Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-14
HOW A POOR BOY
BECAME PREMIER
Romantic Rise of Lloyd George
to Dictatorial Power in
Great Britain

. me rise Of David Lloyd George to power
Is PROBABLY the most portentous event that
mas occurred In tho English-speaking world
IN hundred years. Important events have
"appeheu IN america. The abolition of
slavery and the establishment of the
Union. however, were but the natural com
sequences OF the Revolution, which resulted
III settinB up a free nation on this side of
the ocean The rise of the Welsh lawyer
Is the triumph of democracy over aristoc-
rscy
When King George called Lloyd George
. TO the Premiership of Great Britain he was
oVerturning the preCedents of centuries
Great Britain has been governed by ruling
class. Its distinguished statesmen have
been men with titles of nobility, younger
sons OF the noble families or members Of
the great county families without title.
They have been unitersty graduates and
men with fortunes. The few exceptions
have merely served to prove the rule But
Lloyd George Is only the son of Welsh
school teacher who died in his infancy.
His mother was a farmers daughter. He
was reared by a cobber In a little Welsh
village, man who worked at his bench in
a shop In "A wing Of his cottage. lie never
went to college
His uncle the Welsh cobbler. learned
Latin so that he might teach his nephew
and thus save the expense of tutor to
prepare the boy for the career of solic-
'ol' ne ldIlIlN WIS so poor lndt Wnen tilt
young man was finally admitted to the bar
II did not have SIS with which to buy him
the gown he must wear when he appeared
in court. The young lawyer set himself tC
earn the money. American history is ful
of the achievements of men who started
from such humble beginnings but ii has
| been until the present unprecedented fol
| such man to rise to the premiership IL
| Great Britain. When the kirg asked this
Welsh lawyer to eorn ministry the demo
| cratization of England, which had beer
| progressing for twenty years, reached III
| elimination; and the time will never return
| when man will have to he the son of b
| father in order to have the highest office
| open to him It means the boasted democ
| racy of Great Britain IL at last becomin!
genuine.
one has only to study the career Of Lloy,
| George to discover how much he has ha'
| to do with bringing about this condition
| His story is most interestingly told in
| brief biography that has just come from
| the press, Its author is Frank Dilnot,
| British journalist and personal friend. |
| is hardly judicial estimate of the mar
! That cannot be expected from any one a
| the present time when the fcontroversie
| which he stirred up still rankle in tn
memory. But IL is an admirable summar
| OF the principal facts on the career of tn
| man who is directing the affairs Of Grea
| Britain with IA firm hand and an unninch
| ing purpose in the present emergency.
| is enlivened with anecdotes AMI contains "a
! intimate description of the Premier an
his methods of work. Its desc ription of tn
way he called to his assistance some of hi
! severest critics and some of the men whoi
| he himself in the old days scored mos
| numerically wifi remind Americans o
the way in which Lincoln subordinate
himself and his personal preferences to tn
great work of saving the Union. American
should be grateful to Mr. Dilhot for maxim
available for them the story of the caree
| of the man who at the present moment
next to President Wilson the most inter
esting public character in the world
| q. W. -.
LLOYD GEORGE: The Man and His Story. y
| Frank Dlnot, author of The Old Ordt