Foreign News: All Sorts Of Mistakes

Scene: the turbulent British Labor Party Annual Conference, meeting last week at Llandudno, Wales, most delegates fighting mad because so many men are out of work.

Chairwoman: Miss Arabella Susan Lawrence, M.P.—never before had a woman presided.

The Labor Government was about to present its first concrete plan for unemployment relief, evolved after more than a year in office.

Announcer: Rt. Hon. Christopher Addison, Minister of Agriculture. He admitted in effect that the Government despairs of creating more indoor employment. The only remedy: “Back to the Land.” The Government plans to acquire tracts of land in the British Isles, sell them on credit to the unemployed, aid them with the example of “model farms” and the best “expert advice.”

What did Dr. Addison himself think of this scheme—for the Conference did not seem enthusiastic. He said lugubriously:

“There will be all sorts of mistakes, I know, and ever so many failures until the men get established, but even if a small percentage make good and are removed from the desolation of unemployment it will be worth while.”

12=Jim+Oswald. Never was leadership more bankrupt than last week at Llandudno. In blind resentment the Conference refused to re-elect to the party Executive Committee of Twelve famed James Henry (“Jim”) Thomas, M.P., the jovial Laborite whom Scot MacDonald first made Lord Privy Seal charged with combatting unemployment (TIME, June 17, 1929 et seq.), and when he failed at that gave him his present post, Minister of Dominions.

The dropping of Mr. Thomas meant the picking up of someone else. This someone’s feathery little black moustache fairly quivered with excitement. When his election was announced the Conference burst into cheers and loud guffaws for Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, M.P.

Those who guffawed think that Oswald and his rich wife, daughter of the late great Lord Curzon, are no true Socialists but a pair of pampered pinkos who are in the Labor Party for a lark.

Those who cheered regard Sir Oswald as a sincere, hardworking convert to Socialism. He was assigned last year to help Jim Thomas fight unemployment. He resigned in protest at the latter’s happy-go-lucky methods, drafted a plan of his own,the secret Mosley Memorandum (TIME, June 2) which was submitted to Scot MacDonald but never published.

Inconsistent Ramsay. The Prime Minister dashed from the Imperial Conference at London to speak at Llandudno last week, won a vote of confidence on government policy. His speech was amazing. In some passages Mr. MacDonald flayed the very notion of putting a tariff wall around the Empire, called all tariffs “quack remedies”; but soon he was threatening reprisals—apparently tariff reprisals —against nations which should raise their tariffs against Empire goods.

Clearly the harassed Scot did not know his own mind on tariffs last week; but he knew how to get a vote of confidence, maintain leadership of the Party. In one purple passage which few if any of his well-wishers could explain, his splendid voice cried thrillingly:

“Ah, my friends, how amazingly easy it would be to get millions of pounds sterling back for British consumption without putting a brass farthing of pro tection upon any commodity that comes in!” — with no reference whatever to-how the millions of pounds might be got back, or from where.