Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-12-07
isNGiANp's STRONG MAN Al THE
HELM.

Tho resignation of Herbert II. AS
auth. for eight years heed Of tho
British government. ana the forma-
don Of new cabinet. as now seems
probable with David Lloyd-Goorge az
premier. should mark a distinct adj
vance In the conduct Of the war by
Great Britain.
As a domestic statesman, Asquith
has shown marks OF undoubted abll-
ity Easily the best deba'er In tho
British parliament since Gladstone, he
was able TO sway public ointment by
his oratory Yet he Wn not OH ora
tor Of the Gladstone pc His ar
guments were logical. cear, concise,
never ornate He was convincing,
and therein lay his great powers. Al
so he was compromiser and con
ciliator. and therein were both his
weakness and his strength
Premier Asquith was able 10 hor-
monte differences between factions
OF the government and bling togeth-
az men Of diverse belief and preju-
dices in the formation OF a coalition
government But he Wa Incapable
Of decisive action Liz Hamlet he
hled doubt at every pore
with tho tide Of war rging high
or ana higher, with the actual sui
mergonce OF Gree Britain threatened,
with polunteerina at u stuudstlll nd
the ltlsh commander ia HaHeo|
franticnlly calling for recruits hoI
could not bring himself 10 advocate
compulsory service. with the army
az General Sir John Fr.nO1 80 lack
Ing IN arms and ammunition Vat itI
could not firht except defenslyely he
permitted q British tabor unions to
hamper work in the iactoric allow
cd doekmen 20 hold up supplies al
ready ia cargo for shipment to|
France was idle while coal miners
went on strike, thus Withholding
fuel from a large part of tho fleet w
the North sea.
lie IL was who reluctantly gave his
assent 10 the gullipoli expedition and
thm. fearin TO deplctc the defen-
sive forces England lest there De
invasion, sent reinforcemonts in such
dublea that tho army there never
was strong enough for an effective
offensive, and was held on a uscles
defensive until more than one hun
6rcd thousand OF the soldiers actual
lv had been killed Had there boon
aa many as ono. hundsd thousand yt
fecuve fighting men AT any time will
in the first thirty days, tho pen"
rulo would have been conquered. nc
Dardanellos would have bcon forced
ANA Conatantmople would have nee.
az the mercy Of the guns Of the aliied
fleet
% was he WHO permitted only tr-
teen thousand British troops to iand
ut =umlu for he succor of the
aoreN mozse. aorbans. Quo uun-
dred thousand would have saved Ser
hia and Montenegro ana would have
brought bulgaria into war ON the
side OF the allies iustoud NJ against
them The Mesopothm.ta oNpedi-
ton was another fiasco chargeable to
Asquith. which would have been brill
Hanuy successful had It not been for
his policy OF too little too late
SO far as may tie Judged by his
achievements. David Lloyd-George is
the one really strong man of the
English empire today The little
Welshman, who came uu from the
eommonest Of the common people.
has shown himself cap Of deci-
sion and Of action II IS he who
forced through conscuY ioa, he who
ended the labor union strikes aud
mob4lized five million hands into
manufacture OF war supplies. Ii was
Lloyd-George who compelled the fac-
tory owners 10 dlsgorge their oNtor-
Tomato profits for the benefit of the
government he did more than
Kitchener toward fuuishing men tor
the war and did practically all that
las been done toward furnishing
those men with arms and ammuui-
tion with which 20 fight sfrecti oll.
and it wus his plans hich brought
out the reluctant Brit venues for
financing the war
But the activities o. .aoyd George
have left practigaHg no field for the
betteiuent OF Crat britain me-
touch Tho plan for he rct .I1-
uoniAng the old system OF educ. On
in England. until II shall be as auli-