Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-03

The recent extraordinary scene In the
House Of Commons when q member laid
Decorating hands upon the sacred mace
to the horror of all but four present
shows how even acknowledgements
tradition once In while may suffer In
dignity. The interesting thing Is that
, our own mace in our national House OF
Representatives Is held in equal vener-
alton and guarded as sedulously.
The mace in parliamentary or civic
body is the supreme symbol OF the au-
thority of the state as represented by
those comprising that body. Although
an inanimate object, It Is respected as
the symbolic representation OF the
power Of all. To touch 1t profanely.
therefore, Ia to lay profane hands on
the state itself. It is q crime as hetnous
as the dissertation of heather idol
and, in heather countries, that is likely
to mean death. Idols are sacred objects
In both civilized and savage countries.
in both Christian and pagan lands.
And especially in political organizations.
1t was all very stirring. Fenner
Brockway Of London, Left wing MEM
Der of the Commons and q man well
known in the United States as lee
turer, had been suspended by the
Speaker of the House. Mr.. Brockway
is, perhaps. the gentlest soul in the
three kingdoms. During the World
War he suffered imprisonment at hard
labor as conscientious objector, al
though there were ample evidences that
he was not lacking in personal courage.
His. suspension was precipitated~ by
his protest against the refusal of the
government bench to answer certain in
terrogatories concerning the situation in
India. Mr.. Brockway is IN sympathy
~ AL AakA afsaAt f<svs
so ably espouSed by the late President
Wilson and felt that the people Of In
dia who are following the prophet
Gandhi should receive some consider
alton. MIR. Brockway emphatically In
sisted that the subject be not changed
until certain points on India were set
tied. So he was suspended.
Whereupop John Beckett. another Lib
eral member and supporter of Brock
way, so far forgot himself as to step to
the august Speakers table, lift there
from the sacred mace and proceed to
start out Of the hall with it across his
shoulder. In effect. his gesture meant:
IF the state Is willing to afford no more
justice than this viii take the symbol
Of the state out and throw it In the
gutter"
Act Offends Many Members.
Needless to say there was q terrific
uproar. Honorable members leaped
from their sleep like jaek-in- boxes
and. as one man, hurled themselves
upon the offending Beckett Sir Colin
Keppel, sergeant at arms Of the Com
mons, reverently restored the mace to
the Speakers table, while the normally
Soft-Spoken Ramsay Macdonald, prime
minister, palsied with rage. instantly
demanded the suspension of Beckett.
The motion carried $40 to &. Appar-
emily, there were four others beside
Beckett who did not think much of
the mace. The majority, however, was
obvious and Mr.. Beckett was suspended
for I'VE days.
No one, not even an irate member,
ever has tempered with the mace of
the American House of Representatives.
Nevertheless, our own mace has had q
tremendous adventure. Once upon a
time it was almost put to very prac-
teal use.
The British mace Is in the form of
a sort of a large-headed club. 1t has
a long handle, with ball at the top.
The American mace, adopted when the
Republic was formed. takes the form
of the ancient Roman fasces. IL Is
conventionalized bundle of rods, bound