The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-15
GREAT CAMP PA|CN |. ENDS IN ENGLAND Such a Contest Not Held In Three Hundred Years DEATH STRUGGLE AT POLLS People Will Now Decide Whether They Will Support the Govern
 ment or Vote For the Rights
 Held By the Peers.
DEATH STRUGGLE AT POLLS

| messed the close of the parliamentary election programme that has been fought on an issue entirely novel to the | people of these times, Such an issue has not been raised for 30o years and the present one has been fought with an in- tensity of conviction. energy and bitter ness unparalleled in Great Britain in
 the present generation.
 Even the Gladstone home rule cam
 paign which came near destroying the ! liberal party failed to arose the present
 factions anything like the present in
 cumbency.
 i The conflict that opens the ballot boxes
 tomorrow for the first general election
 since 1908 is death struggle between the 1 two great political parties in the state, ] the aristocrats and the democrats, 1t is
 declared facing each other.
 The exhortation addressed to the peo-
 pie tonight by the leading liberal organ
 succinctly portrays how the conflict pre- 1 sents itself to the liberals. On the op-
 posite side is ranged every possible in- 1 fiuence in support of the privileged
 classes. AS ample proof that the struggle i is concentrated in the demands of the 1 house of commons for the limitation of
 the powers of the peers may be found in
 the fact that all attempts to make home 1 rule and the dissolution of the union factor in the contest have proved unavail- | ing.
 l The British elector so far as at present | may be judged declines to greatly con- !, cern himself with home rule and it's all
 legged dangers.
 1 Appeal to Unionists. The Weekly Spectator free trade or | gan. representative of modern men of
 both parties makes last despairing ap-
 peal tonight to the unionist free trad l eAsfst to vote against the goynrpHsept ,andT- l risk return of the proteotionist party {, rather than to endanger the integrity of ! the kingdom which, 1t says, is in far ! greater peril than ever before owing to
 the apathy the country displays toward | the Irish question.
 The two outstanding features of the | campaign have been the determination l of the liberals to. concentrate the at ! tention of the people to the constitutional struggle involved In the attempt of the | peers to control the public purse and the
 quick realization by the conservatives that 1 the rejection of the budget had been a
 
 | the opposition to change the issue and i this is seen in the introduction into the ' campaign of new issues of weak navy i and the danger of German invasion | which led the unionists to the doubtful
 policy of taking up the prominent so- | cialist, Robert Blatchford to help in their | attack on the liberals.
 While under the influence of Joseph Chamberlain tariff reform was pushe ed l as the unionsts' leading plank. On | this question the party presents very l divided front, Austin Chamberlain and ! various unofficial infiences in the party | going boldly out for the taxation of | food, while MT. Balfour declined to commit himself beyond the vague
 pledge that tariff reform should not
 have the effect of enhancing the cost ! of living to the working classes.
 Attack Upon BaIfour.
 MT. Balfour had left his position open | to strong attack from his opponents l because he has not given the slightest 1 indication of the details of his intend l ed tariff, except that he committed 1 himself to the assurance of his con | stituents, that no duty would be placed l on raw cotton.
 l The campaign has been notable be- yond all prediction struggles, in England in the enormous of pie | ture posters and similar devices. The i tariff reformers even opened shops in different districts in order to display 1 samples of foreign importations 1 dumped into England
 This situation led to amusing incl l dents and among them the discovery | in ono case that an alleged American
 chair had really been made in Lon 1 don.
 | The question of the cost of foods in | the United States and in Germany also was illustrated in similar manner. | There were displays made of British i and German bread as object lessons, | and there was much trouble over the l liberal allegations that the German 1 poor subsisted on unpalatable black bread and horse flesh.
 1 A German baker in London came for 1 ward to testify that the alleged black 1 rye bread was a luxury and he added l that he had contract to supply it | regularly to Buckingham palace.
 Lloyd George Is First. l With regard to the principals in the | campaign David Lloyd-George, chan | cellor of the exch equer, with his racy, l breezy style of oratory. easily was first l as an electioneer being followed close | iy by Minister Churchill. president of l the board of trade, and John Burns, l president of the local government 1 board. The opposition had fewer ef- | fectiye speakers and the peers, who for l tho first time broke the tradition not to | participate in an election struggle. 1 rather hindered than advanced their
 cause by their tactless manner in deal l ing with audiences.
 | Neither side neglected any possible de- ] tail of organization to insure victory. 1 The liberals tried hard to avoid what to | them, they say, was one of their great | est dangers in a triangular contest duo | to the intrusion of laborites. Despite their efforts there still remain 50 seats where there is a possibility of the lib- | eral constituency returning only unionist members through the danger they cite. | Tho unionist free traders appear to be | decided in their effort to support the tariff
 refosmers. Lord Hugh Cecil, one of their
 leaders. has announced his decision to 1 pursue this course because of the injec- | ton Into the campaign of many questions