Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-30
Widely Variant Emotions Agi-
tating People Of Union and
Long Smou|dering Crisis Is
Brought to a Head.
REPUBLIC INDEPENDENT
OF BRITAIN, DEMANDED
Jan )Smuts Looms Up as Pos
Sible Savior of Country From
Bloody War Provided He
Becomes Premier.

Pretoria, S. A., Aug. 29.-(By Uni
versal Service. I'm the death of
Louis Botha, prime minister of the
Union of South Africa, one of the
pillars of the British empire has
been felled.
Widely variant emotiors are agi-
tating the people of the Union. The
premier's death brings to head
long smouldering crisis. The inde-
pendence movement has gained by
leaps and bounds of late and the
people are now divided as sharply
as are the Sim Feiners and Ulster
ties in Ireland, one side clamoring
for complete separation from Brit
ain and the creation of an independ-
ent republic, the other working
tooth and nail for the retention and
cementing of the union with the
empire. Fully 100000 negroes,
with no interest in this, as yet blood
less struggle, stand by sullenly, their
racial consciousness famed by mani
fold causes, and making trouble
wherever and whenever they can.
Will Smuts Succeed Him.
Who will succeed Botha is the
question on all lips and all eyes
indeed, the eyes of Britishers every
where-turn toward Jan Christian
Smuts, Botha's right hand man, con
queror of German East Africa and
long Botha's rival in the affections
of the South African people.
Smuts is looked upon as the logi-
cal second premier of the Union.
Like Botha. he was one of the Boer
leaders i'll that terrible struggle two
decades ago, and like Botha he later
became one of Britain's strong men
in creating and maintaining the
Union as loyal part of the empire.
But for some time SHUTS has been
regarded as thes tronger of the two
stronger in the sense of greater in
itiative, fearlessness and vision. On
his first visit to England he carried
the people there by storm with his
eloquence and craftsmanship. He
sprung his first international sensa-
ton when Lloyd George sent him to
Switzerland so he might listen to
what an Austrian peace emissary
had to say.
Puts Blunt Question
He met that emissary and put
this blunt question to him:
as it true that Austria Hungary
is readty TO make a separate peace?"
The perplexed imperial messenger
suffered some evasive reply. The
Afrikander's way of calling spade
a spade had taken him off his feet.
"Yes or no?" asked SHUTS.
The emissary kept maneuvering
for "diplomatic" conversation, but
Smut ended the business with:
well. then-good night" 1
And SHUTS went back to London.
That was Smut's way throughout
the war-aggressive, direct, uncom-
promising. THE world must be rid
of the Teutonic autocracy," was his
watchword. Until then, nothing
else matters. |
Startled Great Britain.
But as soon as the war was over
and the autocracy crushed Smuts
startled Britain-and the world-in
a different way. He began cam
paign for appeasement of Germany
on the theory that only policy of
conciliation could bring lasting
peace. He signed the peace atWer-
sailles under protest, submitting "a
sensational memorandum setting
forth his views.
Since that day sentiment in Bri-
tain toward him has cooled steadily |
until now it has become almost hos
tile. From this change arises some
doubt if Britain will stand for"
Smuts as successor to Botha. Yet
to brush him aside and prefer fig
urehead it is felt here, would in
evitably lead to grave trouble, for
the people of South Afpca by vir-
tue of their very nature need a
leader who is strong man and
who commands the confidence of
the majority. since the struggle be-
tween the unionists and republicans
the latter1ed>by General Hertzog |
is. becoming daily more intensive.
1t is for these reasons that the
death of Botha opens up a new and
perhaps stormy era in the history
of South Africa-and of the British I