New-York tribune., 1918-01-28
Cabinet Crisis Like Upheaval
Which Cost Asquith Premiership F
Policy OF Open Discussion in u S. Furnishes Point of D
vergence-Brain Not Anxious to Get Men or Guns in
America but Large Number of Ships Quickly

thoughts. The fundamental need to-
day is not men or guns or airplanes
but ships, and I must tell you plainly
that if your shipbuilding is in arrears
and our food supplies arc cut down
further all this discussion Of military
preparedness will look like irrelcvancy
Work Must Be Kept Up
Conditions in the United Kingdom
are serious. We can manage If you
build ships. If. however, you divert
your attention from ships to armies
assuming that one or other has to be
given priority-you will find that labor
unrest among the Allies is good deal
more formidable than the purely mill
tary clamor for scores of thousands OF
big howitzers. Compared with ships,
nothing that you can do to-day in a
military way really matters, for with
out ships your efforts would have no
more result than if you lived on the
planet Mars. The military effort is
very ent-vitally urgent. But mcr-
camille marine is more than that. Re-
strict mercantile marine and Germany
wins. The Atlantic route Is the spinal
cord of the whole alliance. Sever it
and paralysis ensucs.
Coalitions Little Liked
So much for the element Of publicity.
I come next to. the meaning of our
"'coalitions." Disraeli once said. eng
land does not love coalitions"; nor
does she. We prefer the good old party
tight. 1t is the rivalry between Ok
lord and Cambridge which keeps both
universities alive. Our quarrels be-
tween Churchmen and Nonconformists
preserve religion from decay. Among
ty hammcring Harrow. and Harrow re-
turns the compliment. 1t is. suppose,
the same with Harvard and Yale. As
Gilbert wrote:
every little boy and gal
That's born into this world alive
Is either little liberal
Or else little conservative"
Dulness Of Party Truccs
All of US hate this party truce which
war has inflicted upon us. We want to
be at one another,s throats-or. more
accurately. at one anothcrs colorcd
cravats and political favors. But a
coalition Cabinet cannot 20 on inside
unless the caucuscs outside are also
working together. We achieved this dull
and unintercsting result by postponing
our general election and arranging
that any constituencies falling vacant
IN the meantime would continue to be
teld by the same party as that Of the
former member. Liberal succeeded
Liberal. Conservative succeeded Con-
servatlvc. and Laborite succeeded La
borltc. Now. with your constitution,
elections, whether for Congress or
or governorships and other
offices, cannot be postponed, after this
convenient, unintercstiug fashion.
ROoscvelt's Visit to CAPITAL
1t seems to me that Mr.. Rooscvclts
visit to Washington, while not result
ing in coalition, has stirred up things.
and so done good. You have the same
way Of compromising on difficulties
that we have in England, only Won do IL
more skilfully. MIR. Wilson hits the
other man SO severely that he gets all
the ideas knocked out of his head and
available tor government use. Whcr-
ever one turns-food, supplies Of muni
tions, ships, railroads one secs cyi-
dences of perfect executive achieving
perfection. The golden lily is being
gllded with diamonds, and things will
go on as we'll as before, only much
more SO.
That shows the value Of discussion.
II you take it just seriously enough.
We in England lost two cabinets over
this kind Of thing. But you are, re
peat. professionals at the game which
we play as amateurs, and ! may con-
cludc these random comments on q
note of respectful and sincere admira-
non. NO crisis could have been more
beautifully managed in the public in
tereSt-bV both sides