Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-12

arsenals at woolwich, Waltham and
Enfield.
In 1916 after the battle of the Somme.
the railways in France became frightfully
congested Geddes was appointed director
.es1eral of military railways and became
ssponsibe for the transport of all ma
terial in each theater of war. for organiza-
ton. and. in fact. every other detail that
Eertained to steam haulage. SO efficiently
did he bring order out of what trembled
on the verge of chaos that Field Marsha!
Sir Douglas Haig made him a member OF
his staff with the rank of major general
The fact that the wheels move uninter-
luptedly in France today is entirely due
to the punch and power put into the sys-
tenn by Sir Eric Geddes. Following the
lead of the prime minister. so far as
active war work is concerned, he is max
ing his way through the whole service
because he was recently made controller
of the navy. with the temporary rank OF
vice admiral and charged with the task
Of putting the same efficiency INTO me
admiralty as he did into the military ran
ways of France. He IS the only man IN
all the history of England who has the
right to wear the uniform of both wee
admiral and a major general
When the British cabinet was reorgan-
lied by Lloyd George. in July. Geddes
continued his amazing progress by beng
named as first lord of the admiralty 10
succeed Sir Edward Carson. whose ap-
pointment had been purely political He
has already brought to the admiralty the
touch of vital and dynamic business eN-
perence, sorely needed. and started a new
epoch in a career that is one succession
of achievements.
the great cause that we can learn is from
the inspiring precedent in real national
service established by British big BUSH
ness 1t is not saving too much to assert
Br'tain> who is able to work is actively
engaged upon some war task. 1t has re-
suited first. from profound sense OF
patriotism. and. second from the fact
that business men realize that practical.
everyday business experience is necessary
for the conduct of the deadliest business
in the world. The active participation in
the has involved untold sacrifice.
Wars synonym is sacrifice
Take the question of army clothing sup
plies. When you realize that Great Brit
ain has 100000 soldiers under arms to-
day this item alone assumes stupendous
proportions. Characteristic of the type of
business men who are now enlisted for
work in England is Lord Rothermere, di-
rector general of this department. Rother-
mere is brother of Lord Northcliffe and
! cast III the same heroic mold of public
service and constructive. lve-wire en-
deavor. He is interested in score Of i'm
mense business enterprises. some in
duStrial and some devoted to periodical
publication Yet he left their direction to
subordinateS and now devoteS himself
completely to the service of his country.
The active mana cement of the huge Pim-
leo factory, which sends out more khaki
uniforms than any other in England, is
directly under his charge.
The case of Lord Northcliffe is an
other Illuminating example. He left his
enormous publication interests in Eng
land al a time when they needed him
most to head the British war mission
in the United States a thankless and
difficult job. demanding tact and BUSH
ness skill of the highest order.
Still another case is that of Lord
Rhondda who has just become food
controller. As p. \. Thomas, the Welsh
coal king. he is very we'll known in
the United States. where he visited fire.
quently. When Lloyd George became
minister of munitions Rhondda came
to New York to act as representative
of the ministry and did excellent work
He iSdbne of the richest men in Eng
land and controller or director in a
large number of corporations. He prac-
ticallye abandoned all of them in 1915
and has devoted himself almost excIu-
the Asquith ministry fell he became
president of the London county coun-
ell. an administrative post which prac-
tically controlled all the business of
the metropolis.
The question of army supply is both
vast and difficult. 1t involves the ex-
penditure of billions. and behind the
bestowal of an award must be seasoned
commercial experience backed up by
absolute integrity. Just before I left
England the control of this all-impor-
tant work--in which America is already
involved and will continue to be in
volved to the tune of untold millions
was put in the charge of Andrew Weir.
who is also Well known in New York
and who is captain of capital of the
same type Thomas +. Ryan and
Henry G F'rick.
When the United States really gets
into it's stride. and our soldiers and
all the auxiliaries which go with fight