Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-26
KING ALFONSO'S FALL
OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE
Lloyd George Says People Will Revolt
Against Loss of Constitutional
Government.
Government.

Continued From First Page)
satisfactory means of limiting its power
save by throwing 1t overheard.
None Of the new kingless countries
could have dealt with its monarch as
peacefully as Norway did, when In 1905
IL calmly dismissed the King whom until
then 1t had shared with Sweden and
without the slightest fuss chose q fresh
one for itself.
Italy Curious Example.
italy presents q curious example Of q
nation which after developing consti-
tuttonal monarchy and q democratic
government has replaced its democratic
government by the dictatorship of q
commoner, leaving the monarchy un-
disturbed but impotent.
This Is hardly the place to discuss
the relative merits Of dictatorship and
democracy as applied to Italy. or to
speculate whether the ultimate passing
Of the dictatorship will involve peril to
the throne. But 1t may be noted that
the italian position differs markedly
from the Spanish, where q dictatorship
was set UP on the authority Of the crown
and operated largely under its direction.
In Italy the dictatorship resulted from
a national revolutionary protest against
the failure Of democracy in q land
whose people lacked the temperament
and long training to make this form of
government efficient, and the King
appears to have had little to do with its
establishment and equally little with the
responsibilities Of government since the
Duce took charge.
Civilization Is the art Of living TO-
gether in an ordered society. In the
steady progress of civilization from the
tribal unit to an organization such as
the United States, the British Common
wealth or the League of Nations, mon
archy has had a vitality important part
to play. It has been everywhere the In
strument for uniting independent
groups into organized nations, and adj
ministertng internal justice and external
defense, which permitted these nations
TO begin to develop their social life, their
arts and sciences, their commerce and
industry.
Public Demands Voice.
AS society within q nation becomes
more firmly organized, the strength of
central government naturally increases.
But with the growth Of a PROSPEROUS
and educated community, there will be
q larger tendency for the general body
OF the nation to watch with critical eye
Cne oolBS Oh us monarch ana demand
voice In his councils. Eventually it is
inevitable that the personal autocracy
Of the sovereign should be limited II,
fact, II not In theory, by the viii of the
people.
If constitutional form Is provided by
which this will can be expressed, its
pressure can be peaceably exerted. II
not, 1t VIII express itself eventually by
revolution and the overthrow Of the
monarch; possibly also Of the throne.
The liberties won by two revolutions
now constitute q firm foundation for
the British monarchy. Constitutional
monarchy Is the form of government
which has developed In this country and
among its neighbors around the North
Sea. It Is the system under which the
nation Is furnished with democratic
means Of letting the Sovereign know its
win and insuring that he and his min
listers carry 1t into effect.
Before the war German political
theorists, such as Troitschko, attacked
the theory Of constitutional monarchy
on the ground It demanded mediocrity
in the Sovereign. He was to be q rub
Der stamp, and the less his ability. the
more satisfactorily would he discharge
his duty.
In fact, however, the role Of con-
stitutional monarch Is one that may
wen exhaust the most energetic, dill