Askov American., 1936-12-10
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
BY GEORG STRANDvOLD

1t all began few weeks Dack with
the publication in New York weekly
magazine of snapshots taken of King
Edward of Great Britain and an erst-
while Baltimore lady, Mrs. Wallis
Simpson, and the public merely
thought it an amusing journalistic
stunt. There were deeply veiled allu-
sions to the possibility that the king
and the lady between them had estab-
lished a firm friendship, and certain
hints were allowed to penetrate the
mind of the reader. Then a big news
paper syndicate, deeply infatuated
with the spirit of sensationalism, took
up the matter; more pictures found
their way into the American press,
and whispers about a possible love
affair between the monarch and the
lady acquired loudness. Soon there
after word came from special Lon
don correspondents" that although the
British press discreetly had imposed
upon itself an effective censorship,
rumOrs were becoming rife that His
Majesty was actually thinking of mar
|
that was the hub, for she was mar
ried-a divorce might be arranged.
Developing.
On amazingly short notice such
divorce was very deftly and cOnven-
iently arranged, and Mrs. Simpson
was released frem her marriage to
"a London ship charterer, mutual af-
fection seemingly being rather slim,
anyhow. ThereupQn, her hot pursuit
by press photographers and reporters
began, and every possible actual and
imagined detail about the lady, her
manner of living, her dresses, fer
cooking ability, her furniture, etc..
was presented to the American public
under front-page headings which,
soberly, were out of all reasonable
proportion to the subject-matter.
Finally it proved impossible to
withhold from Britons this story, re-
plete with all the ingredients of a
high-powered modern novel of society
life, and then the storm broke.
Government Panied.
1t has never been openly stated that
King Edward intends to marry Mrs.
Simpson whenever her divorce decree
becomes final-late in April, next
year-but it is now being taken for
granted, and nobody has so far ap-
peared to deny that such is the in
tentiOn.
AS soon as the matter was broached
by the British press, the Stanley Bald
win government reacted with a sort
of horror: Impossible! His Majesty
simply couldn't think of it! Why, it
was unconstitutional
Mr.. Baldwin was in error; if the
king marrieS commoner, even
though she be an American by birth,
the constitution is not violated, for
all it stipulates on this point is that
the kings wife must not be Roman
Catholic. Legally, the king has the
best of it, for-there's mo law again
it." But then there is the spectre
of tradition, in England a most i'm
preSSive one. Such a marriaLe surely
would run counter to well-established
tradition Here, again, the cabinet
was in error, for on several occasions
British kings have elevated COM
moners to queenly throne.
Church FrOwnS.
More formidable than the alleged
opposition of constitution and tradition
was the antagonism of the church.
the official church of England which
looks with black misgivings at di-
vOrced persons. In this ca e, of course,
the case was particularly outrageous
since it involved the king who is, by
the way, the titular head of that
very church, and lady who had had
the audacity to go through the process
of not merely one, but two divorces.
So, the church protested and arg, ed
and tried to convince.
| Not much less important is the
attitude of Queen Mother Mary; she
is said to look with profound disfavor
at her sons headstrong ways in a case
| where, as some commentator has re-
marked, the very future of the Brit
ish Empire is at stake.
In spite of this, the king knows that
the laws of Great Britain justify him,
and each day brings him increasing
evidence that the British people ap-
prove of his plan. 1t is reasoned that