Evening star., 1936-12-13
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

"H HE Simpson case worries WASH
ington more than appears on
the surface. Whether Edward
L Is right or wrong is not even
discussed in Government quarters here
it does not concern them. But the
far-reaching implications of King
Edwards romance, the inevitable COM
plications which will confront the
British Empire, and its repercussions
on world affairs, are matters which
lead some of Washington's high Off
cials to liken the incident to the pistol
shot at Sarajevo in 1914.
It is recognized here that Baldwin
had no choice but to take the de-
termined attitude he has adopted in
recent weeks. Stanley Baldwin is
timid soul. An advocate of Britain's
imperialism-in the good meaning of
the word-and a true representative
OF that caste which has been ruling
Great Britain for centuries, Baldwin
forced the issue of the throne despite
his personal feelings for Edward.
The prime minister and the son of
George v have been close friends;
Baldwin, while Edward was Prince of
Wales, said that he would be proud
to be the prime minister and chief
adviser of this brilliant young man
when he assembled the throne And
Edward relied on this feeling of per-
sonal devotion from the head of the
Tory party when he carefully laid his
plans to marry Mrs. Simpson as soon
after his fathers death as decency
would permit.
Baldwin Becomes Adamant.
But to the surprise of Edward and of
the few who form the palace camarilla,
timorous Stanley Baldwin pressed the
issue with an energy unsuspected in a
man Of his type. He was devoted to
his King as long as he represented the
tradition of the British crown. But
the day he realized that the young
monarch wanted to cast aside the
whole myth on which the British
Empire is built, he summoned all his
courage and energy and began to
tight his monarch, secretly at first,
then openly.
1t is admitted these days that the
British Empire hangs together by the
devotion of the component parts to
the Crown. The big Empire drum is
beaten in the United Kingdom by a
caste composed of the big business
men, the high clergy and the govern
ment. Great Britain undoubtedly is a
democracy, but it is democracy sui
generis. There are parties fighting
each other. There Is even a strong
socialist movement which twice
brought the Labor party into Office.
The proletariat frequently fights the
rich with good DEAL OF success. But
over all these political and social
nights hovers dominating power
the Crown. The King can be q
puppet or an able and intelligent
man; 1t is immaterial so long as he
keeps up the appearances the people
have been taught to respect and ad-
mire. During the general strike of
1885, when the feeling between the
laboring people and the upper class
was bitter, His Majesty's name was
never brought into the conflict. And
the reason there was no bloodshed or
chaotic conditions, was not only be-
cause violence is not a British char
acteristic, but because the strikers
the working men of England-felt
that they would not be 'let down by
the Crown.
Crown Is Safety Valve.
The ruling class of Britain con-
siders the social reactions, inevitable
with changing times, as healthy signs,
and are not worried as long as the
Crown Is kept in high esteem by the
rich and the poor of the Empire. 1t
Is their safety valve.
The caste feeling is even stronger
In the dominions and the colonies.
The dominions are young countries,
with all the English bourgeois char
acteristics multiplied by their distance
from the mother country. They are
selfish about their prerogatives: they
want complete economic independence
and have gone so far as to refuse i'm
migration rights to their own kin.
But they are united in their pride in
the Crown. They resent the superb
ority complex of the Britishers from
the United Kingdom, but when it
comes to a question of royalty they
are as loyal as, if not more, than the
English people themselves. Their
own leaders are just Bill, Tom and
Harry to them, but the sovereign al
ways is His Majesty, and when they
sing God Save the King" they
mean it.
This tradition Of the "colonials"-
the only tradition the British New
World has-is being exploited for all
It Is worth by the interested caste.
The medieval pomp which surrounds
the British monarch on all festive oc-
casions is not merely desire for
:tshow" on the part of the court; it is
not q continuation Of tradition
which might be dispensed with-it
Is 0 calculated move on the part of