeless for
many years to come
Lends RespectabiIity.
Although 1t would have been fmpos-
siole, even a score OF years ago, for
man Of Asquith's humble origin to have
attained to the high position of premier
and although he occupies that position
by virtue of the loss of control of the
landlords over the Liberal party, yet il
S Asquith who gives to the Liberal gov
srnment today a measure of -'respecta-
0ility' which it would not possess If
or Winston Churchill sat / ,
II the head OF the cabinet council. |
Lloyd George is a Welshman and aotally
says things without qualifying phrases / ]
'elling spades spades, and thereby MAX ,
ng himself a horrible person utterly
Unfit to drink tea of an afternoon with
perfect gentlemen.
Winston Churchill is haIf-American ,
nd therefore more than half barbarian
lis mother, as Lady Randolph Church ! /
II. or as Mrs George CORVALLIS West, :
nay be perfectly acceptable. but every I
elbow knows" that there Is wild west
much of a savage that he was impu- !
ent and rude enough TO intimate TO G
George that George had bats in his 7
elfry touching on the appertaining to q
certain matter Of governmental policy.
bout which George most probably knew I