Evening star., 1924-11-16
BRITISH LIBERAL
|PARTY IS SPLITTING
WedgWood Attacks Lloyd
George-Zinoviev Letter
: to Be PrObed.
BY 4. &. GARDINER.

BY A. 6. GARDINER.
BY Radio TO The star.
LONDON. November 15.-Aftcr the
hurricane election England has sub
sided into a condition of unusual
calm. The new cabinet met this week
:fnd Prime Minister Baldwin made
lGs first public appearance as prime
,siuister at the banquet Of the Lord
.yayor Of London.
: Herbert II. Asquith. no longer 4
lnember of Parliament. gave his bless
ing to the tiny fragment of the Lib
rral party left in the House of Com
mons and departed for Egypt. being
seen off the premises 10y David Lloyd
George. Austen Chamberlain, the
foreign minister. observes wittily:
Mr. Asquith has been dispa tched
by the Liberal party to place their
riddle before the Sphinx"
Liberal Party Split.
In the meantime that riddle is rend-
ing the party al the center. Wedg
wood, q distinguished member of the
party. issued a public announcemen
on Friday on his refusal to accept the
leadership of Lloyd George. denounc-
ing him as the man who assassinated
he party in 1919 and only returned
70 the Liberals when the Tories threw
him overheard.
He charged Mr.. Lloyd George with
Intriguing against the party from.
within since that time. and said no
revival of the party was possible uu-
I'll Jonah was east out of the ship
Mr.. Benn represents the strongest
element Of the party, but Lloyd
George has the party funds. The
struggle between the two factions
will be bitter and prolonged.
Probe ZinONiev Letter.
Mr.. Chamberlain has announced
that a full inquiry will be made into
tn" mystery of the XinoyicV letter
which converted the election into u
Wild stampede. No electoral eyonl
- history ever created such an
Overwhelming effect, and the Labor
party is raging against Ramsay Mac
Donalds incOmprehcnsible mishan-
ding of the affair.
Opinion rs still divided az I,
whether the letter was genuine or a
forgery. The actual document ad-
mittedly was not in the hands of the
foreign office. The version published
IS alleged to have been compiled
from secret service notes taken when
the original was read at u Communist
gathering.
The effect Of the episode has been
70 cNacerbate the Labor party's feel
ing against the Communists. John
week the worst enemies of the
Labor movement, and Mr.. Macdonald
indorsed tn" dcnuncia ton of his col
league. Everything points TO a for
NAL breach OF Labor with the eN-
tremists. If this is done, there is
strong proha bility that Labor will
absorb a large proportion of the Lib
erals. who are hostile to Lloyd
George.
Macdonald Coming 10 L. :.
Meanwhile. it is announced that Mr.
Macdonald intends to visit America
not for speaking purposes. but for a
rest. This is the first occasion or
which America has been regarded as
a.suitable retreat for rest cure. Mr.
Macdonald certainly needs a rest. His
. last weeks in office showed serious
symptoms of overstrain, and much OF
his failure at the end was due tC
that fact.
In trying to fill both the premier
ship and the foreign sccretaryship in
times OF exceptional gravity, Mr. Mac
Donald undertook a burden no single
man could carry. His. difficulty has
been the poverty of his party in
trained men. His own hostility to the
liberals completed his failure. But it
is recognized by all heads that his
work for European reconstruction
has been invalua BILE.
.Armisticc Observance Impressive
The Armistice day celebra ton this
week was most impressive cere-
I1ony. People began assembling in
the vicinity of the Cenotaph in White
hall long before daybreak and the
crowd was so vast that on dispersion
only heroic efforts by the police pre-
vented unfortunate results.
Wo minutes silence at the stroke
IF eleven now is vigorously observed
over the whole country and woe the
ierson who dcsecrateS the observ-
hpce by moving or failing to stand
bareheaded. The spectacle of life in
the streets Of London being suddenly
suspended as If by magic was pro-
feundly moving.
The death of Senator Lodge evoked
here general expression of the view
hat he was mainly responsible for
|efeat Of the Wilson policy and with
drawal Of America from the League
"f Nations with whatever conse-
4ucnces to Europe flowed from that
grave action. His general attitude
toward this country generally was
regarded as cold. if not inimical, but
hf had many friends here.
Erhe fate of the Wembley EXhibi-
bn is still in the balance, but it is
rfpected the new government will
decide on reopening next year