Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-10-24
0USTED PREMIER
BONNIE FIGHTER,
SAYS NE " CHIEF
UnionistS Elect Bonar Law
Leader of the Party Pre-
Iiminary to His Accepting
the Premiership.

London, Oct. % (by the Asso-
ciated Press The unionists today
elected Andrew Bonar Law leader
/ of the party preliminary to his ac-
ceptance of the call or the king to
4 the office of prime minister.
! Representative members of the
party from both the house of
commons and the house of lords
met this Afternoon for that pur-
/ pose. Sir George Younger, who
| had much to do with the over
throw of Lloyd George presided
and recommended the selection of
Mr.. Bonar Law as the party's
standard bearer.
Bonar Law Not Present.
Mr.. Bonar Law was not present
at the opening of the proceedings
and Lord Curzon suggested that
as the object of the meeting was
already assured it was absurd that
he should not be present. He
therefore proposed that even at the
cost of some bushes to him, Mr..
Bonar Law be invited to hear the
whole proceedings. Mr. Bonar Law
forthwith entered,
In proposing MIR. Bonar Law for
leadership Lord Curzon, who was
secretary for foreign affairs in the
Lloyd George cabinet. said it was
great day on which the unionist
party. after having for seven years
subordinated its interests and
Merged its identity in national
party and the national cause. re-
sumed its freedom and proceeded
to re-elect its, old leader.
He described Mr.. Bonar Law as
completely innocent of self seek
ing and as possessing Just those
qualities the nation required in n
trusted leader in the present crisis.
After an elaboration of Mr.. Bo-
mar Laws merits as a statesmen,
Lord Curzon described the sugges-
ton made at the Carlton club that
the unionists intended TO embark
on a policy of reaction as nonsense,
and insisted that the 100 men who
at the Carlton Grub meeting voted
against the coalition were no more
reactionaries than the 80 who
voted in the opposite sense. Nei-
ther, he added, were they. as de-
scribed by Mr.. Lloyd George, rep
resentative of Belgravia and May
fair.
Stability His Watcbword.
He was convinced that If Bonar
Law was chosen, stability would be
his watchword, not sensation--so-
briefly, rather than fireworks. In
the present troubled state of the
world, peace was only recoverable,
not by startling or dramatic
strokes, not by policy of naughty
isolation, but by. compromise, CO.
operation and good will.
Stanley Baldwin, former presi-
dent of the board of trade, Sec
onded the resolution to elect, which
was carried unanimously by show
Of hands.
Mr.. Bonar Law then rose and
thanked the meeting for the
warmth of its expressions of con-
fidence and reiterated that so far
as his share in what had happened
was concerned, there was no per-
sonal feeling. He paid a warm
personal tribute to Mr.. Chamber
lain and the magnificent courage
with which he performed an al
most impossible task. Abiding to
Mr.. Lloyd George, he said;
Il am told he has a sword in
his hand. I am grateful to him
that he used the sword very gently
on me on Saturday. But he is
bonnie fighter and do not doubt
that some shrewd blows will be
str,lcIr and some very effective
strokes will reach my poor body.
am sure there will be no malice
behind the sword and that when
the fight Is over we will both re-
member the part. we played to-
gether, rather than when we were
fighting each other.