Political Forecast

That the Labor Party is in power by grace of the Liberal Party is by now a truism. That the Liberal Party is showing signs of compound fracture became evident during the past week. This a priori reasoning led British political critics to forecast another general election within four months.

At a meeting of the Liberal Party held in London, ex-Premier Lloyd George referred to the "contempt" with which the Labor Party treats the Liberals. His charge was that there was no system of consultation between the two Parties and that the Laborites seemed to expect the Liberals to be at their beck and call. He declared that things had begun with Labor contempt for the Liberal Party as a whole and had now reached the stage where individual Liberals were openly reviled.

He made it evident that there was no desire at present to turn the Laborites out of office. But he stated that the present state of affairs could not go on indefinitely.

Ex-Premier Herbert H. Asquith agreed with everything Mr. Lloyd George had said, and suggested a meeting of the Liberal Party to discuss the situation.

Many political writers in Britain prophesied that the Liberals would eventually split, part joining the Laborites, part the Conservatives. In this event the recent prediction of Lord Rothermere (British newspaper king) that the Liberal Party would disappear will have been fulfilled.