Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-06
Britain's New Party.

From London The Stars naval con-
ference staff correspondent reports that
the British public seems far more in
terested in the efforts to launch the
United Empire party" than in the at
tempts of the sea powers to bring about
limitation of ornaments That may
be, the correspondent points out
purely external manifestation, for the
new political movement is being
fomented by stentorian Grassland
methods of unusual din.
Britain's powerful twin newspaper
peers"-Viscount Rothermere and Lord
Beaverbrook-are beating the bass drums.
Through their far-flung chains Of
widely circulated daily papers in Lon
don and the provinces they are able to
crusade for protective tariffs within the
empire on a prodigiously resounding
scale. 1t is not difficult, with such in
struments at their command, to drown
out all other movements, even If these
concern matter of so vital importance
to Britannia as her navy.
The Rothermere-Beav drive
for fresh political alignment has two
acknowledged purposes-to put the
empire on protection basis and TO
blast the Conservative party either into
action along that line or out of ex-
istence. The United Empire party Is
thus movement Of both program and
protest. Its promoters contend that i've
years of the late Baldwin regime were
marked by indefensible apathy, that
conservatism fiddled while Britain
burned, and that nothing but raging
stream directed against, old shibboleths
and old leaders will put out the fires of
economic distress and decay.
Lord Beaverbrook and Viscount Roth
ermere do not see eye to eye in all re-
spects. Beaverbrook advocates a vast
system of British imperial tariff feder-
alton, which would make the empire
. self-contained protection entity like
the United States. Rothermere insists
chiefly upon full national protection for
Great Britain and a total break with
free imports. The British today are the
only industrial people admitting foreign
competition free, while denied equal &C
cess to the markets of their competitors.
viscount Rothermere believes this state
Of affairs is mainly responsible for the
postwar paralysis which has been
creeping over British industry.
It decidedly remains to be seen, de-
spite the undoubted appeal Of the
United Empire party to the man and
woman in the street-especially the
unemployed man and whether
Britain is prepared to turn its back
on her ancient faith In free trade.
Conservatism is taking the Rother-
mere-Beaverbrook big noise with char
acteristic stolidity. 1t is convinced that
the self-governing dominions like Can
ada and Australia will never concede
free trade to the mother country. In
dia, by hardly any possibility, would ever
Join in an imperial 7ollvefein. The
present British democracy, its most
reliable paladins, the Labor party, as
sert, cannot be induced to put tariffs
on imported foodstuffs.
All in all, much water will now be-
meath the bridges Of the Thames before
the London newspaper peers propagan-
die John Bull away from his age-old
fiscal moorings. Yet it Is impossible to
dismiss their campaign, as some of its
foes do as purely personal and selfish
vendetta. Britain's economic plight is
real and grave. 1t may not be remedied
by Rothermeres and Beaverbrooks, or by
the methods they now are so vociferously
advocating. But that relief somehow,
some time, must be evolved, unless con-
ditions, now merely distressing, are to
become disastrous, is plain to all dis
passionate students of present-hour
British conditions.