New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-01
copyright, 1914, by George W smallry)

, Africa. but IL threatened the whole
railway service Of the Republic. and
behind Il was the Syndicalist spirit
which there and IN England and in
I Ireland has avowed itself anarchical.
NJ. BRAND had remedy at hand which
i'm England does not exist The rail-
way strikers. or great body OF them.
were liabl" 10 military service and NJ.
BRAND called them all to the colors:
and they went. They ceased TO be
strikers ana became conscripts: and the
strike ceased for want of strikers; like
the combat i'm Corneile.
General Botha's method was far moro
drastic. He had TO deal with a civil
ization still almost primitive; million
Of whites with six millions of blacks
cncircling them; with the mining pop
ulation of the Rand: with disorder,
violence, dynamite. and the open men
ace VI rebellion. All the world knows
how he met it. how he called 10000
burghers. mostly old soldiers. to arms
as many within 5000 as Lincoln first
summoned in 1861 for the defence OF the
Union; how they responded TO the call;
how he declared martial law: how he
imprisoned the labour leaders, how
finally he put ten of them on board
ship at midnight and sent them to
England. unwilling though free pas
Sengers on the steamship Umgeni; and
how order now reigns in Warsaw. /
make the American labour leaders who
are sympathiZing with Mcssrs. Watson.
Balm and their colleagues present of
that sinister quotation. But they will
remember that order reigned in War
saw only after much bloodshcd, and
that it reigns in South Africa because.
rightly or wrongly, bloodshcd has been
prevented. Never. I suppose, was SO
great victory won with so little loss
of life
What concerns us in America, and
concerns the English and all Christen-
dom, is the state Of public opinion
ia presence Of General Bothas stern
handling of the situation. There seems
little doubt that South Africa approves.
In England there is. on the part Of the
Trades Unions and of the Radical
Press. a great explosion of anger; and
on the part of the general public a
great surprise; and. on the whole n
suspension of judgment, in public. Mr..
Ramsay Macdonald and his comrades
~. a.fo Of
course. il is an opportunity. Mr.. Mac
donald had TO prove 10 his supporters
that. though they think him tame and
Intellectual as a leader Of the Labour
party in the House Of Commons, re can
be bold elsewhere.
Much more than that. Not only Mr..
Ramsay Macdonald but mon OF far
greater authority in the Labour world
are eager to challenge General Botha's
methods because. almost if not quite
for the first time they see in them
danger, not to Trades Unionism but TO
the systematic effort Of Trades Union
leaders TO put the Trades Unions above
the Government. BY the Trades Dis
putes Act they are already in England
above the law. They have only 10
coerce a half willing Cabinet in order
10 be masters everywhere. South
Africa was an experiment in Revoiu-
ton: an experiment sure 10 be repeated
elsewhere had ii succeeded. And there
fore il is that they who would put the
claims Of Labour above all other claims,
social or political or economical, de-
nounce General Botha as lawles5
tyrant. Perhaps they forget that in
South Africa they will be thought TO
identify themselves with Anarchy.
The non-Radical Press has been, AMI
is. cautious. The class from which
Trades Unions are recruited, the work
ingmen Of Great Britain, are in a ma
jority In the last resort. they can
, make and unmake Governments and
Ministries. Though they have but 40
members in a House Of go. they have
in the electorate more than 4.OOOG0o
votes out of 100000. 1t is force TO
which neither political leaders Of either
party, nor newspapers OF either party.
wish 10 run counter. Parliament is
now in session, and there will be de-
bates and divisions almost at once on
the South African business.
Responsible Ministers and Opposition
leaders in England have yet TO be
heard from. There is, beyond all this,
a body of public opinion which, no mat
ter in what circumstances, is always
against the use of force. There is
body Of opinion hardly less strong
which insists on applying in South
Africa and in India and everywhere
else certain principles Of liberty and
law which, because they are OF general
consent i'm England. are held to be OF
universal application in countries where
the foundations of social order are not
English. People have got into the
habit of repeating formulas till the
formulas have 10 them the solemnty Of
religion.
OF all these things the responsible
Press takes .ccount, and they explain
In part the reserve with which leading
newspapers handle the South African
question. They hardly recognize 10 the
full or applaud without hesitation the