New-York tribune., 1918-03-31


dangerous was that it was German
"a double-edged' truism. 1t may
console some English thinkers like
the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral,
DR.. Inge, who hates and fears Brit
ish democracy, to: know that, after
all, it is British, and therefore
"level headed" British labor is not
neutrality-suspicious. in England has
little or no class hatred.
The late Pete .Curran, a Labor
Member Of Parliament, told the
writer that he found the House of
Commons difficult. After his first
speech, which attacked the possess
ing classes, a young aristocrat, heir
to great estates, ,,,came and shook
hands with him, and, thanking him
for his speech, asked him genially
to dinner. 1t was difficult, said
Curran, to attack him after that
In fact the atmosphere of the House
Of Commons has a softening infiu-
ence on the most revolutionary,
after a time. "The ColonePs lady
and Judy O'Grady are sisters un-
der their SKINS" British labor is,
first of all, British and has the quail
tiles and defects of the British peo-
ple-and it is difficult to conceive
a Labor party in Parliament quite
separate, like the Irish party. In
spite of the life work of Keir
Hardie, who never succumbed to
the atmosphere Iof the English
House of Commons, and of the work
of the Independent Labor party for
the last twenty years, there is no
really absolutely Independent La
Dor party yet.
Not Hostile
To Religion
Another fact to grasp, in this
connection, is that British labor
evolved itself largely from Noncon-
formity. There is no clean-cut hos
tility to religion such as there is in
German and French socialism. In
point of fact, men like George
Lansbury, some time Member for
Bow, in the East End of London,
are openly and frankly religious,
and have confessed their Christian
ity on many labor platform Nom
conformity, as a whole, in England
has been Radical and Independent
in tone and temper, and therefore
British labor has leaned a good deal
to Radicalism. In, spite Of the fact
that labor in England has no class
hatred, yet in practice there is no
labor party in the world which has
so many genuine working1nen in it
as the British. Lawyers, journalists
and others who appear in Labor and
Socialist parties in the Continent
are conspicuous by their absence in
labor in England.
Now when war. broke out these
facts became emphasized. British
trade unionists showed at once that
they belonged to the greater trade
union of the nation itself. But they,
at the same time, were more than
ever disposed to stand upon their own
rights. They resented bitterly the
sudden rise in prices, which meant a
fall in wages, and they were in
tensely suspicious about industrial
conscription; and down to the pres
ent these factors remain. They have
been the cause OF. all the labor un-
rest during the W ar, and they may
yet cause serious trouble The one,
the rise in prices, affects the physi-
cal wellbeing of the worker; the
other, infringing trade union rights
won by many years struggle, affects
the workers personal status. AS a
Briton the worker is tenacious and
not likely to give way on either Of
these points
Luck Plus
knowledge
During 1917 the British govern
ment found an adequate food con-
troller in Lord aRhondda, better
known in South Wales as Mr.. D. f.
Thomas, the head .of the great Cam
brian coal trust ahd connected with
some forty other companies. When
Lord Rhondda went into the water
from the torpedoed Lusitania a
Welsh miner renal tked: "Hewill come
up with fish ini each hand too y
He is appreciated sand even liked in
Wales, though they are ready to
hight him. Lord Rhondda soon gave
the public the impression that he
meant business in stopping prof
,teering. Naturally his lordshin
Knew a good deal about it, because
many great coal owners in Enpland
make a profit Of 90 to 200 per cent
on their mines.
On the whole he has done well
but he was aDD0inted foo lato +o cto,