The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 20, 1919, Page 3

7% “a - - - L v $- E > a *..!' _Nvm the world,” he exclaimed, f&andp in their prime, with broken physique, be- : v"era‘ st;-engt and In 'the interest “of a square deal for the farmers - Tlonpartidan ]Eacler Official Magazine of the Natlonal Nonpartisan League A magazine that dares to print the truth 2 "VOL. 8, NO. 3 ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA,. JANUARY 20, 1918 L WHOLE NUMBER 174 England Ahead in Planm Our Own Country, With No Reconstruction Plans Worthy of Name, Offers Great Contrast—Vigorous Independence of Workers a Great Factor ~ Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader IDWARD P. COSTIGAN, former leader of the Progressive party in Colorado, and now a mem- ber of the United States tariff commission, has returned from a visit to. England. t He finds that England: is about to put aside some of her most time-honored political principles, and that under the leadership of Lloyd George, backed by an overwhelming majority in parliament, she is going to enact a series of meas- ures that -would startle most of our progressive organizations and politicians. When interviewed by the. Leader correspondent in regard to the gemneral situation in England, Mr. Costlgan gave the followmg most mteresting, and in many respects surpnsmg, testimony: Those persons in the United States who look -upon the world war as a mere incident, devoid of significance, economically, industrially and socially, will do well to observe closely the present trend of events in England. There, as here, it was orig- inally felt that when once the war was over, men and women would swing back naturally to their accustomed paths, .and mdustry into lts former practices. Today, England from top . to bottom recog- nizes the dawn of a new social order, and no one who is aware of how close the bonds of the famlly of nations have become, can doubt that we in America must fairly soon react to sim- ilar reorganizing influences. “The British minister of reconstruction has not hesitated to announce that there were many features of pre-war.industries in Eng- 1and of which men and women now have rea- son to be ashamed, and that justice to the liv- _ing and respect for the dead alike require us to put our civilization on a far better basis of . fair_and right relations. On .November 16 last, at Central hall in Lon- don, I heard the premier, Lloyd George, in the presence of his Coalition supporters, and with their evideént sympathy and sanction, deploring the ap- pallmg numbe?- of physically unfit men—a greater. per eent than in France or Germany—the war had disclpsed in England. “In the wealthiest country “hundreds of thou- '%ause they were underfed, ill-housed; overworked, perhaps many poisoned w1th excessive alcohohc drigking to which they were driven by squalor!”. commenting on this situation; which he de- seribed as “a disgrace to a proud and prosperous cpuntry,” he added, “There niust be a real national effort to put that right.” THE LLOYD GEOGRGE PROGRAM Some features of the reconstruction program, on which a start is being made by the British gov- ernment, are worth noting. During the war, by approving the Whlteley reports and promoting their apphcatxon in industry, the British govern- ment, in order to aid the maintenance of reason- able wages and sound working: conditions, com- e mitted itself to the joint control of organized in- dustry by representatives of organized:labor, as well as of organized capital, and the national gov- “ernment has taken a hahd-in securing ‘like con- ditions and wages in poorly organized fields. Lloyd George’s. immediate plans, which he announced in < advance of the recent election, and with which: he - has now a popular. mandate to proceed, include: - Malntammg wages at such a level that the work- < : efficiency will ‘be assured, and - sions the rights and duties of motherhood safeguarded. Reviving agriculture in the British Islands, through state aid, with the object of keeping hun- dreds of thousands of people employed in that in- dustry, and in particular, opening lands for settle- ment by returning soldiers. Treating the pressing housing problem in the British Islands as a national task, to be corrected by national aid and supervision. Dealing with the health of the British people, on the same sweeping lines. Preventing the crippling of British industry through unfair competition. Not least important, national supervision of the development of electric power, and bringing “un- der the direct inspiration and control of the state,” transportation - by railways, canals, tramways and roads. Tested by America’s recon- struction plans, this program will hardly seem overconserva- tive, and no one can consider its implications without realiz- ing that it foreshadows very great changes in the social life of England. It is accompanied by elaborately worked-out plans for drawing England and her colonies through cer- tain preferential trade conces- into closer federation economically, and for preserv- ing in England by state aid the so-called “key-industries,” to which the war gave emphasis. We have here, of course, the complete abandonment of the laissez faire theories of an earlier generation. 