The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-04-07
IS GOAT Of
THE GOVERNMENT
Secretary Mckenna Must Have Very
Broad Shoulders to Bear all
the Burdens Heaped
Up.
LET REGGIE DO IT.
His Published Rules and Regulations
Regarding Aviation Are Some
thing to Make Ono
Laugh.
by Ed l.. Keen, London correspond
ent of the United Press.]

BY Ed l.. Keen, London correspond
ent of the United Press.]
LONDON. April Reginald Nc.
kenna is the government goat. His
real title is his majesty's secretary of
state for home affairs, but 1t ought to
be chief OF the department of other
peoples troubles. AS set by law,
the home secretary is the medium by
which the sovereign acquaints his
people of his pleasure, and channel
OF communication with the sovereign;
and his main functions are the main.
tenance of the kings peace, the en-
forcement Of rules made for the in
ternal wellbeinS Of the community,
and the exercise Of the prerogative Of
mercy" A rather comprehensive bunch
of duties, but affording only slight
Indication OF what the job actually
means.
In practice 1t works out that the
home secretarys jurisdiction runs
from strikes to suffragettes, from
anarchists to airships. and incidental
ly includes all the unpleasant things
that his fellow cabineteers are able
to sidestep. And it Is astonishing how
they manage to dump the disagree
able features of their work on Nc
henna. Let Reggie do It," has be-
come their motto. If they can't get
him as maintainer of the kings
peace, they are pretty sure to land
him as communication of the sover-
eign's pleasure.
Before assuming the role of admin.
istration angora McKenna was first
lord OF the acknowledgements by all
hands as an exceedingly choice
berth. Winston Churchill was home
secretary, and he had held the post
1 just about long enough to sense it's
Possibilities as governmental junk
shop. Moreover, he had had serious
run-in with the Houndsditch anarch-
lists and had been horsewhipped by the
lsuffragettes. These incidents were
matters of public knowledge, and how
he ever persuaded Mckenna to swap
Jobs with him is mystery At any
rate, he put 1t across Maybe Nc
kenna at the time thought he knew
what he was doing. Or, perhaps he
couldn't help himself.
In a little more than a year the
present home secretary has become
the most unpopular member of the ad-
"A Not, tiNp
public is divided into two classes, suf-
fragette and anti-suffragette (using
the terms strictly in their Pankhurst.
ian sense) AS maintainer of the
kings peace it is Mckenna' s business
to put in jail folks who smash win
dows, pour acid in letter boxes, or set
fire to cabinet members houses,
whether they be suffragettes or strik-
ing dockmen AS cabinet goat 1t is UP
to him to see that none of them suf-
the governments custody for If
hunger striker-that is, provided said
striker be woman should die in
prison, the effect on the administra-
ton would be quite as disastrous as
an adverse vote in parliament The
suffragettes hate him because he
doesn't let the would.be martyrs have
their own way.
So. whether he permits them to
starve, or feeds them, or turns them
loose, he is bound to be the target Of
abuse from one or the other class
And, whenever he attempts to Justify
any particular course Of action he gets
1t, either coming or going, and some
times both ways at once Mayor Bis
good, who as police magistrate of
Richmond had jurisdiction over the
Kew Garden arsonettes, publicly re-
proved Mckenna for releasing Lillian
Lenton pending her trial Adopting
the clever fiction of writing an an
swer to letter from an unnamed cor
respondent-w which really doesn't fool
anybody, but is regarded ever here
as far more dignified than making a
direct statement to the press Nc
Kenna, through his secretary, stated
that by reason of hunger.striking the
three courses were open, he said
either to let her die. or to forcibly
feed her, which the medical officer adj
vised would probably result in death,
or to release her. The plain infer
ence was that she hed not been fore
IDLY fed, which at once drew fire from
Mrs. Pankhurst, who published an in
terview with Miss Lenton, describing
in much detail how she had been sub
jected to this treatment, and a state
ment from her physician that she had
been seriously injured in the process.
But Mrs. Pankhurst was discreetly
polite-being at the time out of jail
herself on promise of good behavior
and contented herself with merely
remarking that McKenna was guilty
of an "inexactitude.t
The rest of Europe is still poking