The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-05-27

That is just what they will do.
For that is just what the British gov
eminent intended they should do
when it so swiftly moved to rid the
Empire of the eldest son of George
v, that his brother might be hur-
ried to the throne.
George VI and Elizabeth have
job cut out for them: That is to
live and reign just as nearly as
did his parents as they possibly can.
Only by such a program can the
Crown, greater in significance than
any king who wears it, recover COM
pletely from the jolt its dignity re-
ceived under Edward VIII.
So long have British kings been
above reproach, above even criti-
cism or controversy, few who recog-
nize the task now set before George
VI also realize that he is not the
first of his line to have faced it. In
deed, Queen Victoria, a hundred
years ago, successfully undertook
to restore the dignity of the crown
in the face of far greater crisis
than the present one, if the present
can be called a crisis at all. Queen
''Vic" had to undo the bad work of
a whole series of incompetent rul-
erS.
Crown Is Symbol.
In this case the Crown has only
tipped ever so slightly. But for the
safety of the Empire it must not be
allowed to tip at all. The immense
job of promotion which the govern
ment applied to the coronation
which would not have been nearly
so magnificent or well-attended had
it not been for the events of the pre-
ceding year-was the second step
in righting it. The abdication of Ed
ward was the first.
It will not do here to GO into the
actual meaning of the Crown itself
in too great length, for that has
been done time and again in the
American press during the weeks
leading up to the coronation. Suffice
it to say that the Crown is symbol
of the emotional bonds which hold
the Empire together. The domin-
ions and territories which make up
the Empire remain in it because
they cherish the protection of the
British navy or the advantages of
British trade, or because by nature
or blood they are fundamentally
British. But they are government
ally independent states; the actual
expression of their unity is found
in their love for and allegiance to
the Crown. The Crown in itself is
virtually abstract The man who
wears it provides them with real,
respectable person, a concrete OBJ
ject for their devotion-if he is the
right sort of ruler.
When Edward assembled the
throne, the Crown had enjoyed three
rulers in a row who so perfectly eX-
emplifed the British ideal that Brit
ons had begun to believe the mon
archy itself (not the monarchy was
permanently perfect. The short
reign of Edward Jared them
abruptly out of this misconception.
Such an idealistic view of the mon
archy also increased the pubic IN
dignation to his shortcomings all out
Of proportion to their importance.
Falls Readily in Line.
Edward VIII became openly,
sharply criticized in a manner en-
tirely foreign to his three predeces-
sors. The fact that the press had
withheld reports of his romance
with Mrs. Simpson and the impend-
ing crisis until only eight days be-
fore he abdicated only served to in
crease the shock when it did ar
rive. The prestige of the monarchy
suddenly dropped to the lowest point
in many years.
George v was known as father
to his people, family man, figure
of the court and country gentle
man. His second son is already