Evening star., 1926-03-07

| American and European worlds. IL IS
| not impossible that in the future the
| Developments of cotemporary BrltlSh
domestic politics may have an even
| larger value in history. At the mo-
ment a great political party is obvi-
ously dying. Something or the rate
which.overtook the Whig party In the
United states in the decade between
1850 and 1860 has now nefallen the
Liberal party.
Broadly speaking. the fall of the
Liberal party is the direct consequence
of the war Translated into American
terms however. the Liberal party Is
dying because il is divided over the
great question of the hour. as the
Whig party was split over the issue of
slavery. 1t is true that in addition.
Lloyd George is dragging, down his
own party. 1t cannot get rid of him.
and yet his leadership Is not only dis
astrous but fatal. But 1t is possible
to eXaggerate the Georgian circum-
stance.
Great Britain has passed into an era
in which the battle is to he WaGed
upon economic grounds. The old diff
ferenceS. the historic division between
the Tories and the Liberals. have
pa Ssed. and the issues on which Lib
aral power and appeal were based have
disappeared. The mass of the Liberal
party are Just as inevitably bound to
go over in the end tn the abor party
as were the mass of the Wings to
merge into the Republican party.
Hesitate Over Labor Party.
But. despite outward circumstances.
the passing of the Liberal party is not
going to he attended by civil war.
20 hot n iCh oA ho
troll of the Republican party in Amer
lea by the extreme element. What is
happening at the moment is that the
Liberals who would naturally go to
Labor. remain hesitant because the
! La Dor party is still engaged I'm It's own
| struggle between the right and the
! left. between the conservative and
radical labor elements. the followers of
| Ramsay Macdonald, who are British
| radicals. and the extreme radical frag
ment of the Labor party, who are fol
| lowers of Moscow.
! At the moment the Tories have a
! ma jOrity of upward of 200 in the
! House of Commons which does not
/ represent the actual political situa ton
! in Great Britain. hut would not be
materially changed today by any new
! election. Labor has pretty success
! fully absorbed into itself all of the eIe-
ments of orga nized labor. all Of the
members of unions. II has solid
! strength OF something like 30 per cent
OF the voting strength of the nation
| The Tories. on the other hand control
| something short of 30 per cent. hut
the country itself is still apprehensive
of the extreme radical fringe. or tail.
| of labor.
A Labor party made M Of leaders
/ a "a rh a tar nF 10
! Donald. Clynes and Thomas To go no
| further. would offer no obstacle to the
! transfcrence of Liberal strength. But
! before the mass of the Liberals do
come over to Labor 1t will have to
| take some rather definite steps To dis
sipate the more or less imaginary
| fears of the Liberals ma jority that II
is the party of Moscow, that II Is
In reality bolshevist.
| Aims Are Conservative.
OF course the apprehension is
rather ridiculous. Thomas and Clynes
and Macdonald are conservatives I'm
| the true but not the political sense
of the word. They are more than
that-they are essentially British aud
stand Squarelv against everything.
, which suggests revolution ami for
I everything which represents orderly
and constitutional method. But from
time to time, to keep their party
united, it is necessary for them tn
make concessions to the more radical
fraction. and these concessions alarm
prospective Liberal converts.
| There are q certain number of mil
lions of Liberal voters who have not
yet taken the great plunge. Most OF
them perceive that in the end the
men who are coming up to vote are
not becoming Liberals: they are di-
vding between Tories and Labor. The
Liberals are losing by attrition. hut
the bulk remains quite solid as yet
not because there is any hope of ulti
mate recovery, but because both the
alternative parties are at the moment
unattra Ctive.
For 1t must be perceived In the
United States that there are not now
two or even three parties in Britain
but not less than five. The Tories
are divided between their more mod
crate membership which follows Bald
win and the reactionary lot which
bear the name of "Diehards" and
have not any one outstanding leader
Labor. on the other hand. is split he
tween the conservative elements fol
lowing Macdonald, who are the de
cisive majority, and the minority
again without conspicuous leaders
who have very real red sympathies.
Both Bothered by Extremists.
All things considered, there is as
little real difference between Baldwin
and Macdonald as there was between
Coolidge and Davis on fundamental
economic issues. But difficulties arise
70
treme faction, which is endea voring
to force the party into extreme po
sitions. On the one side ii IL the
Tory reactionaries who trouble Ba Id
win: on the other hand it Is the red
sympa thizing radicals who bother
Macdonald.
The Tories won the last election
because they were able to throw the
| country into an enormous panic over
! the alleged Russian tendencies of La.
bOr. 1t was an 'unreasoning and un-
reasonable panic, but 1t not only turn
ed up an enormous ma jority for the
Tories but created state Of mind
which endures. and would beyond any
doubt give Baldwin and the Tories a
new ma jority of decisive If not pres
ent proportions in the existing stu.
alton.
The situation is anomalous because
a party having less than 80 per cent
Of the voting strength of the country
actually can control at least two-thirds
of the seats in the House of Commons
But this situation can endure until
the Liberal party is absorbed into both
the larger parties. and the absorption
| cannot take place until the Liberals
who would go either to Labor or tC
the Tories. are relieved of their ap
prehension as to the radicals of Labor
and of the Tory camp.
Foundation Is CnsOund.
At the moment Labor is on rather
unsound foundation. 1t is seeking tc
cure the existing economic difficulties