visitor to the locality. Big houses and lovely grounds lay off the
main road in the neighborhood, undoubtedly the homes of country
gentlefolk. And one may venture to surmise their attitude toward this
public firebrand who lives in their vicinity and used to be a village
boy under the care of his uncle, the shoemaker. Is he on their
visiting-list? I rather suspect not. The world must be turning
topsy-turvy for them when they allow themselves to reflect, as they
must at times, that this upstart has the entry to royal palaces and is
one of the principal advisers of the King of England. I have an idea
that something more potent than gall and wormwood is required to
express their feelings. All this before the war. What can possibly be
the attitude of mind of the local squires and lordlings now that this
man has become an international statesman, probably the most forcible
personality among that group of men who sit in conference to direct the
activities and formulate the destinies of great European nations.
Possibly I do them an injustice, and their habits of mind have changed
of late.
During the big Budget fight Lloyd George, by virtue of his official
position, had to attend occasional society functions. There was a
duchess who could not avoid shaking hands with this person, who to her
and her class was a monstrosity. After he had gone she spoke of the
encounter to a friend with surprise in her voice. "I have just met
Lloyd George," she said. "Do you know that he is really quite a nice
man?" I have the impression that neither squires nor duchesses trouble
Lloyd George very much, and that when this war is over and victory for
his country secured he will go down to Criccieth and enjoy himself
thoroughly in a golf-match with the local schoolmaster or one of the
farmers of the district.
VIII
A CHAMPION OF WAR
The psychology of a community is as mysterious and subtle as that of an
individual, and Lloyd George, despite all his so-called extravagance,
all his depredations, and all his wounding words, was by way of being
an acknowledged power in the country by the time the war with Germany
burst out of the sky. The mysterious strength of the man worked on
people against their will. Besides, there were tangible things which
had to be faced. He had settled the great railway strike, he had
passed several sweeping Acts of Parliament, he had brought into effect
the iniquitous Budget, he had dismantled the British constitution by
taking away the powers of the House of Lords. You may sneer at such a
man, you may hate him, but you cannot ignore him. Sincere and
religiously minded ladies used to write to the papers, wondering in all
sincerity why Heaven permitted such a man to continue to live. A peer
of the realm told his tenants that he would roast an ox whole for them
in celebration of the day that Lloyd George went out of office, and, on
top of this, the announcement that Lloyd George was going to speak drew
together the unprecedented gathering of sixteen thousand people to hear
him on a special day in the Midlands. You can sort out these varied
facts to suit yourself, but taken altogether they convey a lesson. Let
me add another point. Lloyd George, growing in influence, for years
had been the special mark of attack for the _Daily Mail_, Lord
Northcliffe's popular morning paper. When, after his House of Lords
fight had been brought to a finish, Lloyd George set himself to a new
colossal piece of legislation--namely, national health insurance--there
was a concentrated attack by the _Daily Mail_ to break the "poll tax"
and Lloyd George with it. There had been a stream of violent criticism
from the Northcliffe papers during the Budget days and the House of
Lords battle, but the abuse was distributed pretty evenly upon the
Government, though Lloyd George and Mr. Asquith got the major share.
On this occasion all the guns were brought to bear on Lloyd George.
The insurance tax was unpopular, and nothing that ridicule, covert
insult, or open denunciation could achieve was left undone by the
Northcliffe papers to smash Lloyd George and his policy. There was
plenty of scope for attack. The Insurance Act was undoubtedly
hurriedly conceived, and its complexities incompletely dovetailed.
Whatever the merit of the conception, there had to be a score of
rectifications when the measure came into operation. Some of Lloyd
George's best friends complained of the injustices and irregularities
of the Act. The _Daily Mail_ was in the van of attack. To me it is
surprising his assailants did not get Lloyd George down over this
matter. They did not get him down. He carried the insurance bill, he
forced it into operation, and he had left another milestone in his
career behind him some time before the catastrophe of the European war
appeared.
The country took a deep breath when the first shock of hostilities with
Germany occurred, and then turned a passing attention to the British
Cabinet, from which two or three members, including Lord Morley and Mr.
John Burns, had resigned, presumably on account of their disapproval of
the Government's action in going to war. Remarks came thick and fast
as to the attitude of Ministers, and for a time it was suggested that
Lloyd George was one of those who were on the verge of resignation.
There was nothing impossible in the suggestion. A hater of wars, a
fighter against wars all his life, he seemed just the kind of man to go
adrift, and a good deal of movement was in readiness for the event.
Special writers on the Conservative press sharpened their pencils
assiduously for the announcement which could not be very long delayed.
