Conventions & Contrasts

Britain's long, lean Labor worm turned decisively last week. Over their kippers, toast and China tea bloated stockbrokers and belted earls read in their Tory Daily Telegraph this horrid news: "In three days organized British Labor has undergone a swift, violent transition from nonrevolutionary to revolutionary policy."

This was true, even making the allowance that "policy" and "action"' are two different things. Action by British Labor spent itself last week in a sudden burst of strongly suppressed riots. But the policy of British Labor turned historically toward revolution in Leicester, a rusty old red brick English city on the Soar (into which upright Leicesterians hurled the corpse of detested King Richard III). In 1841 Leicester gave birth to Thomas Cook's first "Cook's Tour"--from Leicester to Loughborough (some 10 mi.) and back. Today Leicester busies herself chiefly in making women's stockings. Last week her proletarians welcomed with lusty cheers the 32nd Annual Congress (convention) of the British Labor Party.

"Tie Your Hands!" Plump and harmless as a tabby. Labor Leader "Uncle" Arthur Henderson tried to keep the Party on its well-worn track of merely Talking Socialism. "Labor must be definitely international in its outlook," he orated vaguely. "The National Government is Toryism without disguise. . . . There is need for an advance toward Socialism. . . ." Taking this bit in their teeth, the delegates galloped, bolted. While Leader Henderson begged and pleaded for "caution" the Congress ignored him, cheered to the echo a "labor intellectual," Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan (onetime President of the Board of Education) who proposed to block the possibility that men like Arthur Henderson (onetime Foreign Secretary) may ever again enter a Cabinet and neglect to fight from the Government bench for "Socialism in our time!" Amid proletarian pandemonium, intellectual Sir Charles moved this resolution: "On assuming office, with or without power, definite Socialist legislation must immediately be promulgated by the next Labor Government and the party shall stand or fall in the House of Commons on the principles in which it has faith." "You will tie your hands if you adopt that!" cried Leader Henderson. Hoarse throats shut him up with shouts of "we want to tie your hands!" By a rising vote of acclaim Sir Charles Trevelyan's motion became law unto Laborites. He fired a powder train of resolutions in which the Congress voted last week to: I) Nationalize the Bank of Eng- land and the "Big Five" private banks; 2) abolish the House of Lords as "dangerous and unnecessary"; 3) maintain friendly trade relations with Soviet Russia; 4) bar from ever rejoining the Labor party not only James Ramsay MacDonald but also Viscount Snowden, J. H. Thomas and every former Labor M. P. who has voted for the National Government.

Such a policy is "revolution" in the British Parliamentary sense--as distinguished from Adolf Hitler's "heads will roll in the sand!" Last week the Labor Congress, satisfied that it had adopted a policy fresh and vigorous enough to win back millions of lost Labor votes, adjourned singing "The Red Flag." Spit in the Cream! Blackpool is a North British seaside resort that is anything but Red. Rumbling into Blackpool last week came the first-class cars of delegates to the 59th Annual Congress of the Conservative Party. Brass bands boomed "God Save the King." In hurried fashion the Party (which holds 471 seats out of the 615 in the House of Commons) drafted a policy which it hopes to put through before the un-national character of the so-called National Government becomes too glaringly apparent and leads to a General Election.

Slapping back at Labor, the Tories promptly voted to extend the powers of the House of Lords and if possible to entrench it by legislation against removal by a Labor government. In a series of cut & dried resolutions they then voted full support to the National Government, the present British fiscal policy and the trade agreements resulting from the Ottawa (Tariff) Conference.

Dispute raged about Russia.

"Britain should certainly cease giving more credits to the Soviet Union!" cried choleric Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson, advocate of a special tax exclusively on Soviet imports. "Russia has the greatest army in the world and the greatest factories for the production of lethal gas! If we have any money to spend, let us spend it at home. Or if we have enough at home let us spend it on the Dominions!" This speech, though approved in principle by a Congress resolution, failed to win support for the specific, anti-Soviet tax.

Net result of the Blackpool Conference was to approve Things-As-They-Are-And-Were. But newshawks gleefully reported what many called "the typical Tory tirades." Example: frosty Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, warmed up to the point of flaying Free Trader Lloyd George for his recent attacks on the tariff results of the Ottawa Conference thus: "Even if a cat is pulled out of the cream jug by the tail, as was Lloyd George, that is no reason why it should spit in the cream!"

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