Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
BY FRANK H. sIMoNDs.


- TILL another hairbreadth escape
of the Labor government has
served to reinforce the warning
~ of every recent by-election. The
Macdonald ministry is, as the
French say, "usee." 1t has had its chance
and failed. Now it Is only q question of
time until it has to give way to another
Tory government.
Nor is 1t less clear that the next Tory
government Is bound to launch Britain
very far upon the road of protection
with Just as much imperial preference
as it is possible to obtain. To be sure,
Stanley Baldwin, still the leader of the
Tories, has hung back from any really
decisive utterance on the subject, in
evitably recalling the disastrous conse-
quences of his leap in the dark in 1928.
But for the moment, despite all out
ward show, the tune in the Tory camp
is being called, not by the war lords,
but by the press lords, by Beaverbrook
and Rothermere, with the former Max
Aitken playing the chief role. Willy
nilly the Conservative party is being
pushed and pulled and hauled into
taking a step which cannot be called
less than revolutionary.
Nevertheless, no one can fairly deny
the fact that the situation in the British
4Olco Aldo IcdCklCu q SJuSC WAACk3 oOtkAC-
thing must be done. Unemployment,
prostration in coal, iron and textiles
shipping in the doldrums and the In
dian boycott taking further heavy toll
of the stagnant industries-all these
factors have brought John Bull to one
Of the gravest of his many crises.
For nearly century Britain has lived
Off the benefits of having experienced
the industrial revolution first and. in
addition, possessing inexhaustible Goa
supplies practically at tidewater. She
has played the part of the worlds fac
/ tory, producing more cheaply and buy
ing her food in the cheapest markets
Free trade has given Britain century
of economic greatness, but the old game
Is Enthusiastically up.
Dominions Become Nations.
Moreover, along with decline OF trade
has gone the rising spirit of independ.
ence among English-speaking domin.
neutrality-suspicious. not in the sense
that the American colonials ultimately
understood it. No Fourth of July Ia.
as yet stirred Canada, Australia or thu
lesser dominions, although separation
is openly discussed in Cape Town. But
the dominions have become nations
risen to the estate Of countries having
their own diplomats and asking theil
own nationals as governors general.
Manifestly Britain Is then face tx
| face at one time with political and ar
economic crisis. At least outside tn,
empire there is much talk of the ap
preaching dissolution, and even in Eng.
| land the word disintegration Is hearS
not infrequently. And yet, as tn,
|
is no British political party which 1
at heart little Highlander" Labor ha
taken as strong q line in India as tn
Tories could wish and the very Simon
| report which has reused Indian ange
is the product of Liberal.
Today, after full decade Of fumblini
| following the close of the World War
| Britain is face to face with the ines
| capable fact that this time, "muddlinl
through" emphatically win not do. Mos
| Englishmen will agree Cat least, tn,
ment has come when the whole system
of nineteenth century economics ant
| politics will have to be scrapped: Man
chester, with its time-honored notion
of leaving everything to the natura
laws of supply and demand, has prac
tically abdicated to Birmingham, th'
city of the elder Chamberlain, who il
! the early days Of the century preached
the gospel which has now found new
champion in the Canadian with Brit
F., ish title, Lord Beaverbrook.'
IfSthe empire is to be saved, 1t mus
be transformed. If Britain is to remain
great political force, not only mus
the empire endure, but Britain must Il
a very considerable extent remain IT
industrial center.
OF course this whole matter Is subjec
to the approval Of the dominions them
selves. It is for them to say whether
| they viii still further increase the pref.
erential tariff advantages bestowed upor
British manufacturers in return for sim
liar favorS. for their products. In tht
last analysis the thing comes down tt
the question whether Britain viii buy
its meat and wheat in Canada and Aus.
tralia Instead of In the United States
Argentina and Russia, when possible.
Seven years ago, when Baldwin at.
tempted a first step in this direction
Labor obtained its first taste of power
Since then, although British public opin.
ion has clearly been modified, Baldwin
has not forgotten. In the face of the
pressure exerted not alone by the news
paper peers but by Tories OF the type OF
has refused to bulge.
BeaverbroOk Gains Prestige.
Now, however, he must move. During
the Naval Conference British attention
was far more occupied with the cam
paign of Aitken and Harmsworth than
with the intricacies of parity and the
significance of escalator clauses. Nom
inally that campaign ended in q COM
promise. Baldwin gave in q little and
Beaverbrook gained considerable pres
tige. But recently the struggle has been
renewed with fresh vigor and reluc-
family Baldwin, has teetered a little fur
Their in the direction of protection.
Meanwhile, the split in the Tory
party, which at first gave Labor bright
hopes OF long continuance in office
has begun to disclose unmistakable
signs of developing into a new orienta-
ton of party policy. In several recent
elections the Tory candidates who have
followed Beaverbrook rather than Bald
win have scored notable gains in the
party poll. Labor; by contrast, frozen
to the traditional policy of free trade by
the will Of Philip Snowden, the present
chancellor of the exchequer, has lost
proportionately.
Now, an election In the Autumn is
universally expected. and protection
or, as the British say, imperial prefer
ence-promises to be the main issue.
And the situation has been profoundly
affected by the recent passage of q new