Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-24
EQUAL TO HIS lob
Sir Arthur Wilson a Well
Trained Admiral.
ON PLANE BY HIMSELF
Fully Equipped for First Lord of
the Admiralty.
STRATEGIST OF GREAT NAVY
Owes His Position to Ability and
Hard Work-Other News Cos
sip From London.
ON PLANE BY HIMSELF
OF GREAT NAVY
Special correspcudepc. Of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
LONDON, December is. 1909.
Pluckier than Charlie Beresford. more
taciturn and reticent than Sir John Fish
err, and as keen a sportsman as there
is in the navy, is Admiral OF the Fleet
Sir Arthur Wilson, who has just been
chosen for the responsible position OF
first sea lord OF the admiralty. He is
one year younger than Fisher and four
years older than Beresford, but is prob
ably harder than either, and that is
saying a good deal.
Wilson. however. Is a man who han
always kept himself in training. In one
ship he is said to have had fixed up Q
bicycle model on which he took a turn
every day. He rode" a certain number
of miles," and never ceased to pedal
until the cyclometer affixed to the wheel
denoted that the apportioned distance
had been covered. Few living men at
the age of sixty-seven are as fit to
succeed to such an arduous post as thai
to which he goes next year.
He Is on a plane by himself He is,
doubtless. the finest tactician and STRAIT
egist in the British navy. If Sir John
Fisher thinks in Dreadnoughts, Wilson
certainly thinks in squadrons. His con-
summate skill at naval maneuverS can
never be properly appreciated by the
man in the street. IMMERSED in the mean
ing Of the admirars mysterious invention,
p. q" exercises. But to be on the
evolutions is the sight Of a lifetime.
Never before nor since has there been
such wonderful display of naval power
as in Lagos bay. in February. 1907. on
the occasion of the old channel. Atlantic
and Mediterranean fleets.
His Unerring Judgment.
1t was a month before his retirement.
Around and about him were fifty armor-
clads. not to mention small cruisers and
torpedo craft. At solitary signal
from the admiral on the Exmouth the
whole armada, with it's 10000 officers
and men, awoke to life and activity.
AT a speed of twenty land miles an
hour. he raced the divisions up and
down. f1inging one this way and another
that. twisting and turning the lines as
if they had been playthings. and all the
time the ships were but two cables
distance from each other.
One slip in the silent signals which
made known the orders OF that master
mind to the feet would have sent hun
dreds OF men to q watery grave. But the
admraFs unerring judgment was equal
TO his daring. and 1t will be many years
before the memory Of the scene is for
gotten by those taking part.
The SON OF an admiral who entered
the navy but seven years after Trafal-
gar, 1t would be surprising indeed II
Sir Arthur Wilson were not imbued with
correct to say, however, that he Is the
embodiment of all that a twentieth CEN
fury scientific seaman should be. When
the torpedo was first introduced into
the navy. Commander Wilson. as he then
was. took up the study of the new
weapon with enthusiasm, and his in
ventive genius is represented today by
the double-cutter, which. affixed to the
net defense of battleship or cruiser.
He is the first officer OF the torpedo
branch to become first sea lord.
Entered Naval Life at Is.
Like Sir John Fisher, Admiral Wilson
owes his position entirely to his ability
and capacity Tor hard work. He was
only thirteen when he entered naval life.
but in less than three years he had
seen active service In the Crimea and In
China, and was entitled to wear three
medals for his share in those cam
paigns. Whether in peace or war, invent
ing torpedoes ashore, or handling fleets
af1oat, his work during the last fifty
years has been characterized by a sin
gieness Of purpose and whole-hearted de-
votion to duty. AS he looks at you,
navy calls the torpedo cut" a steely
CLINT In his eyes as they look out from
underneath rather shaggy eyebrows. the
predominating impression he gives is that
of self-reiance.
Confident to the full in himself, he
wins the confidence Of his men. and his
personality to those privileged to know
him is most attractive. He is a good all
round sportsman. but the particular sport
most suited to his temperament is prob
ably that of the fisherman. But as he
was never known to take holiday. the
amount Of time and attention given up
TO sports may be imagined. The few
anecdotes related about Sir Arthur Will
son nearly all have reference to his re-
markable habit of silence. He thinks
hard and quickly, then he does things
but he never talks.
Poverty in London.
Mr.. Ernest Gray. formerly NJ. P, 70,
one OF the largest East End con.
stituencies, has Informed the educationa
committee Of the London county coun
ell that. as the result of careful in
quiries. II had been made clear that the
amount of poverty in London at the pres
emit moment was without precedent, ant
the coming winter promised an amoun
OF distress which would surpass any
thing within recollection of any person
living. This statement was made II
childrens care committee that a further
f25.0OO should be granted for the provi
sion of meals to necessitous school chill
dren up to March 81 next.
When the annual estimate was framed
1t was anticipated that 5000. 900 meal.
would have to be provided, but such q
remarkable increase in applications has
there been within the last few weeks
that the committee has had to revis,
it's estimates, and IL now believes
that 1t will be called upon to pro
vide between now and the end of March
no fewer than a million and three-auar-
tiers of meals beyond the original esti.
mate.
These gigantic figures are arrived al
on the assumption that the maximum
weekly number of children fed will be
5000, while last year the maximum was
10000, and that for one week only. These
official figures entirely show that the
labor outlook In the metropolis for the
winter Is OF the most depressing char
acter.