Evening star., 1927-05-08

Great Britain.-The debate upon the
trade disputes and trade unions bill
proceeds ferociously.
Under pressure from Mr.. Baldwin
who (poOr mani made certain pledges
before the last general elections for
fulfillment of which 'the fair" have
of late been after him with ven
geance, a majority of the British cab
met have consented to introduction in
Parliament of a government bill pro.
posing complete equality of women
with men in respect to the elective
franchise. Enactment of the bill would
increase the number of woman voters
by about five millions. Lady Rhondda
and Lady Astor are elated, and by
the same token Lord Birkenhead and
other bitter-enders are exceedingly
glum.
The female part Of the British popu-
lation is more numerous than the male
part by about two millions, and Brit.
lsh women have shown themselves
fare more appreciative of the voting
privilege than their American sisters:
Just as appreciative, l understand, as
British men, who are far more ap-
preciatiVe than ours. At our national
elections Of recent years only about
80 per cent of those qualified to vote
voted the proportion of qualified wonl-
en- voting being very considerably
smaller than that of qualified men; at
the last British general elections, 81
per cent of those qualified to vote
went to the polls.
X X X
Itaiy.-There was a time when
Dictator Mussolini somewhat ostenta-
flnlIEJNy 6ycR,,oI
we are told that now when he goes
abroad, the streets are lined with
plain clothes men stationed only 10
feet apart. Moreover. the program Of
the duce's appearance at public func-
tlonS has been reduced to a minimum
| Today as ever there are drawbacks to
perfect joy in the job of dictator.
Torrigiani, grand master of Italian
Freemasonry, has been sentenced by
the Provincial Court at Rome TO five
years banishment on one of the little
| islands which have been turned into
settlements for enemies of Fasciminos.
The charges against him are indefinite.
lie is held to have given comfort, if
not active aid, to plotters against the
| fascist regime. He has been head of
the Italian Freemasons for 20 years.
| Speaking of grandiose conceptions,
| able than that of Alexander and the
! Dladochi, his immediate successors.
| Doubtless the reader viii remember
the propose! of Deinocrates to carve
| Mount Athos into "a sitting figure of
| Alexander with a town of 10000 in
| habitants lying in one hand. while the
| other poured from an urn a mountain
| torrent into the sea-" This same as
| founding fellow was commissioned by
| Ptolomey Philadelphus to construct a
temple to the late lamented Queen,
| Arisinoe. He planned to have the cell
| ing of lodestone and the statue of
Arsinoe Of iron, so that the latter
would be suspended in the air His
premature death unfortunately pre-
vented the execution of the plan. A
hint to the Fascist artists, some of
whose proposals for honoring the
duce are high-fantastic enough, but
not quite up to the mark.
China.-The past weeks dispatches
from China were of very meager con-
tent. They throw no light on the
struggle between North and South;
and they lead us to seek as to whether
or not hostilities are in progress be.
tween forces of the Hankow and Nan.