Evening star., 1934-02-04

InlS community emphasizes produc-
ton for use. which will also be the
goal Of the Tygard Valley community" !"
theory Of popular democratic govern
ment is discredited
Apart from France and the group Of
Scandinavian countries about the
North Sea and the Baltic, Britain is
the last, and by far the most i'm
portant. stronghold Of the democratic
idea in the Eastern Hemisphere.
No serious student of political cur
rents In this country In the past has
thought that stronghold was in dan
ger. Nor would 1t be true to say that
any serious student thinks so today.
But it is no longer unthinkable.
Movements are afoot which raise the
issue and forces are abroad which
challenge the idea that parlia-
mentarism is the final and indestruc-
tible basis Of government.
The attack comes from two sources.
and in each case derives its serious
ness from the personality of its leader.
The British Fascist movement, which
takes its insignia. its salutes and its
gospel from Italy, has had lingering
and negligible existence for some
years. but has recently emerged into
prominence under the inspiration Of
Sir Oswald Mosley, a youngish sprig
Of the landed aristocracy, whose late
wife was daughter Of Lord Curzon by
his marriage with Miss Letter Of Chi
cago. Mosley has great wealth, elo-
quence OF tongue and vast ambition.
He entered Parliament as a Conserva-
tive and switched over to Labor under
Ramsay Macdonald. Labor and he
promptly fell out and he started a
new party Of his own. He failed to
get elected. scrapped his party and
hung himself into the Fascist move
ment.
Here at last Mosley seems 10 have
found the ideal instrument for his am.
bitions, genius and his despotic aims.
He Is amply provided with funds and
has put Fascism definitely on the map.
A few nights ago he addressed an au-
dience of 5000 Black Shirts in Bing.
ley Hall, Buckingham. and set all the
press to talking about him. His
croWnlng triumph, of course. is the
capture of Lord Rothermere. the great
multiple-newspaper owner. who. in a
three-column article in the London
Daily Mail, has hailed him as the pre-
destined savior Of his country. Lord
Rothermere is politically of no impor-
tance, but the support Of his news
papers goes far to make Fascism 4
real movement.
There Is another factor, however,
even more valuable to it. This Is .
new movement in Labor headed by Sir
Stafford Cripps, also q scion Of the
aristocracy and . barrister Of emf
nence. Since the defeat Of Labor at
the last election and the breakaway Of
Macdonald and Snowden from its
ranks the party has been without
leadership and initiative. Sir Stat
ford has jumped the claim and has
raised the red flag with a passionate
enthusiasm that alarms the tradi-
tional leaders Of the party almost as
much as 1t does the general public.
He has spoken menacingly Of the
crown, threatens to abolish the House
or Lords and purposes to set up some
thing like . dictatorship Of the prole-
tariat for the establishment Of an out
and-out Socialist state by admins
trative decree. His program is not
accepted by the caucus Of the party,
but they have not dared to eject him
from their ranks, and meanwhile his
weekly fulminations are committing
Labor. In the mind Of the public. to
a revolutionary policy on the Russian
lines.
All this is grist to the Mosley mill.
The Black Shirt, to the timid, is the
alternative to the red flag. and, as one
Labor leader despairingly remarked
the other night, Sir Stafford Cripps
never makes q speech without send
ing 10000 recruits to the Fascist
camp"
Between the menace from the left
and the menace from the right. Par
lament stands not quite unshaken.
AS the embodiment Of government, it
is held responsible for all the dis
tresses that afilict the community, and
the fact that 1t has piloted the coun-
try through the world storm more sue
cessfully than has been the case Of
any other Europena country is ignored
in the presence Of the prevailing dis
contents and dissatisfactions. Its
prestige Is lower in the public esti-
nation than at any time in my ex-
perience, and there Is . growing feel
ing that its mechanism needs speeding
up and undermining.
The danger Il that the postwar
generation has 20 little appreciation
Of the ideas Of personal liberty and
self-government that It u tempted to
coquette with the idea Of Dictator
ship and its corollary Of class tyr
amy. I have no doubt that In the
absence Of any great setback in world
affairs, the two revolutionary move
ments will cancel each other out
and that the great mass Of undemon-
strative. sensible people will make
parliamentary governments secure.
But 1t is impossible to dismiss Mos
ley and Cripps a. negligible factors In
the England Of today. They mean
much and may mean more.