It must be remembered that Lloyd George in his earlier years had seemed
to take a perverse delight in being on the unpopular side, and now to
join what were called the "Pro-Germans" would really give him a chance
for unpopularity such as he might never meet again.
He did not resign, and then the bigger men among his late opponents
began to express the hope that in the conjunction of the parties now
set up Lloyd George would come forward with his unexampled power over
the democracy of Britain and stimulate them with trumpet note to the
great effort that lay before them. I remember that Mr. Garvin, a
doughty Conservative writer, came forward with a well-attuned appeal to
Lloyd George to take the place which belonged to him as the leader of
the common people of Britain. Little did he think that before many
months were past Lloyd George would, by consent, be the leader of the
whole nation, rich and poor alike.
For a week or two Lloyd George was quiet, and then it was announced
that he would speak at a gathering in the Queen's Hall in the West End
of London. A rush for tickets followed. I remember how crowded was
the hall and how intensely silent was every soul when Lloyd George,
wearing a gray summer suit with a black necktie, stepped to the front
of the platform. There was none of the old, fierce, gay, fighting
glitter about him. His mobile face was touched with gravity, his eyes
were thoughtful, not provocative. He stood very erect, but his chin
was drawn in a little, and his head canted forward. Responsibility lay
on him, and every one could see it.
We all speculated on what he would say. Was he to make a half-and-half
defense of the Cabinet war policy? Was he to try to explain why he had
not resigned? He was always a master of the unexpected. What had he
in store for us now? Speaking in the midst of a dramatic silence he
said these words, slowly, almost conversationally: "There is no man who
has always regarded the prospect of engaging in a great war with
greater reluctance and greater repugnance than I have done through all
my political life. There is no man more convinced that we could not
have avoided it without national dishonor." That was the beginning of
the most effective war speech since the start of hostilities. With
scorn and logic and invective he raked the German position, and in a
thrilling outburst invoked all that was honest, loyal, and strong in
the British people to strike hard and deep on behalf of outraged
Belgium. That was the first war speech of his life. The second was
not long in following. It was made at the City Temple, a famous
Nonconformist church in the heart of London. There it was that he said
the same reason that made him a "Pro-Boer" made him an advocate of this
war by Britain. He referred to the riotous Birmingham meeting. "It
was a meeting convened to support exactly the same principle of
opposition to the idea that great and powerful empires ought to have
the right to crush small nationalities. We might have been right, we
might have been wrong, but the principle that drove me to resist even
our own country is the one that has brought me here to-night to support
my country."
All through his life from boyhood onward Lloyd George had been a
magnetic figure, one round whom action eddied in emergency. In any
movement in which he was associated he automatically became the central
personage, the individual looked to for inspiration and for motive
power. Thus it was after his active entry into the patriotic campaign.
The silent Kitchener at the War Office, the clear-headed Mr. Asquith at
the head of the Government, were, by virtue of their positions, in the
forefront, but within a week or two the newspapers and the public were
calling attention to Lloyd George's services on behalf of the nation.
His work as Chancellor of the Exchequer was indeed important; his
personality made him even more important.
The shock of war had dislocated the financial system of the world and
London, as the center of the financial system, was in the throes.
Imagine Lloyd George as Finance Minister and the possibilities are
obvious. Rapidly, drastically, and with his usual unexpectedness he
began to act. His Budget with its tax on property had alienated from
him the bankers and great financial houses, even where they were not
previously prejudiced by their Conservative tendencies, and he had
become anathema to them all. They had sneered at his originality, they
had called him an ignorant person and spat out their contempt at him,
but he had blithely brought them all to his will, whether they liked it
or not, cheerfully throwing in a few words of warning and denunciation
while he stripped them. Imagine, then, what he did in this crisis. He
sent confidently to these old enemies of his, the leaders of the
commercial and financial world, and said: "This country is thrown into
financial chaos. I want the assistance of the best brains of expert
people. I want you to give me your help as to the best way of putting
things straight. I require that help at once. Will you come down
immediately to 11 Downing Street and see me?" They went down to
Downing Street. It was no time to hesitate. The arch-fiend might yet
prove a savior. At Downing Street they found Lloyd George the most
courteous man in high position they had ever met. He sat at their
feet, so to speak. He listened attentively to all their opinions, and
evolved from their various statements a true picture of the case. Then
he took their suggested remedies one by one and quickly drew up schemes
of relief--all the time with their co-operation and advice.
His quick mind pretty soon probed the length and depth of the
situation. The firebrand and mob orator was, within a period of days,
skilfully and delicately handling the tangled skein of national
finance, winning golden opinions from his ancient opponents, not only
by his mastery of technique, but also by the bold way he welded their
views for new remedies.