'On all sides, there appears to be frank admission of the inteér- est of the state in the health, employment, education and even happiness, of its people. LABOR'PARTY LEADS THE WAY What has been said, however, does not, by any” means, tell the whole story of Great Britain’s econom- ic future. _It really only marks a beginning. The great strength of the Brit- . ish_ Labor party in Eng- land and its platform, “La- bor and the New Social Order,” must also be borne in mind. This party, which was organ-:~ ized in 1900, elected 29 members of parliament in 1906, 42 in 1910, and, according to néws-.~ paper reports, has now a total of 65 (outside of some 10 additional Coalition Laborite mem- bers). The Labor party proper, which™ has withdrawn from co-operation with the Coalition group, is now estimated to have cast one-fourth of the recent total vote, notwithstanding: the fact that 6,000,000 women- ?‘t’ers were yvoting ¢ for the first time, and that the suddenly-called election came on the heels of complete vfctory ‘ - in the war, and in the face of the strongegt ap- peals for national authority at the pea&.table. It is said that the results of the rec were a great disappointment to the Laboi ‘party, ‘but unless I was misinformed in EnglamLQn this subject, this statement is incorrect, - gaders of the party, with whom I talked in Liondon, one and all frankly foresaw, and yery. closely predicted, the .result: recently. &nnounced ‘It should be re- .membered that Bntmh labor 1s well advmed a8 to Arthur Henderson, British Labor party, which polled one- fourth of the total vote in the recent election. -This party, like the Non- partisan league farmers, believes the toilers should send men of their own kind?to public office. électxon ;i its own strength. The party is not even identical with the trade union membership. There are over 5,000,000 trade unionists, while the paid member- shlp of the British Labor party is in the neighbor- hood of 3,000,000, in a population of the United Kingdom of about 45 ,000,000. LABOR TACTICS AND PLATFORM One of the leaders of the party said to me that the conditions under which the election was called would necessanly result in the Lloyd George gov-" ernment winning overwhelmingly. - Another said that the Labor party could not count on obtaining more than a total of 60 seats in the next parlia- ment, instead of the 65 it is said actually to have secured. And it was confi- dently predicted that with such an opposition confronting the government, criticizing it when wrong, and supporting it when right, the future of the Labor party in England is ex- tremely favorable. The lead- ers of the Labor party, with- out exception, reaffirm their absolute support of the party platform, whose well-known outstanding features look to- ward: A universal enforcement of the national minimum of prop- er livelihood, edtcation and health. State unemployment insur- ance to bridge over periods of "enforced idleness. Equal rights socially, in in- dustry and in government, for men and women. A careful demobilization, with direct aid for re-employ- ment in civil life of the .re- turning soldiers. ; Democratic control of- in- dustries. Nationalization of land and all agencies of transportation. Revolution in finance, so that .all shall contribute on the ba- sis of equality of sacrifice. The use.of surplus wealth for the common good. . Home rule all around, and the right of self-determination with special reference to India and the colonies. A league of peace, : Diminishing armaments and voluntary mstead of universal military service. International courts and tribunals to prevent war. Increased dependence of the ‘world on science. Perhaps it should be ‘added that England, when we left there, was already quite as much ergrossed by the overwhelmingly important problems of the peace conference as by the forthcoming election, leader of the ~and was awaiting with profound interest the ar- rival of President Wilson. ‘The first indescribable jubilation after the signing of the armistice had passed. - Lloyd George’s government had ‘gone to.. the eountry for the complete national authority: . at the peace table, which bas since been voted it, - and plans for’immediate reconstruction were the subJect of universal discussion. America’s vital “gervice in turning the tide of war last summet’, and. in defining the terms of the armistice of November_ 11, 'has made ce our nation’s most weighty in- fluence in shaping the actual peace condltionl and nfter the war mtematxonal policxes.