HOW THE MARCONI AFFAIR STRIKES AN AMERICAN.
[To vas Enna OF THE ..HFICTATOZ.:]
SIE,—Here is "ourselves as others see us," or, let as rather say, political integrity as the party concerned have interpreted it, seen by an American of no mean reputation. If you could find space for the enclosed it might be useful in the cause of that integrity we hope will again, some day, be considered as of more value than place or party.—I am, Sir,
"You often hear that the standard of integrity is much higher in English than in American politics, but you are under no com- pulsion to believe it. Imagine, for example, that Mr. Underwood bought—on his own account—some highly speculative stock the value of which might be sentimentally—but not directly—affected by the action of the House of Representatives, and next day used funds of the Democratic Party, over which he bad practically unrestricted control, to buy—on the party's account—a larger amount of the same stock, incidentally paying for the stock he bought on the party's account about fifty per cent. more than he paid for that bought on his own account—and that he failed to disclose this use of the party's funds to his associates ; also that he invested over a hundred thousand dollars of the party's funds in railroad stock at a time when the Government was about to intervene to settle a strike! Our own imagining is that Mr. Underwood's political career–would be-bully-damaged. Imagine, further, that the House of Representatives investigated these transactions and, by an overwhelming party vote, found them blameless ! In the House of Lords the other day the former Chief Whip of the Liberal Party stood up to explain transactions on his part fairly analogous to the above. He admitted that his 'pecula- tion with party funds showed poor judgment, but maintained there was nothing about it which ' a fair judgment will hold to reflect in any degree on the honour and integrity of our public life.' We suspect the transactions would be considered a tolerably serious reflection over here. Probably the common notion that West- minster is more scrupulous than Washington is due mostly to the much stricter libel laws over there."—Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia.
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