New-York tribune., 1918-06-16


Allied countries. The moral and
material support of the American
labor movement would have enabled
Henderson to deliver the coup de
grace, it would seem, in his aggres-
sive campaign.
But this Henderson could not OBJ
tain. Mr.. Gompers sent him a curt
telegram saying: owe cannot meet
with representatives of those who
are aligned against us in this world
war for freedom" and followed it
up with mission to explain why.
1t is this mission which has Just
returned. 1t went to find out wheth
er British labor was as enamored
of the proposed conference as news
paper reports made it appear. 1t
discovered, to its regret, as appears
in its official report, that British
labor is-or at least was-a domi-
mating part Of it. 1t made haste to
locate the other part and to give it
moral support in its opposition to
the conference. More than this, it
came home with plans, already be-
ing put into execution, to buck up
this minority with material aid and
to help it become a majority.
Kings Fail of
Such Honors
To the members of the mission
the trip was very serious matter
indeed. 1t was a crusade in behalf
of Belgium and the freedom for
which the Allied armies are fight
ing. And such, too, 1t was to the
English and French governments,
who received the visitors with every
honor at their command. The
French Chamber of Deputies, for
the first time in its history, ad-
iourned its session in honor of dis
tinguished visitors, and the Premier,
the president Of the House of Depu-
ties and the president of the Senate
made speeches of welcome. The
Premier of England invited them
into the Cabinet room. Representa-
tives of the press of the world en-
tertained them at luncheon in
Whitehall Palace (long unaccus-
toned to such frivolities), in the
banquet hall where Cromwell once
held Parliament and from which
Charles l stepped through an open
window onto the scaffold. In the
House of Commons the Right Hon.
George Barnes, member Of the War
Cabinet, entertained them at din
ner at which many distinguished
guests were present, to wit: Arthur
James Balfour, Viscount Bryce,
Lord Beaverbrook, Lord Robert
Cecil, Austin Chamberlain, the Earl
of Derby, Sir Auckland Geddes, Wis
count Miner and many more Of the
same blood.
There were also innumerable Wis
its to industrial centres and CONVEX
sations with the British workman at
his job, as well as many speeches to
him after dinner.
1t was the missions business to
investigate dissension and diverg-
ences Of opinion, and these matters
necessarily occupy large part of
its extremely frank report. The
reader might assign a false or dis
proportionate value to these dissen-
sions, the moro because they have
too often been maltreated in the
cable reports. 1t must always be
remembered that what differences
of opinion may exist in England and
France as to foreign policy are diff
ferences as to method. They are
equally, with only trivial excep-
tons, based upon an iron deter
mination to see the war through
until liberty is assured.
'"The great fact that strikes you
in the face over there" says John
P. Frey, secretary of the mission,
"is not the dissension but the unity.
The people are absolutely united in
their determination to do whatever
needs to be done to assure freedom.
They take everything from the