Lloyd George

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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.

What is this newspaper magnate like to look at? He is a
heavy-shouldered man with a big, broad forehead, a massive jowl, and an
aquiline nose. His wide mouth droops at the corners. In repose there
is something of a scowl on his face, which is intensified in
displeasure as his head shoots forward aggressively and almost
wolfishly. And yet, on the other hand, in his pleasanter moments he
has a boyishness and vivacity which are attractive. Nearly all who
have been in his office, whether they are at present in his employ or
not, will tell you he is a delightful man to work with. He will come
into the reporters' room of the _Daily Mail_, sit on the edge of the
table, smoke a cigarette, and talk to the men as if he were one of
themselves. He likes them. They like him. Stories cluster round him.
A young writer went out to investigate a series of happenings in a
Midland town, was rather badly hoaxed, and was responsible for a good
deal of ridicule directly against the paper. This is a deadly sin for
a newspaper man, and the chiefs of the office were naturally severe
about the matter. The writer in question, feeling that his career on
the paper was over, went out of the office to lunch and, as bad luck
would have it, encountered Northcliffe's automobile drawing up at the
entrance. He knew "Alfred," as the proprietor is called, would be
fuming, and was the last man on earth whom it was desirable to meet in
such a mood. The young fellow braced himself for the attack as
Northcliffe beckoned him forward. "What is this I hear? You have had
your leg pulled, have you? Don't take it too much to heart. We all
get deceived sometimes. I have had my leg pulled often before now.
It's annoying, but don't worry about it."

He was frequently through the departments, making the acquaintance of
new men, and exchanging a few sentences of conversation with the
established members of the staff. Once he stopped at the desk of a
junior sub-editor, whom he had not seen before, and said, "How long
have you been with me?"

"About three months," was the reply.

"How are you getting on? Do you like the work? Do you find it easy to
get into our ways?"

"I like it very much!"

"How much money are you getting?"

"Five pounds a week."

"Are you quite satisfied?"

"Perfectly satisfied, thank you."

"Well, you must remember this, that I want no one on my staff who is a
perfectly satisfied man with a salary of five pounds a week."

A subordinate who had been a couple of years on the staff died as a
result of an operation for appendicitis. He had a wife and one little
child who were not very well provided for. On the day after the
funeral, Northcliffe sent down and told her he had invested 1,000
pounds for her. Members of his staff who break down in health are sent
for a prolonged rest on full salary, and, when necessary, are
despatched abroad to recuperative climates with all their expenses
paid. He is not, however, a man who suffers fools gladly, and those
who come to him expecting, not only big salaries, but soft jobs, are
quickly swept out in a cascade of hard words. He has a sense of humor.
Once he turned the paper on to a search for an automobile which had run
over a village child and then disappeared. He found it after a time,
and it proved to be the car of his brother, Hildebrand, which, unknown
to the owner, had been taken out for a joy ride by the chauffeur.
There was something more than a chuckle among the other newspapers
because Northcliffe in his enthusiasm had publicly offered 100 pounds
reward for the discovery of the automobile and its owner. A few weeks
later Fleet Street was busy trying to disentangle the mystery of the
death of a young girl who had fallen from a railway carriage in a
tunnel on the Brighton line. Various plans for the elucidation of the
mystery were discussed between Northcliffe and the staff. In the
course of the discussion some one made the suggestion:

"Why not offer a reward of 100 pounds for the discovery of evidence on
the matter?"

"Yes," said Northcliffe, thoughtfully, "but where was my brother
Hildebrand on that night?"

Deliberately placing behind him his previous attacks on Lloyd George,
attacks personal and political, Northcliffe came out in strong support
of the Minister of Munitions and plainly stated that it was only by
revolutionizing the whole conduct of the war that victory could be
assured within a reasonable time. There probably was no consultation
between the two men. The support thus given to the Welshman was, in my
opinion, perfectly genuine, and probably history will say it was a
right and excellent course, though it involved stinging comment on
Lloyd George's Cabinet associates, especially on Mr. Asquith and Lord
Kitchener.

While this newspaper campaign was in progress Lloyd George set to work
on his new effort, and that effort was the conversion of manufacturing
Britain into a network of arsenals for the making of deadly implements
of war. Again he made his special endeavor to appear as if they were
the pivot of future victory. Forgotten for the time was finance.
"Silver bullets" were no longer mentioned. "Shells, shells, shells!"
was the cry of Lloyd George now, and the country echoed it.
Enthusiastically he proceeded with his new task, and within a few days
he had sketched a general scheme of operations, and within a few weeks
the scheme was beginning to bear fruit. The difficulties were heavy,
but he had this great advantage, that the country was prepared to do
anything and to make any sacrifice which would lead toward victory.
The established armament firms and the Government works had the task of
providing shells and guns, and Lloyd George saw at a glance that this
arrangement was tragically insufficient. To alter it he had to do many
things. He had to secure the co-operation of manufacturers, especially
the engineering firms who had been engaged in the ordinary occupations
of peace time. He had to train new workmen, he had to enlist women, he
had to persuade the trade-unions to remove their restrictions, he had
to prevent the sale of alcohol in munition districts, he had to tell
the capitalistic makers of munitions all over the country that they
were only going to be left a percentage of their profits, and that the
rest was going to be taken by the Government. This was part of his
task. Many other things had to be attended to. There was, for
instance, the matter of supply of steel from the foundries, and then,
equally important, the question of transport by the railways. It would
require a full book to tell of all the directions in which Lloyd
George's efforts were expended in the ensuing weeks.

