Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-09-02
A GREAT
STATESMAN|N HER
TIME Of STRESS
Britain Locking to Lloyd George
Who Has the Nations Con-
fdence above Any of
His Colleagues.

y,
swercd. The nation is asking for lead
er, and he cannot be found. 1t Is seeking
direction. and it is told to carry on as
usual.
on the one hand there are the pc pie, ,
for ali their minor differences. willing To
make any sacrifice to end the war; on the
other is the government that one day de-
clares that the ordinary man does not
realize the gravity ~ the crisis and the
next refuses to do e.. specific things tina;
most people consider necessary.
In the main il 10 probably the result OF
tack of Imagination The ministers can
not realize that whenever and however
the war "nds. it will have left deep traces
on the national life They seem to think
that ever thing will he lust as II was be-
fore. and that immediately peace is de-
clared the old questions and tie old catch
words will have their Oh interest and sig
oihcance. Yet already there is change
in some Of the most sacred Of British ira
ditions.
Theoreticalv. Of course. the normal po-
litical life of the nation is in n state Of
suspended animation. Bat the pol tica'
truce came at moment which made It
peculiarly hard for tie radicals to admit
wears of exclusion from Office. they had
at last got in sight of the goal for which
they had So long fought They had re-
moved the obstacles i'm their way at the
cost of revolutioniziue the British cunsti-
tuition. They had dcs roYed tie veto pow
or Of the House Of Lords and had pro-
foundy modified the position Of the House
IF Commons The We're within few
months Of attaining me rule Welsh dis
establishment, and all the rest of the pro-
gram. when the war came and al
domestic questions we're placed in cold
storage until peace should he signed
WANTS TO WIN OF COURSE.
So it is natural that Mr. AsQuith
should try to wage tho war as though
it were mere interudr in the nations
history. OF course h. wants to win it
and to win it quickly, but he does not
want to do anythin.. that will leave it's
mark on the life of the nation. He wants
to be able TO take UP the political game
precisely whore he dropped it on August
4, 1914,
But there Is growing feeling that
that is impossible. People are suffering
too much and thinking too hard to De
content with the old ways of doing
things. Already the most extraordinary
steps have been taken by the govern.
ment merely as emergency m .asures.
The railroads are. under national control;
the people are registered and catalogued,
stringent regulations have been placed
on the press and the liquor trade; Ger
tain important industries have been
placed under sem-eovcrnment super
vision.
With il all the cry IS not AGAINST all
these n,a~.ons Of the lights of the per-
son and property. but FOR more and
greater mNasious. The average man
will DO anything the government ASKS
him and only asks To- have his zeai di-
rectel. Many mon have enlisted @ho
should not nave done So particularly
fathers of families some Of tn. energy
of private individuals AMI societies may
he turned in useless channels, but it all
shows thu deep earnestnrss with which
the nation has thrown itself into tn,
struggle.
OLD METHODS FOREVER OUTWORN
Then, when the war is over. Il sreat
army of civilians is about TO return
! home. When the sacrifices that army
has made are remembered when the
grief and desolaton Of the relatives Of
! those who have fallen are calculated, it
is impossible to believe that for wears
to come the nation will permit the Old
slipshod methods to prevail England is
being schooled in a terrible school, and
every class. every region is taking to
| heart its lesson
So there is an cutlery already grow
,
man who will face the situation as 1t is
and take the measures it requires I'M
! hinchingly The munitions scandal
shook the confidence Of the people in its
rulers. The delay in informing enemy
aliens is causing intens" aggraYation
! The lack of positive action with regard
to cotton is arousng angry comment,
( Conservation is talked of more freely
every day, and there is deep-s'ated re-
sentiment against the men responsible
for labor troubles, whether they be cap
! italsts drawing unwarranted war profits
or miners striking for small increase
Of wages Definite strenuous action to
meet the necessities that arise is the de
mand of the nation, and 1t feels bitterly
that its ministers are not rising TO the
! occasion.
ECLIPSE OF HITCH FAN Err.
one odd thing is the comparative
eclipse of Kitchener, 1t is natural enough
when his record is remembered but a
year ago there was n tendency to forget
what kind of man he really was
, He was talked of as a magician, a man
who could create armies and organize a
state with one touch of a wand He
always was. and still is the very re-
verse of that He is never hasty, he Is
always for calculated delay. Organiza-
ton and preparation, and then carefully
timed action We're the secrets OF his
success in the sudan and he is en-
ployinG the same method to-day
So he has dropped ont IF .he public
eye. \ paragraph in the newspapers
! announces that he has visited France
or Aldershot. once in every three months
| or so he makes speech i'm the House
! of Lords or at some great meeting The
| he is or what he is DOING, and --,st a.!
more important-whqt he is trying 10
accomplish. He has the confidence of
| the nation absolutely; hut he does not
| give it his H." calls ON il for tho most
implicit trust, but If there ever We're
any who saw in him possible die
| tator an absolute ruler who could take
| command of the entire anahs Of the
nation, they have long since changed
| thor views. Kitchener is "A great sec
rotary of war, most men believe, but
he Is nothing else
! OF the other members of the cabinet So
| none has shown any signs of rising