The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-08-04
SAYS NEW ENGINE
IS FOOL PROOF
Mysterious Railway Being
Built in Somersetshire
MCDONALD AN EXPERT
Big British Politicians Usually Scots
men-Leader of Labor Party
Has Kept Lloyd-George
in Power
MCDONALD AN EXPERT
Nv PHILLIP EVERETT


layers of watchet, in Somersetshire, have
been nystifiel by the building of y mile
length of railway which leads to nowhere,
which has nc stations. no signal boxes
and no booking offices, and no adver-
MISUNDERSTANDING but two locomotives
and a train OF wagons which never carry
any goods in their ceaseless journey.
A. r. Angus of Sydney. New South
Wales, is in charge of the work, and he
gave an explanation.
"It is an experimental railway" he said,
cheering experts of the world that | have
built .fool-proof locomotive.
There will lie no up. and down and
distant signals on my line. The engine
will rick up electrical messages from the
rails as 1t travels along, and each loco
motive will have what you might term an
| electrical BRAIN.
"Tne mechanism on the locomotive will
| determine for itself whether it is safe or
! not to enter each section of The journey.
| III the section is not clear the driver
receives the signal, and If he fails to act
ON this the locomotive shuts off its own
steam and applies the brakes. and, fur
| thernore, by system of electrical COM
| nlunication 1t prevents any other train
from approaching it too closely.
Expresses, fer instance may run at
| their limit OF speed through dense fogs,
and be absolutely protected from the risk
of collision. and each train is fully Nprc-
tected even though the driver, stoker and
guard should ali be ncapacitated.
The adoption of the system would re-
sui I'm the railway working expenses
being very greatly diminished. ami the
risk due TO tho personal equation chat is.
due TO human weakness or fallibility)
would be entirely eliminated.
The system, has been exhaustivey test
ed already, end i hope soon to give a
| demonstration for the benefit of a number
Of British and foreign. railway experts,
who are extremely curious to see the re-
suit of my working"
| Expert politicians in England are usu-
ally Scotsmen, and few politicians have
| ever been so expert and SO canny as Ram
say Macdonald, the leader of the labor
! party.
Mr. Macdonald has been bitterly abused
lby disgruntled socialists and severely
criticised by men of other parties. But IL
is only fair to bear in mind that COM
promise is the essence of politics and OPP
portunism the inevitable characteristic of
the successful politician.
The I. l.. p. and its alliance with the
trade unions, an alliance for which Mr..
Macdonald was largely responsible, UNI
questionably brought socialism into the
realm of practical politics. 1t also made
Mr.. Macdonald.
| The labor party owes its existence to
| two contentious: First, that legislation
| vitality affecting the working classes could
only be attained by the creation of a dis
| tinct and Independent working class polit-
| ical party, and second, that such n party
| would inevitably be anti-revolutionary
TIE first contention was shouted aloud
and attracted the trade union rank and
file The second was whispered, and at
ttacted the cautious and elderly trade
union officials
The working class party came into ex-
istence and such is the irony of ife--is
row led by man who has never been,
in the conventional sense of the word. a
working man, who has nothing In COM
mon with the British working man, but
who is professional politician. with ex-
act counterparts in both of the estab-
lished parties.
The house of commons is Mr.. MacDon-
AIDS native sphere. lie was at once at
home there. The parliamentary manner
was natural tc him. Negotiations, in
trigue, arrangements, all the incidents OF
party politics, are easy to him,
For some time he was not the nominal
| actual leader. lie restrained the ar1or of
iieir Harde. He suppressed Victor Gray
| son. He won the miners leaders. He had
| the regard of the government and became
| its ally.
| His first business has been to keep Lloyd
| George in power. The Liberalization al
| lance has been denied, but tho denial has
been made with the tongue in the cheek.
Mr.. Macdonald has made speeches de-
nouncing the government and all its
works before this Hanley election, but
these speeches have been accompanied by
obedient following of the government
whips. His present speeches need not
e taken too seriously.
The fact is that If the liberals take up
a definitely hostile attitude to the labor
PARTY, 1t must lose half its seats, nclud-
ing the seat at Leicester which Is held
by Mr.. Macdonald himself.
1t cannot BE- commended that the English
working man is particularly keen about
either home rule or disestablishment, and
10 sone extent the reform bill is the price
MIR. Macdonald has received for the SUE
port of his followers to the first two
measures. | 90 not believe that the ex-
clusion of wcmen will really induce the
labor party to vote against the reform
bill, for If 1T he passed it will largely free
them from tho necessity of the liberal al
lance.
never III history mas politlc1an created
a party and brought 1t almost into sight
Of power within so short a time, AMI now
the whole thing is threatened with de-
strucsion.
The real working man Is impatient of
politics. He has no great enthusiasm for
the abor party. He cares nothing at all
for tie fact that Mr.. Macdonald may pos
sibly be prime minister. He just wants
more wages. and to obtain more wages he
has gone back toNthe old weapon of the
strike.
Mr.. Macdonald and the older leaders
are opposed to strikes because they-are
frequently failures and because. won or
lost. they derlete trade union funds, ex-
haust the fighting spirit and leave no
money for politics. But they have not
been able to stop strikes, and with the
strikes has grown the disbelief in them
and all their works.
Now have come Haney and Crewe. and
he opportunity to accent independence
and attack the liberals. Capitalism is held
up TO odium. and Lloyd-George is glib
beted with Bonar Law. But II Is unlike
iy that critical divisions viii be taken
turing the sham fight and no government
defeat will occur.
Mr.. MacDonald's greatest danger is not
that labor shall turn on liberalism, but