Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-11

last stage Of the constitutional crisis seri-
ously handicapped by the absence Of Mr..
Lloyd George from the firing line. In the
last campaign the chancellor Of the ex-
chequer undertook more than the average
task assigned to a speaker. and the strain
told on his vocal chords. How serious his
condition is dispatches do not show clearly.
but the fact that he is forced to absent
himself from Parliament for two weeks or
more lends strength to misgivings enter
tanned by his friends. 1t is to be hoped
these fears are groundless There Is mo-
more interesting and forceful figure on
the stage Of British politics today than
Lloyd George a debater Of uncommon
power, brilliant, witty and admirably self
possessed in the heat of controversy, he
has few equals in or out Of Parliament.
In the great budget struggle Of the last
two years the greater part Of the burden
rested on his shoulders. Devisng new
sources of revenue to overcome treasury
deficit, and carrying his plan through a
general election against united, resource
full and selfish opposition, was a gigantic
task triumphantly performed The chan
cellor was denounced as socialist, a
revolutionist a demogogue and a criminal.
The vernacular of Hounditch was insult
ficient TO express the indignation of the
interests hit by the new taxes Needless Of
1t all. Lloyd-George pressed forward to the
goal aimed at with the unwavering zeal of
a crusader. With Parliament entering upon
the last act Of the constitutional drama, Of
which the budget was the first the absence
Of the uncompromising Welshman very
naturally is a source OF uneasiness to his
associates.
The growth of Germany in population
emphasizes to a marked degree the ma
tlon's expansion in material things. The
new census is complete so far as the
kingdom of Prussia Is concerned. and the
result is total of 40, 157, 572 inhabitants an
increase of 56S5,O64 in ten years. Prussia
alone now has more people than France or
the island Of Great Britain. The total for
the empire is expected to reach $4,000, 600
The increase is not in the nature of a
squirt, such immigration causes in the
United states 1t is the steady natural in
crease of the German race, fact OF
potential weight in the equation of Eu-
ropean power. No less notable is the de-
veiopment as trading nation. Its lines
OF activity encompass the globe. Under
system Of extraordinary exploitation, Made
in Germany has become a familiar trade
the NuElu over Cne mas almost
monopolized the trade of South America, is
steadily invading eastern Europe and
Turkey, and competing with England for
the trade of Persia and the Persian gulf
The latest feature Of its trade propaganda
is the establishment Of chain of engineer
ing schools i'm China, with the idea of
schooling the natives in the arts of pro-
gress, providing positions for German
teachers and
ducts. AS an example of development,
numerically, commercially and industrially,
the new world has no advantage over Ger
many worth Dragging about
Writing in the Forum of British rule in
India, II. G. Wells, an Englishman, says:
I'm India no longer foresee as once was
inclined to see, disaster. The English rule
in India il surely one of the extraordinary
accidents i'm history. We are there IKE a
man who had fallen off a ladder onto the
neck % an elephant and doesn't know what
to do or how to get down. Until something
happens he remains. Our functions in In
dia are absurd. We Englishmen do not own
the country, do not even rule II. We make
nothing happen, at the most, we prevent
things happening We suppress our own
literature there. Our flag is spread over
the peninsula, without plans, without in
tentions-a vast preventive. The sum total
of our policy is to arrest any discussion,
any conferences that would enable the In
dams to work out a tolerable scheme Of the
future for themselves. But that does not
arrest the resentment Of men held back
from life. The spirit of insurrection breaks
out in spite of espionage and seizures It
does not follow that we shall be driven
,catastrophically from India. We may be
able to abandon India with an air of stin
remaining there"
When the St. Gothard tunnel and rail
road, linking Germany and Italy through
Switzerland, was built the financiers in
charge induced Germany and Italy to
shoulder part of the cost. German direc-
tors shared in the management, and special
rates were made for German freight. The
Swiss decided by referendum, a few years
ago, to nationalist all the railroads. and Il
became necessary to make terms with the
Gothard road Germany at first objected 10
giving up it's share of the control. 1t offers
TO yield now, but only on condition that Il
gets preferential rates on all the Swiss rail-
roads, and on all that may be built here
after The Italian partner, too, feels
agrleved, for Italy has put much more
has, yet cannot ask for more than IL does.
The Swiss meanwhile are raging against
Germany and everything German while
Germany takes the attitude of a virtuous
creditor who means to exact the due and
forfeit Of his bond and whatever else he
may bluff his debtor into giving up.
sss
London does not propose to rest on its
laurels as the worlds metropolis and per
init younger cities. by superior induce
ments to spirit away any Of its trade It
is up and doing with much of the vim OF a
booster community The city has decided
to spend S7OOOO.OOO in dredging the Thames
river 10 a depth of thirty feet and in
building great docks yards and rail APP
proaches in order 20 keep up with the pro-
ccssion and maintain its place among the
great ports OF the world The plan in
cludes the dredging OF the river mouth TO
900 feet wide and over thirty feet in
depth at THbury in the stretch used by
the big liners. narrowing gradually to $50
feet wide and Il feet in depth at London
bridge.