New-York tribune., 1911-10-30
LLOYD GEORCE|SM
Platform MethOdS-The Work.
ers' Millennium.

has co many friends on both sides OF the
uouse as Mr. Lloyd George; and this IS
proof Of a loyable nature, an equable
tonncr and a fixed habit OF being char-
table In Judgment and hopeful III opln-
ion 4 winsome smile lights up his race
,,ben no meets friend or foe; genial play
fuIness enlivens his conversation, so that
ho ,s nevfr dull; tactfu dexterity en-
obles him 10 carry his point Whetner ne
is piloting a waterlogged bill over deeps
or shadows. and opportunism triumphs
when bv "A felicitous blend or frmness
and suayitv he averts n general railway
strike by timely concessions. Inc au-
thor Of the Limehouse speeches, the
predatory budgets and the Insurance Dill
is persona grata with the masses be-
cause he knows how 70 talk 70 them
sympathetically and always cohVinces
thero that ne is touched by the pathos
Of povertv and wants TO make England
brighter and happier place for toiiins
and suffering men and women. Although
ne is not a polished orator. they love 70
hear his voice because behind 1t there is
warm heart
The Chancellor. who has addressed a
large popular audience at Whitefield's
Tabernacle and interested It in the de-
tails Of his insurance scheme, is short in
stature unimpressive I'm pose, short
breathed and thin voiced and not In any
sense commanding personality His
eyes gleam with whimsical humor and
his wrnkled face is constantly puckered
with smiles, but apart from these signs
Of good nature there is no revelation OF
power in face or figure. There are few
gestures, and there are no devices OF
oratory His voice is neither strong nor
melodous, but he knows how TO use IL
effectively, so that IL seems a better
organ than It really is. In the course Of
prolonged exposition OF the workmen's
insurance scheme he ratified on for two
hours and quarter without raising his
voice or altering an easy conversational
style, relieved by occasional passages Of
banter Il was not until the end that
the sentences revealed previous prepa-
ration and deliberate phrasing, and even
then, when he was answering the taunt
that he had promised new heaven and
a new earth there was nothing like a
rhetorical tag for a peroration There
was merely a quiet profession Of faith
in the advent Of new earth, where the
health of the multitude would be more
precious in the eyes OF the law than the
wealth of the few.
a stranger who had never heard him
speak would have been disappointed
with this protracted discourse on a dry
subject and would have found in il lit
tie evidence that he was the most effect
i've electioneering agent in the kingdom.
Yet IL cannot be doubted that Mr.. Lloyd
George is the most successful vote win
ner and the most interesting personality
I'm public life Now that Mr. Chamber
lain, the leader Of Tory democracy, IS
disabled. there is no Unionist, not even
the ingenious Liverpool barrster Air.
f. +. Smith, nor the impassioned Lord
Hugh Cecil, who is capable Of rivalling
him in the affections OF a working audi
ence. When other names-ATr. Asquith's,
Lord MOrley's and Sir Edward Greys-
are mentioned at Radical mass meetings
there is decorous and perfunctory ap-
plause, but when the chairman names
the wiry and fiery leader, who came out
of a Welshman's cottage and struggled
to keep soul and body together as an OBJ
scure village solicitor there is a pro-
longed outburst of cheering with the
true English or Scottish ring. The
Chancellor may lack the Prime Min
ister's logical grip in argument or Mr..
Balfours dexterity in the subtleties Of
dialectics, but he has the incompatible
gift Of exciting enthusiasm.
One of the secrets Of Mr.. Lloyd
Georges power on the platform is his
vital interest in what workingmen talk
about over their luncheon pals. His in
surance scheme against sickness and un-
employment, while a crude measure re-
quiring thorough revision and amend
ment, appeals TO the vast army or toll
ers in the kingdom as living reform
issue affecting their own fortunes.
When he explains it in detail he deals
with the practical matters of everyday
life in industrial communities swarming
with workers. The medical care Of dis
abled workmen, systematic provision for
the needs of families without recourse to
pawnbrokers' mercies, the protection OF
mothers after childbirth, the stamping
out of consumption by scientific methods
and the deliverance of honest poverty
from the degradation Of ideness and
pauperism are subjects of paramount
Importance 10 them, and he takes them
up in homely spirit and discusses them
in plain language which they can under
stand. He is their advocate. and when
he eXcla.ms az Whiteheld's, The in
surance bill is going through this year;
will fight it through or fall" a vast
working audience rises with one accord
and greets him with continuous rounds
of cheering.
Another explanation Of the Chancel-
lor's popularity among workers lies in
his buoyant optimism. His insurance
scheme, like his budget with the land
taxes, is a most complex measure and
bristles with difficulties at every turn.
1t has excited criticism among Socialists,
Labor members trade unions, friendly
societies, employers associations. doctors
and municipal reformers; and while the
main principles have been accepted py
all parties with remarkable unammlty,
its passage has been retarded by scores
OF amendments and ntermnable discus
sion of petty details. \ less hopelul re-
former would be disheartened by the de-
termined resistance and systematic OBJ
struction. but the Chancellor will not
admit the possibility of failure. With the
confidence of an inspired dreamer ne