The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-11-13
Hollands Flight and Her Unwel.
come Guest.

There are not few Hollanders
who are acquainted with the writ
ings of WILLIAM BRADFORD, the witty,
very human and very able Pilgrim
Governor. The latter tells a story
in parable Of the coney which, after
making comfortable hole for
warmth In winter. was visited by q
hedgehog. Too hospitable to refuse
even an undesirable guest, the coney
had sorrowful time of 1t.
The good people whose ancestors
named Coney Island and populated
the Empire State are now in plight.
We have reason to believe that the
new Government, with Its untried
cabinet. hardly two months old, would
on Saturday night last have gladly
given WILLIAM HoHESzoLLEEN and
his party a trunkful Of silver guild
ers to have kept out Of Holland and
gone elsewhere.
n The present situation for the Dutch
IS decidedly unpleasant, for domestic
politics are in an awful mess. Ger
many is no longer sUle to browbeat
Queen WILHELMINA's Minister, but
then she has been deserted by her
statesmen of experience, who cared
not to risk their regulations already
made. The new cabinet hardly knows
where 1t stands, and this at time
when in the worlds new adjustments
the country should present its strong
est front. Verify, we shall not be
surprised to learn that the weak old
granny guard at the frontier, who
let In this wolf In the disguise Of
Little Red Riding Hood, has re-
ceived punishment.
But how stand parties? These are
three In number. created and In ini'
tial evolution after the battle Of
Waterloo. and especially following
the botch.work of the European
Congress of Vlenna-an awful ex-
ample and a model to avoid. Then
the bigoted Protestant King WILLIAM
I. tried to make over the democratic
national Reformed Church, after the
model Of the Anglican establishment,
while also expressing the Catholics
and people of Belgium. The Vienna
Congress, with little more knowledge
of psychology than WILLIAM, late
crown wearer In Berlin. had of either
Belgians or Americans, had tried to
solder together these two as one body
Of unrelated parts.
A long story Is Co. 'ensed when
we relate that Belgium made herself
free In 1880. and that Michigan, Wis
consin and Iowa gained hundred
thousand first class Dutch immi-
grants, who would not allow even a
king to NEEDLE In their church gov
eminent. Scrape Dutchman and
you find q lover of democracy. The
Netherlands Is a disguised republic.
So the three parties dominant in
the Netherlands are the Clerical, or
Roman Catholic; the Christian His
torical, or the old Reformed people ;
and the ultra alvlnistic, or Doleer-
ende. When the cabinet of JOnkheer
I.oUDoN formerly In Washington
fell. no one likely to be called by the
Queen seemed to want the Joy Of be-
ing Premier. One solid and ever i'm
posing reason undoubtedly was that
the States-General, and especially Its
more important part, the Second OF
Lower Chamber, elected by the PEG.
Pile. had been all along pronouncedly
antl-Prussian. No severer denuncia'
tion Of the hrutality Of the Huns wac
heard in the american than in the
Dutch Congress. Except minority
Of so-called intellectuals and the arts
tocrats. the mind and heart OF the
Dutch have been with the Allies.
Yet In the autumn of 1913 1t was
case OF lost leaders. DR.. ABRAHAM
KUYPEn, q scholar, brilliant jour
nallst, editor of De Standard, able
politician and Premier during the
Boer war, angelod because Of the
virtual failure of his journey to Lon
don and too muchkp sympathy viii