The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-07-22
ENCLISHMEN REGARD
AMERICAN POLITICS
As" EVERY BAD form"
By MARY A. HENkE

LONDON, July 9.-American poll
tics has been usurping SO much OF the
limelight here for the last few months
that it is going to be rather tame to
go back again to German ultimatums,
war on the Turks, and society cricket |
matches 1t is surprising how much |
interest these Englishmen take in our
little job of choosing president. They
even gave more attention to the Dem |
aoratic convention than to the Prince
of Wales train smash. And this In
spite of the fact that England collect
lively is backing the Republican can
didate to win.
AS q class Englishmen know more
about our politics than we know about
theirs. They have a very good surface
knowledge of American political pro-
cedure and institutions and imagine
most of them know more Of the his
tory of the rival American candidates
than they know Of the man who repre-
sents their own constituency. That
personal element doesn't come into
English politics. No one would think
OF making it a point in favor Of a par
liamentary candidate that his wife
gave up a social position to marry him
when he was poor and struggling
young man. A man runs as coall-
zionist and supports the government,
or as wee free" and attacks it, and
that is all there Is to it as far as
most of the voters are concerned.
Britishers who attended the national
conventions in the States gasped sim
ultaneously, THANK heavens. we have
nothing like 1t in dear old England
Terribly bad form, is the way they
characterize our noisy enthusiasm for
our political favorites. They are not
saying so much on this point, however,
since the London crowds almost
killed Mary and Doug in the riotous
rapture of greeting them.
A dignitary with a title, who is at
present in America observing politics,
has written back home" to declare
that America is a limited autocracy.
He holds it inconsistent with all the
rules of government that the president
should be one thing and congress an
other, and compares the position of
the king, who has nothing to do, with
that Of the president, who seems to
have hand in everything. The choice
of a presidential candidate, however
seems the browning touch Of autOc-
racy to this British critic. That a
man by the will of few party lead
ers should leap over night from a
position of obscurity to one of great
est prominence is one fraught, in his
opinion, with all the perils of mon
archism.
Possible action by the delegates or
Ireland was waited here with interest
for England is still nervous about
Americas attitude toward Ireland.
The wet" and dry" question was
featured by most of the London news
papers as If it were the most essen
tial item in the party platform. 1t is
Impossible to live in England foJ
any length of time without acquiring
most confused ideas about the state
Of prohibition in America. Amos
daily some newspaper comes out will
news Of broken laws, appeals ant
notifications of the dry law, bu
one searches American papers for thi
same news in vain.
AS neither Of the American candi
dates has taken an important stanC
on foreign relations, the matter every
body here is most interested in is We
as obscure as ever. There is a genera
tone of confidence though, that an
American president will do the RICH
thing by the former allies of the Unit
ed States. AS one London Journals
said recently, 1--WE don't want a
Anglophile president, but a presidcn
who will hest represent the America
people and look after their essentia
interests. The man who is famed 70
his one hundred per cent Americanisr
will be in freer position to show hi
friendship for England"
Japanese women do not smoke eli!
aretteS hut prefer ttny nine E