Imperial Valley press., 1914-09-17

Aside from their ancient antipathy,
Ii, is a strange thing that Kitchener
should be in the war office and
Churchill in thc admiralty at time
when England is at war. 1t is Curl
Gus because England was far more
likely to have had lawyer presid-
ing over the army and professor
at the head of the navy department.
For England was never ready with her
fighting machines at the beginning
of a war in all her history.
She would always prefer to blum
der through rather than to plan
ahead. But this time both her army
and her fleet were ready, both under
the direction of the best fighting man
in the empire.
Churchill has been at the admiralty
for about three and a half years, and
the other day his old enemy, Admiral
Lord Charles Beresford, walked across
tie floor of the House of Commons
and shook hands with him, saying he
was proud of Churchill's work and
wanted their feud dead The Churchill
Beresford quarrel was a long one,
growing out of differences over ma
val policies. 1t waxed bitter because
Churchill always got the better of
Beresford ON the floor of the Com
mons, thereby getting Beresford
laughed at
During his long quarrel with Beres-
ford, himself a picturesque fighting
figure, Lord Charles and he had many
an assault in debate, but it was an
occasion early this year that caused
Beresford to retire, very battered
wreck. Among other things, Church
i'll said:
"The noble lord is one of those
figures of whom it might be said that
when he rises to speak he doesn't
know what he is going to say, while
he is speaking he does not know what
he is saying and when he sits down
he does not know what he has said. .
1 Churchill's physical courage is of a
high type. His most famous battle
was at Omdurman, where he took
rart in the famous cavalry charge
although nominally only a correspon-
Cent. During the Boer war. he fought
when an armorcd train was captured
leading a forlorn hope again and
again after all the officers were
l-illed, until at last some one with
cut authority hoisted the white flag
He was captured by the Beers, but
escaped in remarkable fashion, to
take his chances in a hostile country
Of reaching the British troops H
succeeded and fought again, although
there was d price on his head for re-
capture and a firing squad for his
punishment.
He has always struggled since the
beginning Of his career, as he is a
man who has raised, in his march tc
success, a very full crop Of enemies
When he began his career in the ar
my he was so hated that practically
lie had to resign. The fact was thai
he knew TOO much for his brother
officers to appreciate and had the
habit, while only junior subaltern
Of telling everybody, from the colone
down, how things in the regiment
should be run. For this his associ.
ates dubbed kIm that "Blenheiin PUP .
He has Deyer been popular PERSONAL. 1,
by reason Of ri -aceetain temper and
his austerely superior bearing toward
his fellows when in close contact with
them That has perhaps created thc
impression that he will never be prime
minister. But Of late he has softened
and mellowed and has begun t. make
friends. 1t requires no broad stretch
Of the imagination to see that the wai
crisis may give hin tnat opportunity
to become a pcpuai idol that wil
win over those w.4 a4Ne opp ,ei hi.
advancement.