Evening star., 1924-01-06
LIBERALS REJECT
BALDWIN ADVANCE
Refuse Coalition, Labor
Cabinet Seen by Editor,
Predicts Early Fall.
BY A. G. GARDINER.

BY Radio to The star
LONDON. January 5.-Desperate at
tempts are being made in conserva-
tive quarters to induce H. Fl. AS
quith and his liberal followers to
join Prime Minister Baldwin and the
conservatives in preventing the ac-
cession of Ramsay Macdonald and la
Dor to power.
The most panic-stricken element in
the movement is the notorious Roth
ermere press which, having done its
best TO destroy the Baldwin govern
mont, is now reduced to a ludicrous
condition OF fear at the prospect of a
labor government. 1t publishes daily
frantic appeals to Mr.. Asquith to save
the nation from the wrath to come.
He must line up with the conserva-
tlVes, OF death and damnation are
imminent. The spectacle of Lord
Rothermere going down on hands and
knees to the man his press has lam
pooned for years is a subject of gem
eral derision.
s Lord Northcliffe was n dangerous
scaremonger. but he had certain
qualities OF greatness which his
brother, Rothermere. entirely lacks
He is becoming less a scaremonger
than national scarecrow. at whom
the public laughs.
i, A more important fact is that con-
servatives of London are appealing
to- Premier Baldwin to make ap-
proaches to Mr.. Asquith with a view
TO inducing him to form a liberal
government supported by the votes of
the conservatives. This represents
the practically unanimous feeling of
the conservatives, but Mr.. Baldwin
mas put the idea aside as impossible.
Asuufth Adnmaut,
Mr.. Asquith has declared his in
tention to turn the conservatives out
OF office and will not accept Office as
a conservative nominee. If he pur-
party would perish, the reactionary
element joining the conservatives
and the progressive element joining
labor. This is precisely what the
labor party wants. 1t does not want
office. but it does want to eliminate
the liberal party
1t may be taken as certain. there
fore, that the conservative govern
ment will be defeated on the address
from the throne and will be sue
creating much alarm among the
moneyed classes. 1t is notorious that
great sums of money are being trans
ferred to America This is under
OF the fall in value OF the sovereign,
though the main cause is attributed
to the payment due on the American
debt.
Macdonald In London.
Ramsay Macdonald. now the pros
pective prime minister, has returned
to London from Scotland. where he
spent the Christmas holidays at his
birthplace in the highlands village
of Lossiemouth. famous golf GEN.
ter. Macdonald formerly was MEM
Der of the golf club. but was excluded
during the war on account or his
anti-war attitude. 1t was expected
that the club would re-elect him, but
it refused and Macdonald was COM
PEELED to spend the holidays in walk
ing expeditions. This indicates the
temper of the wealthy classes toward
him.
Macdonald is accustomed TO this
sort of hostility. and knows that he
has a formidable task before him.
Practically the whole press Is against
ernment from wholly untried ma
terial, with only third of the house
of commons to support him.
Depends on Liberals.
How long can he survive? That
depends on how long he can retain
the solid support of the liberal vote.
This, in turn, depends on how far he
can keep the extremists of his own
party in check. He himself is not
an extremist, though he often talks
like one
The test probably will come in May.
The miners agreement is to be deter
mined then and it will be impossible
for the government TO avoid national
ization of the mines, which has always
been in the forefront of the labor
program. Such a proposal probably
would split the liberal party. A ma
jority would spport naturalization,
but considerab BILE section is hostile
to the idea and would abstain, or even
vote with the conservatives. That
weakens MacDonald's position. 1t
only requires the transfer of fifty lib
eral votes to the conservative lobby
to bring about MacDonald's fall
Superficially. it is impossible for
him long to pay the price of unani-
nous liberal support without creating
civil war in his own party. No pre-
mier ever entered office in such a
hopeless case and long tenure is un-
thinkable.
Parliament to Open.
Parliament meets next Tuesday for
the election of a speaker. But the
real struggle begins a week later.
Much discussion is raging on the
subject of the sudden failure of Pre-
mier Poincares New Year message to
England. All arrangeme nts had been
made, but Poincare was silent, and
there has been no explanation. Eng
land still survives
Copyright, 1924.