He went around the various big centers in the country and called
together meetings of the prominent business men, particularly
manufacturers, and suggested to them that they should form local
committees which would schedule the locality for facilities in
engineering work, and then outlined several ways in which they might
act. They might first organize all the factories engaged in ordinary
engineering work which could produce shells, or parts of shells, they
might develop a big central factory in the district where central work
could be done, and where finishing operations on partly made shells
might be carried out. Everywhere he met cordial co-operation. Within
a few weeks workshops previously used for making tramway metals,
cranes, refrigerating apparatus, automobiles, overhead wires,
agricultural implements, and many other kinds of material, were
beginning to turn themselves into shell-factories under the direction
of the local committees. Even watchmakers' shops were brought into use
for some sections of work.

Meanwhile, Lloyd George initiated in every town and village of the
country a census of metal-working lathes, so that no tool of this kind
should be employed on needless work. Coincident with these operations,
huge national shell-factories were planned for erection in various
parts of the country. To co-operate the work of the local committees
with headquarters in London a department of the Ministry of Munitions
was set up in each big manufacturing center, and through this
department Lloyd George kept in touch with all local operations.

Steps were taken to stimulate production by the recognized armament
firms. It was six months after Lloyd George had taken control that I
visited the Birmingham district, where I saw a new establishment for
shell-work, a huge structure on the outskirts of the city planted where
green grass was growing six months before, and under its one roof four
thousand young women engaged in long lines at automatic lathes
shell-making. This, as I said, was but one sample establishment.
Hundreds of thousands of women were subsequently at the same work in
various parts. The girls were drawn from all classes, and comprised
school-teachers, domestic servants, shopgirls, stenographers, and the
leisured daughters of the middle classes or of wealthy persons.

Lloyd George established in London, in connection with the Ministry of
Munitions, a department of labor, to advise him on matters affecting
workmen, a department of factory health which would tell him the best
way of safeguarding the strength and efficiency of factory workers, an
inventions department to encourage and examine inventions of all kinds
which might be useful in war. He called in some of the leading
business men of the country to help him in arranging, not only
technical matters in the actual manufacture of shells and guns, but
also the transportation of them, and the material of which they were
made. He soon had around him in Whitehall a co-ordinated little army
of iron and steel experts, explosive experts, railway experts, medical
experts, and financial experts. They were the cream of business and
professional intellect of the country. Under their driving stimulus
shells and munitions began to pour out at an enormous rate. It was a
cumulative production, and the high-water mark was not reached for many
long months, but when it had been attained the production rate of
shells by Germany was well beaten.

Lloyd George had no governmental red tape about his methods. For
instance, he ordered a notice to be put up in each of the local
munition offices, inviting callers who had inventions to submit them at
once for sympathetic examination. Any one who went to the Ministry of
Munitions in Whitehall and had real business could quickly see the
Minister. He had no use for a halo of officialdom. A thousand
difficulties rose to meet him as he built up the new organization, but
he trampled them underfoot and went forward, heedless of whether he was
making enemies or friends. An intermediate and important obstacle to
his work was the fact that many of the trade-unions of the country had
established rules which operated against an increase of production.
These rules had been built up as protection against capitalists whose
sole idea might be profits. It was necessary to sweep away these
restrictions, and one of the arguments which Lloyd George used to the
men was that he was not allowing employers to make fortunes out of the
country's need, but was taking away all but a percentage of their new
income and giving it to the Government. Even this was not sufficient
in some cases to get all the workmen in the proper frame of mind.
Lloyd George went down himself and addressed meetings of the men. Here
is an extract from one of his speeches: "The enlisted workman cannot
choose his locality of action. He cannot say, 'I am prepared to fight
at Neuve Chapelle, but I won't fight at Festubert, and I am not going
near the place called "Wipers."' He can't say, 'I have been in the
trenches ten and a half hours, and the trade-unions won't let me work
more than ten hours.' He can't say, 'You have not enough men here, and
I have been doing the work of two men, and my trade-unions won't allow
me to do more than my share.' When the house is on fire, questions of
procedure and precedence and division of labor disappear. You can't
say you are not liable to serve at three o'clock in the morning if the
fire is proceeding. You can't choose the hour. You can't argue as to
whose duty it is to carry the water-bucket and whose duty it is to put
it into a crackling furnace. You must put the fire out. There is only
one way to do it--that is, everything must give way to duty and
good-fellowship, good-comradeship, and determination. You must put the
whole of your strength into obtaining victory for your native land and
for the liberties of the world."

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