Arizona republican., 1910-05-07
The Dead King.

dead. It was on January 22. 1901, that he succeeded his mother He
 was in his 6Sth year. having been born November 9. 1S41. It was his lot to pass from earth in the midst of one of the gravest crises that have arisen and no doubt his worry over the dis tracted state of his country did much to hasten his death, just as worry over the South African war hastened
 the death of Victoria. For months he had been compelled to see the United Kingdom torn by political dissensions which threaten not only the existence of the house of lords and the whole fabric of a hereditary aristocracy, but menace the very foundations of the government It fretted him beyond
 measure that he was compelled to stand aloof from the battle and that
 he could not properly offer word of public advice. More than once in the last six months he was heard by his |
 intimate friends to express longing for the liberty and power of an Amer ican president. Speaking of the evils and heresies of socialism. he is re-
 ported to have said: ''I feel that my people are a band of sheep. attacked
 by wolves, and that l. who should be
 the shepherd. am bound and help
 less"
 Our civilization is still so incom-
 pIete that the greatness of a ruler is
 vet associated in the popular mind
 with his prowess in war. King Ed
 ward. like his really great mother.
 abhorred war and loved peace. His
 tory therefore will fail to record him
 as one of the great kings of England.
 The Kingdom never had a mere popu-
 lar monarch. however-not even Queen
 Victoria was loved more by the peo-
 pie.
 Had Edward not been so scrupu-
 Iously observant of constitutional tra-
 ditions-the requirement that the king
 shall efface himself from all political
 controversy and be mere figure
 head of government. with all real
 power lodged in the representatives
 of the people-he undoubtedly could
 have won for himself a high place
 among modern statesmen, for it IS
 unquestionabIe that he possessed the
 best qualities of statesmanship. only
 a few days ago one of the great Eng
 fish reviews appeared with q scathing
 criticism of the king for his alleged
 neglect of duty in permitting the two
 houses of parliament to fall into such
 positions of hostility to each other as
 to threaten not only the stability or
 the government but the very throne
 itself. Popular regard for the king
 forced the suppression Of the opJec-
 tionable issue of the magazine, ana
 thus demonstrated that however much
 Englishmen may fear d socialistic revolution they attach no Diahle to
 their beloved monarch.
 That King Edward was statesman
 of the first rank is the judgment or
 the worlds best observers. He was always under the disadvantage of facing an extreme limitation or ms
 nowers as titular head of the British
 empire. But notwithstanding this bandican. he achieved within the last two years remarkable triumph m diplomacy. He had ascended the throne to find the empire in splendid isolation" following the Boer war. Aif the great powers of Europe were max ing and pursuing plans which did not include British cooperation. Quietly and with remarkable tact he LOOK up the task of bringing about far-reach- ;ny changes in the foreign affairs oi b;s conntrv. Setting out with the purpose of conferring upon ms nenhew. William of Germany, the .sn,endid isolation" into which Great Britain had been placed. and although
 he had to act unofficially. he was able last year. at the end of his work 10 make it plain to h.s people that ne had succeeded. England's ancient en- emy. Russia. was converted into friend, and the long-standing Jeai- onsies between England and France eave way to such a thorough under standing that the alliance between Russia and France was enlarged 'o include. for all practical purposes. the British empire. Not only was he thus enab,ed to offset the triple alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy with the triple alliance of Great bri'aih' Russia and France. but he practicaiiy
 detached italy from the dreibund-so that when Bismarck's famous treaty between the three powers expires as if soon will by limitation, Italy VIII De m the side of Great Britain instead of Germany. This achievement by
 the king in foreign affairs warrants ,,.< .Iot ;f he had been at llD-