Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-12-13
ALI IN DEFENSE OF ENGLAND.

Inc British Hyphen in the edito-
rial chair OF the New York World
does not like it that David Lloyd
George is being called a dictator.
He says In yesterdays issue Of the
World:
1T Is a careless use OF language
which describes the new British
Prime Minister as a dictator" There
is only ono dictator in Great Britain,
and that Is Parliament.
The new Government which Mr..
Llyd George has organized, in spite
Of its War Council, Is only commit
tee Of Parliament 1t can exist only
with the consent of Parliament, and
may be driven out of office any day
that the House OF Commons disap-
proves Of It's measures and It's meth
DDS
Mr.. Lloyd George has taken upon
himself powers which he was unwill-
ing to grant to Mr. Asquith, and he
has centralized the conduct OF the
war into the hands of a council of
five, but this Is by no means q die
tatorship, as the new Prime Minister
would soon discover If he ran counter
to the win OF the nation aG expressed
In the House Of Commons. Nor does
tho British system of government ad-
nit of the complete Capitalization for
which our own Constitution pro-
vides.
In time Of ware the President of
the United States is actually a die
tator. There is nothing theoretical
about his place or his powers He is
Commander in Chief OF the army and
navy. The members Of his Cabinet
are responsible to him personally,
not to Congress None of them may
be removed without his consent ex-
cept by impeachment. Moreover, he
can suspend the writ OF habeas cor
pus aud perform all the other func-
tions Of dictator except order
grants cf money, That Is the only
real check upon his powers, and it is
q check that can be exercised only
at the peril OF the Nation.
'Wc have gone much further
than Great Britain and France in
the way OF coniralizing war power.
When those Governments undertake
TO create small councils to carry on
war they wore only approXimating tho
American system which has created
only ono man to carry on war, and,
while calling him the President, has
given to him an authority which only
tho Emperor Of Germany and tho
Czar OF Russia arc permitted to exer-
else. In some respects he Is more OF
a military autocrat than they, even
though no be an elected autocrat.
There are great advantages,
nevertheless, in the American system
In time Of war 1t is necessary that
power DC centralized and that there
be one man at the head OF q Govern
mont who can modified the re-
sources Of a country We have never
found that our Presidents were dis
posed to abuse their war powers or
TO adopt precedonts that would
smother popular liberty when the
public danger had passed The war
powers and the peace powers have
been scrupulously kept apart; so
much so that few Americans realize
how absolute a dictator tho Presi-
dent may be in time Of war.
Americans assam the Kaiser be-
cause he calls himself the German
War Lord. but the President OF the
United States also is War Lord IN
time Of war, even though nc exer-
else his power so inirequently that
the country never quite discovers
how vast and how arbitrary those
powers are"
The British Hyphens arc remark
able fellows. They can even defend
the Kaiser whom they have abused
day in and day out for the last 28
months, IL II suits their purpose.