The Calumet news., 1912-02-13
"Commoner" Is Made knight Of
Garter for the First Time
in 200 Years
PARLIAMENT OPEN TOMORROW
Government Plans to Put Through
Three Important Bills
Promises to be One Of the Most Mo-
mentous Sessions in Years.
laborites are Active.

LdpoTiteS are hCtiNcs
London. Feb. l3.-The almost unpar-
alleled honor which King George has
bestowed on Sir Edward Grey. British
secretary OF state for foreign affairs
by nominating him to the Oldest and
most exclusive order of the garter. in
which only members of the royalty and
select few of the highest among the
nobility are called. and which many
reigning sovereigns vainly covet, has
created immense speculation through
out the British Isles
II is nearly two hundred years since
the garter was conferred upon COM
moner under similar circumstances.
only four other commoners have been
privileged to wear the blue ribbon dur
ing the history of the order of the
knights of the garter. The exact
meaning of this signal mark of favor
is known only To innermost circles.
while it unquestionably sets the seal
of the Kings and British cabinets un-
qualified approval upon Sir Edward
Greys conduct of foreign affairs dur
ing recent momentous years.
Parliament Opens Tomorrow.
Parliament opens tomorrow with the
usual speech from the throne. The
session promises to be a momentous
one, on account of three important
measures-home rule. dlsestablishment
with the church. and manhood suffrage
ALI of which the government is
pledged to carry through. Any one of
these measures would years ago have
been considered ample work for a
whole session.
Laborites Seek Control.
Since the Liberal party re-
turned to power in 1905. and
particularly since IL has depended for
its political life on the supp5r; of the
Laborites and Nationalists mora leg
islatlon Of the kind advocated by trade
Unions has been enacted than IN any
similar period ia the history o. the
country.
Still labor. or at least the Indopend-
ent Labor party, which is largely dom
mated by Socialists. is not satisfied and
has arranged program which, as last
years president of the party, Ben
Turner, admitted. contains expecta-
tons much greater than the possibili-
ties. Mr. Turner said today that the
party has not done all that it could
have done the fault lying in the fact
that it lacked numerical strength. It's
business now is. he added, to make II
the dominating controlling. guiding
and ruling party of the state.
Labor Laws Enacted.
In the last few years the I.aborites
have enacted into acts of parliament
the following:
The trade dispute act, which per-
mits peaceful picketing during strikes.
An act to provide for the feeding of
school children.
The compensation act which pro-
ides for the payment of persons In
jured at their work.
A fuller adoption OF the fair wage
principle, which makes obligatory the
payment by government contractors OF
the union rate Of wages
An Improvement in the position OF
the workers in the government dock
yards.
A provision for work for the unem-
ployed.
The old age pension bill.
The payment of members of parlia-
ment. which relieves the trade unions
.c xxrhn
resent their interests in the house.
The establishment OF labor bureaus,
where men and women in search of
work may register and he supplied
with information as to work obtain
able.
Insurance against illness and unem-
ployment, which bill although II does
not altogether meet with the approval
of the trade unions. has been accepted
with the understanding that an effort
will be made to improve H.
Legislation Still Desired.
For the immediate future the party's
platform contains these planks, looking
to the further Improvement of the con-
dition of labor:
\ right To work bill. That u idW
making II obligatory upon the govern
ment TO provide work for those desir-
/ ing H.
The abolition OF night work as far as
possible.
A land policy which would place the
workers. on land until the nationaliza-
ton Of land has been accomplished.
The naturalization of railways and
mines
Bills for the Improvement of the
housing of worhingmen.
The leaders have set themselves To
the task Of increasing the labor rep
resentation In the house Of commons
from forty-two to l42, and i'm this con-
crete purpose they believe they can
dominate not only home but also for