Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01
Churchill's Break With
Baldwin IsOlates Him
BY A. G. GARDINER.


Churchill's letter to Stanley Baldwin
renouncing his official connection with
the Conservative party Is the political
sensation of the moment in Great
Britain. It follows upon an open rup-
ture between former Premier Baldwin
and his former chancellor of the ex-
chequer in the House of Commons this
week on the subject of India.
Mr.. Churchill made an imprisoned
attack on the proposals of the Indian
Round-table Conference, which he de-
Scribed as q wanton and reckless sur
render to those ayowedly working for
complete severance between Great
Britain and India. Mr.. Baldwin later
deliberately rebuked the wrecking
speech of his colleague and recon-
mended to him that he adopt Mahatma
Gandhi's observance of an occasional
day of silence. The Conservative lead
er declared that if he succeeded the
present prime minister it would be his
duty to do all possible to augment the
work of the round-table conference.
This courageous declaration, COM
hitting the Conservative party to an
Endorsement Of the new Indian con-
stitution, practically makes the coun-
try solid behind Premier MacDonald'S
solution of the Indian problem; but
Mr.. Churchill throughout has been ir-
reconcilable and his rupture with Mr..
Baldwin is taken to indicate his in
tention to lead some raging propaganda
against the policy, beginning with
great meeting at Manchester Friday
night. The effect on the country,
however, is not likely to be serious.
In spite of his unrivaled oratorical
gifts, Mr.. Churchill has no political fol-
lowing and is the loneliest figure in
FlaHh1 fn 90 w. l. u
that a politician may change his party
once, but not twice. Mr. Churchill
has changed his party three times
successfully and he is now an Ishmael
without any semblance of party at
all. Even the die-hard Tories, who
hate the Indian policy, hate Mr.
Churchill equally for deserving them
in the past and because he is a free
trader and one of the chief architects
backing he has in his present adven-
ture is that of the Rothmere Press,
which has been preaching a frantic
crusade in favor of governing India
by force, but this fact is more calcu-
lated to diScredit him in the serious
opinion of the country than to help
him.
Mr.. ChurchilI's powers of recovery
are so astonishing, however, it is i'm
possible to regard him as spent; and
even as a free lance he may easily turn
the scale of events in the present chaos
of English political parties. all of which
seem to be in process of dissolution.
This fact mainly accounts for the fact
that the Macdonald government this
week survived in Commons the most
critical division of its career on the
second reading of the trades disputes
bill. This measure, which, it is argued,
practically legalizes general strike, Is
bitterly disliked by the Liberals, as well
as the Conservatives. But rather than
defeat the government and force a
general election the bulk of the Liberals
abStained from voting, in the belief that
they can destroy the bill in committee
without compelling the resignation of
the government.
The probability now is that Premier
Macdonald will survive till Summer:
for even the Conservative leaders are
not enthusiastic for an immediate cleo
ton. No one doubts that they would
win, but in the present disturbed con-
dition Of public affairs they are not
indiSpoSed to let the Labor government
stew in its own juice at home and
abroad and reap the full harvest OF
odium for industrial discontentS. Lam
cashire is in the midst Of the greatest
cotton strike in history, due to the re-
fusal of the operatives to adopt more
looms, a. system which they regard as
menace to their employment. In addi-
ton, the attempt of the railway COM
panies, which are in serious financial
straits, to reduce wages threatens to
bring an industrial crisis of the first
And while the coal dispute
has been temporarily smoothed over, no
real settlement has been reached.
The Conservatives have no desire to
put their heads in hornets nest and
are content to allow the Labor govern
ment to get into trouble with its own
(Copyright. 1917