The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22

his principles to the extent of parting from his colleagues In a great crisis like the present war, would be even less well come among the tories than among the liberals. l have heard it suggested that he might throw In his lot with the labor party, but this consider most improb- able. Burns has had no more bitter enemies than the labor men, who re- garded him a traitor to their cause when he joined the liberals, and the labor party has had no stouter opponent than Burns. who never hesitated to declare that he considered 1t impractical and injurious to the best interests of labor. Besides this the labor party has no more use for a pacifist than the two great parties. It threw over Its two oldest and most trusted leaders, Keir Hardie and Ramsay Macdonald. because they were opposed to the war and elected as chair man of the party Arthur Henderson, wno has three sons serving In the new army. In the whole party not single man, except Hardie and Macdonald, raised his voice against the war and all the labor M. P.'s are speaking nightly throughout the country on the recruiting platforms.
 It seems 10 mo certain that John Burns career as politician Is ended. IIn will probably continue to sit in Parliament as an unofficial liberal for his personal hold on Battersea Is about as great as that of the late Joseph Chamberlain on Birmingham, but he will never probably hold office again He will no doubt be called on to serve on parliamentary committees and on royal commissions when his knowledge of life and of administrative problems will make him uncommonly useful
 As far as money goes Burns Is to- day a fairly well to do man. For many years he lived on the salary of S20 a week allowed him by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. as its representa- tive in Parliament, and for an English M. P. to live on $20 week and to bring up a family on 1t. too. means no small degree of frugality. His one ex- travagance is and always has been books and he has one of the finest pri- vate libraries in London. His collec- tion of blue books"-governinent re- pcrts-is said to be the most complete outside the libraries of the House ot Commons and the British museum. He Is also keen judge and an authority on rare editions and he has a fine collection of Shakespeariana. He has ofteri told how in the carly days hs went without dinner for weeks to buy d coveted volume.
 Burns became president of the local government board in 1905. His salary was 310,000 a year for the first six years and since then 1t has been S25.- 900 year That is to say he has drawn about $1S5.o00 in salary in the last nius years. He has continued to live fru- galiy and modestly and except that he has sent his boy to good school and has bought moro books l doubt if he hes changed his style of living in the slightest degree. couple of years ago he moved into larger house. but 1t is still a very modest house even in working class Battersea. doubt if he hss spent at trS outside more then ssG00 year or s5e. .ooo for the 10 yearA That leaves him with a nice little nese egg of tSb.000. which properly invest. ed ought to bring him in about 5000 a year. M. P.'s are now paid by the state 50 that if he remains in Parlia- ment he will receive another s2000 . year. For a man of John Burns tastes this is wealth and as he ia only SC years old and in the pink of conditiou hc may reasonably hope to live many years to enjoy it.