FROM BANDANA TO CRAVAT

It was with some amusement that the world saw Ramsey MacDonald; first Labour Prime Minister, pay his respect to the King of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and Emperor of India as dutifully as ever did Lord Beaconsfield, Lord Wellington, or Lord North. It probably made Soviet ministers throw bombs, clench their teeth, bristle their whiskers and evince other characteristically Russian signs of displeasure. It reassured conservative England; at least radical viewpoints did not interfere with good taste.

The civilization of the Labour party went a step further with the marriage of the daughter of the labor leader, J. H. Thomas, which was a test of the Labor Party. They met it magnificently. The editor of "Tailor and Cutter" proclaimed that the guests at the wedding were sartorially unassailable. Not only did they wear coats and neckties, they wore cutaways and cravais. The editor was tremendously relieved: "Labor has grown up, has assumed responsibility and gone to a good tailor. . . . . There were leading Conservatives and Liberals present with lords and men of great possessions, but labor held its own in the cut of its morning coat and the tilt and gloss of its top hat."

This is all very pretty but is it war? It seems rather to be a tremendous victory for the Conservatives, if one not registered at the polls or in the records of Parliament. There are a few who might prefer the attitude typified by two men now facing death in a Massachusetts prison who are proud of calloused hands. And yet again, it may be the top-hatted labour M. P.'s who will reach their goal sooner. The thought and laws of England have often changed but its polish remains the same.