The Washington times., 1914-03-24
VICTORY FOR TORYISM 2

narlly, IT 1t came in such form that
it could be anticipated. That is
true especially of the Ulster situa-
tion of today. There was confident
expectation that a good deal of
forensic frenzy would be indulged in
the last hours before the home rule
bill passed over the veto of the
peers: but the Asquith government
seemed to have its forces in hand
and to have retained its nerve.
There was only one apparent out
come, and that was the passage Of
the measure and the consummation
of the great victory for which the
better sentiment of Britain has
been struggling ever since toryism
achieved the corrupt and wicked
Act of Union.
But in the hour of victory came
the army's revolt, or threat of re-
volt. That was indeed a crisis in
the history of the nation and the
empire. It has brought Britain and
the whole world to see clearly the
dangers of an order in which at the
last the physical power to uphold
the hands of the government is
dominated by sentiments hostile to
the government and the majority of
the people The army, because it is
oficered by the scions of toryism,
gives its sympathies to that side.
1t ceases to be national army, but
instead proves itself the efficient
right arm of aristocracy protesting
against rising democracy.
For the protest, as has been said
before, and as the watching world
will fully understand, is not against
home rule for ireland so much as
against the liberal program of the
present ministry. Aristocracy's
army takes stand against enforc-
ing the DEGREES OF democracy. Those
DEGREES run not merely against the
old order in Ireland, but against the
plutocracy Of Great Britain as well.
Nowhere in the world is the leaven
OF the new, up-looking, wide-vision-
ing democracy working so deter
minedly as in Britain. Nowhere is
the. antagonism of privilege more
persistent or desperate.
Have the tories overplayed their
hand? That is the question which
surges to the fore and demands
answer. Doubtless it will get its
answer very soon. After what has
happened in the last week, the AS
quith government will hardly be ex-
pected to remain long in Office after
the home rule bill has passed. 1t
could hardly ask a better issue on
which to go to the country, than has
been presented in these recent
events. If there was danger of a
detection of the Irish nationalists,
this demonstration of the venom of
their enemies will surely cement the
loyalty of that force. If there was
threat that the labor party might
once more split away from the
liberals, and, dividing support in a
large number of constituencies, give
them to the conservatives, that
menace can be regarded as ended.
In the face of a situation which
presents a disloyal army allied with
privilege to defeat the purposes of
the new popular movement, it is
hardly to be believed that the sup
porters of Mr.. Asquith will permit
themselves to be divided and con-
quered in detail.
The explanations which were
offered in the commons yesterday,
to the general effect that "misun-
derstandmg" was responsible for
the designations of the army Off
GERS, do not explain. There is more
mystery than ever about the real in
wardness of the crisis. The King,
whose sympathies are very we'll
known to be with the conservative
party, is said to have insisted that
the officers who resigned should be
reinstated. Perhaps the King is
right in this detail. But the big
fact remains that both King George
and Queen Mary are heart and soul
in accord with the general purposes
of the great tory landowners who
want to wreck the liberal ministry,
drive AsIuith, and more especially
Lloyd-George, out of power, and
execute an about-face against the
whole program of social reform.
What would be the effect on the ma
tion of such coup, when the nation
realized that the army's stand had
paralyzed the power of the liberal
government?
Already the cry has gone up for
democratization of the army. That
means, for an army truly represen-
tative of the nation; an army in
which efficiency and capability, not
eenealogy, shall determine mans
chance to rise from the ranks and