The Connecticut labor news., 1923-02-23

The New Statesman, the mouth
 piece of Sidney Webb, Chairman of
 the Labor Party, has recently said:
 "On all questions of foreign policy
 and on nearly all questions of domes-
 tic policy, there is no serious differ
 ence of opinion between the Liberal
 their coalescence are personal rather
 than political, and will certainly dis
 appear under the pressure of circum-
 stances. That seems to Us a de-
 sirable result.''
 For the moment, especially since its election victories, this is not the
 official view of the Labor Party. But i! 1t is still the standpoint of many of the labor union leaders who number
 100 among it's IA members of Par
 lament It is clearly the view also
 of certain of the new Intellectual
 M. P.'s and, perhaps, at the bottom,
 of J. K. Mcdonald, just elected to
 the new office of Parliamentary
 Header" Certainly 1t was his view point for many years-and there is
 no reason to suppose he will never
 return to his old faith. In fact, there
 are many signs that he has never ! deserted it-though he cannot con- 1 l moderation, and to preserve the unity of the party without holding rigidly ] for the moment to the party's anti coalition principle, namely, the hope l that the Labor Party has a chance, acting alone to become the Govern ment.
 How the Threads of Alliance Begin to Draw
 The prevailing Liberal view is quite similar to that of The New Statesman. In spite of Lloyd Georges recent violent attacks, his organ, The Chronicle, says of the Labor party: We do not at all despair of seeing them serve the ends of democracy" points out that the electoral alliance of Liberals and Laborites had saved the country in Ioo6 and 1910, and says that though no doubt in altered form, what has been may be again" Lord Beafer- brook, owner of the Express, speak ing from the other political camp, is confident that Lloyd George will soon be working out the new entente, judge; 1t is said that he is the man who first elected and then overthrow Lloyd George.
 In the meanwhile, many Labor party M. P's were elected with Lib :! eral support. The former parlia- | mentary chairman, J. R. Clynes, who ran in Manchester and was elected , by narrow margin was supported by the Manchester Guardian as "an and moderate Labor can didate," while the Daily News sup ported a host of Labor nominees. Guardian Finds It Hard to Differen-
 tiate.
 The Guardian declared just before the election:
 "It is impossible on any broad view to dissociate Liberalism from Labor. . Between them, Liber- alism and Labor constitute the party of progress in this country. They may never combine, but they should always understand and in the main support each other" Certainly there1 is no talk, and no possibility what ever, of combination. It Is ques- ton only of more or less cooperation ton government.
 Of course, the present political with no practical posslbll- ity of such a coalition in immediate prospect -. calls for protests of Never, never" from the official leaders of both sides. Asquith takes issue with the Guardian and the Daily News that the Socialists and the Liberals are going in the same direction: "1n some matters of great importance they speak with almost the same voice as ourselves. It might { almost seem, to use an old expres- sion, as if they had stolen our thun- der. Uaughter) But it is quite [ ,lear, as every Labor leader and every ; intelligent member of the rank and ile of the Labor party will tell you, ( hat the ultimate purpose ot the1r oarty-to be accomplished, 1t IS true, oy steps and by stages, and not at single go-is the organized control of by the state over the great { er part if not the whole of the in lustria1 field. That is quite c1ear-cut ' enough."
 Asked by Sir Robert Horne before ] he elections if he would be willing O join in a Liberal-Labor coalition | government, Asquith replied: q ( would not under any circumstanues t oin government, the condition of g ny adhesion to which was the sub i nersion. I won't say the sacrifice or V ven the suspensoin either in legisla- C ion or in the administration of my I ibera1 convictions or of any slacken- e ng even a momentary slackening, of what I hold to be liberal principles nd liberal policy.'