Lloyd George went before the public and explained it all with a
clearness and potency which made it apparent that money was as
important as soldiers. It was in his first big speech on these lines
that he coined the phrase "silver bullets" and made the nation
understand that among his other operations was that of raising a huge
war loan, to which every patriot must subscribe. "We need all our
resources, not merely the men, but the cash. We have won with the
'silver bullet' before. We financed Europe in the greatest war we ever
fought, and that is how we won." It was in this speech that he showed
clearly the importance of giving British finance stability, and how
that stability was threatened. A boy at school might have followed his
explanation. "We have not only our own business to run; we are an
essential part of the machinery that runs the whole international trade
of the world. We provide capital and raise produce. We carry half the
produce, not merely of our own country, but of the whole world. More
than that, we provide the capital that moves that produce from one part
of the world to another, not merely for ourselves, but for other
countries. I ask every one to pick up just one little piece of paper,
one bill of exchange, to find out what we are doing. Take the cotton
trade of the world. Cotton is moved first of all from the plantation,
say to the Mississippi, then down to New Orleans, then it is moved from
there either to Great Britain or to Germany or elsewhere. Every
movement is represented by a paper signed either here in London or in
Manchester or Liverpool; one sender is practically responsible for the
whole of these transactions. Not only that, but when the United States
of America buys silk or tea from China, the payment is made through
London. By means of these documents accepted in London New York pays
for the tea bought in China. What has happened? All this fine,
delicate paper machinery has been crashed into by a great war affecting
more than half, and nearly two-thirds, of the whole population of the
world. Confusion was inevitable. It was just as if one gave a violent
kick to an ant-hill. The deadlock was not due to lack of credit in
this country; it was due entirely to the fact that there was a failure
of remittances from abroad. Take the whole of these bills of exchange.
There were balances representing between 350,000,000 pounds and
500,000,000 pounds. There was that amount of paper out at that time
with British signatures. Most of it had been discounted. The cash had
been found at home from British sources, and failure was not due to the
fact that Britain had not paid all her creditors abroad: it was due
entirely to the fact that those abroad had not paid Great Britain."
That was the position as Lloyd George presented it, and the position
with which he proceeded to deal, in a matter of hours, handling
hundreds of millions with the confidence with which an enterprising
tradesman handles dollars. A temporary moratorium for debts was
established, balances were placed at the disposal of bankers, and
guarantees given for the payment of bills accepted by British houses.
There were other arrangements carried out equally swiftly. "An
estimate of our national assets," said Lloyd George, in explanation of
his action, "is 17,000,000,000 pounds. To allow the credit of the
country to be put in doubt for twenty-four hours in respect of
350,000,000 pounds, most of it owing to our own people, would have been
a criminal act of foolishness."
The financial houses cried blessings on Lloyd George's head. Even the
_Daily Mail_ gave him a careful word of praise. As for a great part of
the country, it somehow got the impression that finance, under Lloyd
George, was at least as important as military operations, and indeed
the glowing speeches of the Chancellor of the Exchequer almost gave the
impression that it was more important. When the Welsh statesman flung
himself into an endeavor the business of the moment was to him the most
important thing in all the world, and his own supreme belief made other
people think so, too. By general consent Lloyd George did extremely
well in his bold, rapid, and unconventional financial policy. He was,
nevertheless, one of the first to realize that a new strong policy in
directions other than finance was necessary if ultimate victory was to
be achieved. Indeed, before the end of that fateful five months of
1914, during which a sturdy British army of less than two hundred
thousand men had, under the pressure of the German hosts, been fighting
a retreat, yard by yard and mile by mile, in a way which will live
forever in British military history, there had been forced upon Lloyd
George as one of the principal members of the Cabinet that there were
grave deficiencies at the front in equipment, that the British
soldiers, unsurpassable for valor, for their individual skill, and
their contempt of death, were being, not only overwhelmed by German
numbers, but swept down by gun-fire which was in extent and in power
tremendously superior to that of the British. It was a deadening,
horrible thought. All the fighting spirit of Lloyd George rose to meet
the emergency. His financial arrangements were in train and going
well. He was, it is true, Chancellor of the Exchequer, but he was also
Lloyd George, and with the whole impetuosity of his nature he turned
his attention to the needs of the British army in the field. His
colleagues in the Cabinet were patriots and were able men, but they had
not his lively imagination. Some of them had more technical knowledge,
but their pedestrian processes of mind took very different channels
from his lightning intuitions. I imagine sometimes that he was not
very tactful. It is impossible to doubt that this was the time when he
first became impatient with the methods of his chief, Mr. Asquith. It
is equally impossible to doubt that at this time, also, he was moved
sufficiently to challenge the policy of those in charge of the War
Office, those on whose advice the Prime Minister naturally relied.
