Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-29

LATEST ana virtually compete eIeCblOn
returns leave no doubt Of the over
| whelming magnitude Of the British
National governments landslide victory.
Truly. in the words OF Ramsay Mac
Donald. the response to our appeal
has been far beyond the dreams Of the
most enthusiastic amongst US" Not
the least gratifying feature Of the
avalanche which showed the old Labor
party into humiliation is the re-elec-
ton of the prime minister at Seaham
by . majority OF. roundly. 5000. Mr..
Macdonald could have stood in a far
less hostile constituency and won by
default He chose he path which led
uphill. relying on the readiness of his
old supporters to listen 20 reason. They
did not fail him.
In whatever direction one looks. the
blow dealt Labor Is a terrific one. Not
single former Labor cabinet minister
saved his seat. The most notable VIC
tim OF the holocaust was Arthur Hen
derson. who took over the Labor party
leadership when Mr.. Macdonald was
shorn Of it in September. Headed by
Our Maggie" Bondfeld, all Of Labors
petticoated members In the House of
Commons failed OF reelection. Lady
Aston becomes doyenne of a group of
fourteen women NJ. Ps, all identified
with non-Labor groups
Out OF $40 constituencies polled up
to this morning, the National govern
ment held 555 seats and the Labor OPP
position so, with i've Independents in
doubt. This assures q majority for the
government Of not fewer than 500, a
parliamentary situation seldom, If ever.
known in, the history OF the House of
Commons. Labor has suffered q loss
Of 2s6 seats, which is tantamount to
the wiping out Of the party as force
that needs to be reckoned with in West
Minister The discounted Socialists
seek heart of grace from the fact that
they polled a popular vote of 6,649, ga,
but, even so, Labor was mown down by
the combined forces of the National
government in the ratio Of two to one,
Naturally. the colossal predominance
Of Conservative seats in the new House
of Commons, a phalanx Of 472, pre-
supposes that Stanley Baldwin's party
sooner or later viii boss the show. BY
all the rules Of tradition. King George
should send for Mr. Baldwin, as leader
OF the largest single party in Parlia-
ment, and invite him TO form a govern
ment But the Conservative chief Is
prompt to proclaim that Tuesdays cleo
ton eyentuated in a victory for Ma
tional regime and not for any political
organization. Thus the world pres
emily may witness the anomaly Of a
Tory House meekly accepting the Lead
ership of q minority Labor statesman.
Things in London cannot and will
not continuously remain In that abb
normal shape II prospectively viii en-
dure only so long as the National gov
eminent requires for economic read
justment of the budget and stabiliza-
ton OF sterling. Having tasted the
blood Of triumph this week, and drunk
deep Of IFS refreshing dTaughtS the
CONSERVATIVES cannot be blamed for
thirsting for real power. When they
achieve 1t, as it must be assumed they
are bound TO do when they ask 1t in
their own right, the protective tariff
will be hoiSted as the banner under
which they viii hope to march 10 party
victory The slender showing mace by
the warning Liberal groups under the
rival captsincies of Mr.. Lloyd George.
Sir Herbert Samuel and. Sir John
Simon are not likely TO stay the ad-
vance Of Stanley Baldwin's invincibles.
A Moscow dispatch quotes Joseph
Stain, Communist car Of Soviet Rus
STA, as saying, in comment on the Brit
ish election. that the British mentality
is inscrutable" To MoscowS man of
steel. perhaps; not so to the world at
large. The British mentality has only
run true to form. It is most stable in
times OF crisis. Hating concluded that
Britain was drifting steadily toward
those Ideals" which are progressively
impoyerishing Russia, 1t decided to sink
them without trace before it vas too
! late.
| Mr.. H. G. Wells, now in Washington's
midst. says that the National govern
/ ment is on trial, and that if it fails in
its inundated task. the restoration of
prosperity, & trend 10 Communism Is
inevitable II the British electorate
| Spartan performance at the polls this
week is any criterion, the gifted author
/ Of The Outline of History" sees I'M
necessarily red.