The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-05-13
LLOYD GEORGES
INSURANCE FUND
Huge Proposal Causes Immense Stir
Among Politicians of All
Ranks and Classes.
The Wonderful Thing About it is
its General Acceptance by
Party Leaders.
The Veto Bill Will 90 to House of
Lords in Time for Passage
Before Coronation.

In his London dispatch of May 9Th
to the Chicago Tribune, Mr.. II. p. o.
Connor sums up the British political
situation as follows:
The veto bill passed through vital
moment during the week, home rule
played its big part and the by-elec-
tions continued to excite anxiety to
both parties, but all these faded into
insignificance before Chancellor Lloyd
Georges insurance scheme
The gigantic size, the daring con.
ception and the thorough and exhaus-
tive machinery of the scheme came
with a crashing surprise even on a
public prepared by preliminary an
nouncements for weeks for the big
proposal.
More remarkable even than the i'm.
universal acceptance. Austen Cham
berlain, speaking for the tories; Red
mond, for the Irish, and Ramsey Mac
Donald for the labor party. are equally
loud in their praise; the insurance
men and editors of all the party Or
gans, even the extreme socialists, join
in chorus of praise and for the mo-
lncnt the only reservation made is that
the details shall require careful study
! before the scheme can be fully Ac-
cepted
Social Revolution Seen.
Everybody recognizes this proposal
as the most daring advance toward
social revolution and the recreation
Of all English life on entirely new
basis ever proposed or even suggested.
AS one journal puts it: Lloyd
George has out-Bismarcked Bismarck"
A moment Of reaction may come later,
but for the present Lloyd George and
his scheme stand out as the greatest
things in English political life today.
| Lloyd George got through his
speech. lasting nearly two and one
half hours, we'll. His voice was rather
low, but audible and carefully nursed
throughout the speech, but he looks
still pale and worn, and possibly.
while resting his voice, he has over
worked himself in perfecting his i'm.
mcnse and difficult scheme.
He certainly has lost much Of his
restless physical alertness, but his
mind remains enormously active and
daring and lnexhaustibly hopeful and
self-conf1dent.
Turning to other topics, the veto bill
is reaching the stage of discussion in
the house of commons and as the end
Of the fight approaches the prospects
for the measure grow brighter.
Although the filibustering in which
the struggle began did not entirely
cease, it sank every hour to smaller
size until in the end Asquith was able
to make friendly deals with A. J. Bal
| four, opposition leader, which did away
with the necessity of all-night sittings.
Balfour's speeches, although uncom-
promising on the surface. became
milder in tone and even Lord Hugh
Cecil, the most venomous opponent of
the bill and the most garrulous fllibus-
terer, toned down and when the final
debate on the committee bill ap-
preached the end, few jokes sent
everybody into fits and the stormy
opening ended in a sunset of geniality
and hearty good humor.
Next weeks fight will open with the
long delayed guillotine closure and
thus the bill will reach the house of
lords in plenty of time to be disposed
of before the coronation
The general expectation now is that
the house Of lords will accept second
reading of the bill and proceed to in
troduce only one drastic amendment,
which would compel Premier Asquith
to have another general election be-
fore passing the home rule bill.
This follows my anticipation all
along that Balfour would try to con-
centrate on Ireland as the one issue
that can reunite the scattered and
broken party. The peers also seem to
think the king would not grant 500
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