The existing methods were subsequently criticised as slow,
conventional, unillumined by modern experiences. Our soldiers, it was
said, were being swept out of action by an intensity and plenitude of
new high-explosive shells, while we proceeded in the use of ordinary
shells in ordinary quantities. We needed immensely greater numbers of
shells, enormously improved shells, vast amounts of high explosive, new
big guns, indeed a score of things, which were afterward obtained.
Lloyd George at this period saw that, as usual, Britain was just
"muddling through," relying on her stolidity and her power of
endurance, rather than on her initiative and striking strength. His
efforts to improve matters within Government circles could not have
endeared him to his Government colleagues. But his blood was up, and
he cared as little for their good opinion as he did for the good
opinion of the squires and clergymen when he started professional life
in Wales.
A movement was made to increase and better equipment, but it was slow
and, in Lloyd George's view, it was ineffective. He fought on. At
length he succeeded in impressing the seriousness of the situation on
the Government, and it was just about this time that he became
possessed of a powerful ally. The _Daily Mail_, in past years the most
vindictive foe of Lloyd George, swung around to his support, took up
the cry of insufficient shells, attacked Lord Kitchener, raised a
scandal in the country. The _Times_, which now, like the _Daily Mail_,
was under the proprietorship of Lord Northcliffe, joined in the fray.
Extravagant and unjustifiable condemnation of Lord Kitchener shocked
the public, but, at the same time, there was revealed an undoubtedly
grave state of affairs in the insufficient provision of shells and
explosives and other war material. A political upheaval followed. The
Liberal Government was replaced by a Coalition Government, with Mr.
Asquith still in command, but with Conservatives in the Ministry and
with Lloyd George no longer Chancellor of the Exchequer, but Minister
of Munitions, a new post created for him, that he might organize the
country for the supply of needed war material for our soldiers at the
front. At the same time started that informal, but effective, alliance
between those sworn enemies of old, Lloyd George and Lord Northcliffe,
an alliance between the two most powerful men of action in Britain in
our generation.
IX
THE ALLIANCE WITH NORTHCLIFFE
I regard Lloyd George as the most interesting man in public life in
Britain to-day. There is, however, another very interesting man in the
country, though on a different plane from the Prime Minister. I mean
Lord Northcliffe--the Alfred Harmsworth who started life for himself
without help at seventeen, was a rich newspaper proprietor at thirty,
and at forty was a national figure with wealth which would satisfy the
wildest visions of any seeker after gold. He is about the same age as
Lloyd George, and he has reached his zenith at about the same time. He
is the principal owner, not only of the popular _Daily Mail_, but also
of the famous _Times_, to say nothing of some forty other journals of
various kinds. He is the inspiring spirit of all his publications, and
I should think the papers which he controls convey their message, good,
bad, or indifferent, to not less than six millions of people every day.
The range of his influence is obvious, and though it is an influence
primarily of the middle classes, it reacts upward and downward, and
makes itself felt even on those who dislike his policies. Northcliffe
is undoubtedly patriotic and is sincere, but he is, above all other
things, a newspaper man. The huge circulations of his papers tell
their story of his mind. He is a genius in knowing what will interest
the common intelligence. He has labeled himself, sincerely enough, a
Conservative in state affairs, though in his highly successful business
he has never hesitated in trampling down conventions. I have to say
this, moreover, that those who are brought into personal touch with
Northcliffe, whether they agree with his opinions or not, find in him
an appreciative employer, a generous-hearted friend, and a man always
with big impulses. He is essentially a practical man. He has no
dreams of improving the race, no gleaming visions of a community
relieved of poverty and kindred ills.
Northcliffe was for years Lloyd George's most bitter public critic. He
has now become his ally in the government of the British Empire.
Despite the difference in their outlook on life, there are wonderful
resemblances between the two men. There are sympathies, too.
Northcliffe early recognized that Lloyd George was a person to be
watched, not because of his speeches, but because he was a man of
action and a man who got things done. On the other hand, Lloyd George,
under cruel attacks, once said, reflectively: "What a power this man
Northcliffe might be if he chose! He could carry through a political
project while we were thinking about it. We talk of tackling the
question of housing the poor people of this country. He could do it
single-handed." To this a companion pointed out that he was asking too
much of Northcliffe; he had not it in him.