Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
CRISIS is FACING BRITAIN
Free Trade Exponent Must Have Prefer
entail Tariffs With DOminions to
Get Foreign Markets.

On the one hand, BRAND Is getting sur.
prising support for his proposal Tor o
United States of Europe-on the eco
nomic side. On the other hand, on the
economic side Beaverbrook Is Fronting
even more heavily In his imperial pref"
erence project, because Britain, the do
minions and the continent believe them
selves to be gravely injured by the
American tariff law Of recent date.
Talking Disintegration.
Twenty years ago Gen. Bernhard.
who died the other day, was talking
about world power or downfall" for
Germany. Today the rank and file Of
Tories are talking about imperial pref
erence or disintegration for the British
Empire. A commonwealth of nations
with one language. one crown: one tar.
| of Rome, this Is the dream. But 1t Is
much more than dream. 1t Is, In fact,
the single discoverable remedy for Q
| condition otherwise seemingly hopeless.
| That Canada and Australia win 60
along with the project very far seems
certain. On the other hand, India,
Ireland and South Africa are bound to
for In all three the present objective is
independence, not closer ties with the
British Isles. New Zealand and New.
foundland will undoubtedly hail It even
more enthusiastically than their neigh
bors and greater dominions, but on the
imperial side success depends upon the
voluntary cooperation of all. !
| In any event, we are almost GER.
tainly on the eve of one Of the great
Britain has lost her economic place OF
pre-eminence which she has held for so
long. Nor can she hope to recover It,
even by the most drastic reorganization
OF her domestic machinery and meth.
DDS. She must have markets abroad,
and she can no longer secure those
markets by the cheepneSs of her pro-
duction and transport. She must get
odds against the United States and
Germany, even against France and
Italy In certain fields.
| She is. then, in substance, asking her
dominions to give her an advantage
which they certainly will not bestow
upon her to the required extent unless
in return they obtain similar favor FOR
their products, which are foods and raw
Materials. But to grant these recipro-
cal favors Britain must scrap the ira
dition of a century-she must trans
form her whole economic thought and
practice.
U. s. Would Feel Effects First.
For all the world the experiment
must have utmost interest and impor-
lance. If it succeeds, Britain will
emerge once more, as from similar
crises, stronger and greater than ever.
If it fails, Britain seems bound 20 fol-
low Spain and France, to become, II
still great power in the European Gale
culation, no longer q great power in the
world sense ~ lg5S
i Patiently the United States VIII be
the first to feel the effects Of the
change. for in the British markets the
United States is a keen and successful
competitor of the greater donainions,
while in the dominions IL is Britain's
rival. Politically, too, while for q gem
Grafton the United States has been
pulling away from Britain In prestige
and influence, it might be forced to
recognize at least parity in q restored
British Empire made up Of q fedora
ton of commonwealth.
And 1t Is these facts which give the
domestic political event of the moment
TO make the next general election one
OF the most monentous in British his
tory. 1t would seem that after the
next election the Tories will be re-
turned to power with a working ma
Jority and with party program inn
perial In its dimensions but in its eco
nomic doctrines modelled upon the
platforms Ct the American Republican
party. If the Tory prophets are right,
the day viii presently dawn when Cam
berra, Ottawa, Cape Town, Dublin,
Delhi and Auckland will sing in unison
with London "Blest be the tax that
bindsl"
All Of which recalls Sidney Smiths
once famous description Of the islande
ers who eked out precarious living
taking In each others washing, save
that 1t is not expanded into grandiose
conception Of self-governing dominions,
along with, the mother country, rising
to- unexampled prosperity and great
ness through exchanging each others
more impossible than the American
immigration enactment. for imperial
preference win permit no alien quotaS.
| (Copyright. 1891