The sun., 1919-07-28
'CAPITAL-LABOR WAR
THREATENS BRITAIN
Mob In Contest for Power
Burns Public Building; First
Time Since 1881.
GENERAL STRIKE FEARED
Lloyd Georges Administration
in Peril as Malcontents
Near Anarchy.
spsc,s, Wireless. Despatch to TIE sUs.

Special Wireless Despatch to TIE Sun.
Copyright. 1919; all ri0hts reserved.
LoNboN, July 27.-One fact stands out
prominently in the events of last week,
that England Is threatened with civil
strife between capital and labor, both
seeking greater power in the admins
tration of the Government. At times
during the last few days serious doubts
have arisen In the minds of the thought
full whether the Lloyd George Govern
mont really held sway or whether the
great industrial body, represented by
the executive committee of the triple
alliance" had finally gained sufficient
power to dictate the national policy.
II there Is any truth In the old maxim
that the stability of a government de-
ponds on the free and tacit assent of
the governed, there would seem to be
good deal of anarchy in England. The
maintenance of social order usually is
taken as the real basis of government.
yet within the last week a public build
ing was burned down by furious mob.
the FIRST time such a thing has occurred
since 1891. and almost 100000 trade
| unionists are balloting to-day to decide.
whether the labor organization shall
| force the Government to submit to their
dictation or face a general strike.
Members Of the present Government
admit now that the country Is facing
new conditions requiring a revision of
| the national policy and entailins radical
| changes in the Government Naturally
they urge that the ruling class must be
| largely capitalists, but they acknowl-
| edge that labor must have a greater
voice and a larger representation. with
| a greater division OF responsibility be-
| tween the two classes.
Government shakeup Favored.
In view Of the conditions which have
| developed since the war IL is not sur
prising to find an influential British
journal suggesting clearly a shakeup
In the Government. all recognising that
evils exist In the present capitalistic
| system.
THE bond between the people and this
Government is in the moral relationship
and this has been broken. The Govern
| ment proclaims an all-inclusive SOW
ereignty throughout the States and gath
| ers to itself all power and responsibility.
Throwing Parliament aside, II controls
| labor and capital and manages every
ones business for him.
I IF 1t Is to discharge all these func-
| tons with success 1t must give quite an
! extraordinary impression of honesty,
knowledge, foresight and tact. but Lloyd
Georges administration appears to have
run out of its stock in trade of ell these
traits. This fact, not the wickedness of
the workingmen. IL the root of the dis
order In England.
| It's special danger lies I'm deeper
moral causes II there Is violence and
irrationality in England's working class,
or a deep rooted belief that force or
| direct intimidation OF the State can
remedy all ills, then the Government
really must be blamed for this belief.
The Prime Minister of England has
not said word about the war which
was not an appeal to the country's pride
or hate or a stimulant to those appetites.
AS he sows, SO must he reap. He has
taught the doctrine of force and must
expect 1t from the working classes.
The community sees with dstrust
that this class has become exactfng.
Some of its sectional demands are tend
Ing to absorb too great a portion of the
general product or even to cripple the
country's export trade, but II we are to
have an Industrial settlement It must be
on the basis of peace treaty as formula
BILE as that Of Versailles. 1t is full time
to democratize industry which may be
a revolutionary idea, but certainly 1t can
be worked out constitutionally and
safely"
Report of Reform in Cabinet.
Along the same line the Statist. usu-
ally highly conservative, says:
There Is current a report that the
Prime Minister Is about to reform his
cabinet 1t is high time he should do So,
for rarely has any country been SO badly
served as our own. He will find that he
will make little advance until he BRIT gs
together a comparatively new House Of
Commons. The reactionary party forms
nearly half q the whole house, willie
representatives Of Ireland, Liberals and
Labor lack any real influence.
"It Is not in the least surprising that
the administration of this country now
is in the hands of the Idle rich. who are
incapable of understanding the. wants
and desires of the people, who have
never contributed in any way to the
wealth of the country and who would
substitute their own ambitions for the
considered needs of the people.
l. The very large trade union represen-
tation in Parliament would compel these
men, who think now only of their own
personal class interests, to pay regard to
the just demands of the whole popula-
ton"
These two opinions are typical of the
expressions which are heard everywhere
throughout England. The public has
been kept almost in a state OF terror
since last February by continual threats
| OF strikes and by occasional outbursts OF
mob violence until virtually everyone
has been compelled to think about what
is causing the unrest. They apparently
have come to the conclusion that 1t is
the fault of the Government and tNlt
radical changes must be made before
|, there can be an unbroken peace or the
work of building up world trade can be