The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-28
Was Offered to and Refused byPredecessOr-ChiefR Re-
 cruiter for Government
TO ADVISE KITCHENER
 AS TO CONSCRIPTION
Appointed at Kitchener's Wish, Who Saw Him at Work in South Africa. Where He Was Lord Roberts
 Chief Censor
By HAYDEN CHURCH

By HAYDEN CHURCH
 London, November 4-(Special.) )-"Derby and 'Join'!' This. declares, a humorist, is Britain's new slogan.
 It isn't particularly good joke, this typfcally British pun on Darby and Joan" (to 'get' it you have to pro- nounce the noble name that is so inti- mately associated with racing the world over as they dc here, and not like the American hat), but 1t is topical, anyway, and puts the present crucial situation in nutshell.
 For upon the ability of the Earl of Derby, Britains new chief recruiter, to make men join the army during the next few weeks depends grave decision for this country. It is the final test of the voluntary system. Thirty thousand men week are said to be needed to make good the wastage at the front. If Lord Derby and the labor leaders who are to cooperate with him (veritably strange bed fellows, these), can accomplish this by means of persuasion all will be well. If not, it is hard to see how anything can prevent conscription.
 It is said to be at Kitchener's own re- quest that Lord Derby has undertaken this hefty job. The two have been close acquaintances forNyears, for during the South African war the earl was first chief press censor in the field and after ward private secretary to Lord Roberts, and when the war was over he became financial secretary to the war office and held the job for three years. One of England's greatest, richest and most fla nous landlords, he has been soldier most of his life, and, too old at 50 to fight in the present struggle he has devoted all his time since it began to recruiting and war organization generally, and with magnificent results. It was he, owner as he is of goodly portion of the Mersey docks, at Liverpool, who organized the now famous "Dockers' battalion" and it was through his influence, too, that the Liverpool Pals battalion, as well as others throughout Lancashire, had an all most record growth. He has conducted campaigns throughout most towns and cities in Lancashire, and to give force to appeals, recently organized band of pipers. which has marched the length and breadth of West Lancashire Inciden- tally he is honorary colonel of the Sixth battalion of the Manchester regiment and honorary colonel of the Second Volunteer battalion of the loyal North Lanca- shire regiment.
 KITCHENER OF THE NORTH
 He is known now, in fact. as ''the Kitch- ener of the north" in addition to his old title of the uncrowned King of Lanca- shire where he owns some 600000 acres including a good slice of Liverpool itself just outside of which town, too, his fa- nous seat" Knowsley Hall, is situated He has been lord mayor of that renowned seaport town several times and would be lord lieutenant of the county, as were his forerunners for many years, were it not for the fact that he is a conservative in politics and that a liberal government de- prived his family of the title and passed it on to Lord Shuttleworth.
 So 1t is just plain truth to describe this popular peer who inherited an estate worth nearly $20,000,O00, as the man of the moment here. Report declares, by the way, that he is a conscriptionist. and one of his most intimate friends, who, in default of his lordship himself, was interviewed, confirmed that report.
 Lord Derby and the late King Ed ward were the closest of friends" said this acquaintance, "and what was, I be- lieve, the only real falling out they ever had came about through this very ques- tion of conscrption. Both had been the firmest supporters of the voluntary prin ciple, as it is called, but as time went on the King began to waver. He grew more and more convinced that Germany was meditating war on Britain and eventually decided in his own mind that nothing but national service would enable this country to win. When he endeavored to bring Lord Derby around to his way of thinking however, the latter re- preached him almost bitterly for his change of front, and the result was a definite coolness between the two for a while. Now the earl is equally convinced that nothing but compulsion will produce enough recruits; but, as he is one of the most honest men in England you may be sure that he will give the old idea a thorough trying out before he goes and tells Lord Kitchener that sterner measures must be taken
 However much of a democrat one may be, and how little interested in the Brit ish aristocracy and it's concerns, there cannot fail to be magic in the name of Stanley, which is Lord Derby's family name. he himself being Edward George Villiers of that ilk.
 Charge, Chester, charge.
 On, Stanley. on! were the last words of
 Marmion''
 IMMORTALIZED BY SCOTT
 Thus sang Scott, and the Stanley ad- dressed was the present earl's great an- Se9ctois oil toldIicyp WIO WOil TUT the English at the battle of Flodden Field A far earlier Stanley was one of the best loved companions of William the Conquer himself while another Stanley crowned Henry the VII on Bosworth Field Yet another of the breed was in his day reckoned the richest man in Eng land. though his fortune of 400O0 marks in ready money" would not cut much of a figure today. It was Stanley, too, who gave warning of the gun powder plot. and it was the twelfth earl (the present ones grandfather who founded both the classic race that bears his name and the almost equally famous Oaks, though they do say that the first real Derby was run i nthe Isle of Man in the
 when the heads of the family had actual sovereignty over the island.
 Just at this time, however, perhaps the most interesting thing of all about Lord Derby is the fact that if another of his predecessors. and that not so distant a one, either had fallen in with an offer made to him. the present head of the house of Stanley would today have been King of Greece. In which case, it is certain, he would be leading the Greek army into battle, with happy Veni- zelos at his elbow, instead of facing Whitehall the problem of to conscript or not to conscript. So 1t was quite curious coincident that the news of the