Evening star., 1922-10-29


the sight of a little gray-haired figure
entering the house from the speakers $
end He made me think of the queer
little old man in Barrie's Dear
Brutus"-Puck in everything save
name. Little and gray, and whimsi-
| cal and canny-and that was Lloyd
George, prime minister of England,
and the possible arbiter of the desti-
nies of distracted, insane Europe, II
any man may be that powerful; for
he and Sir Robert Horne were to sit
in the reparations conference in
Downing street on the following
Monday. He seated himself on the
left of she house opposite the golden
mace.
Soon the big, gray-haired AsQuith,
| old but keen, a bit leonine in appear
ance. the critic of the days work.
came into the chamber and sat on
the right facing Lloyd George (Mr.
George Lloyd before his days of
power. What's in nameD.
Beside the premier sat Sir Robert
Horne, chancellor of the excheQuer.
young. brilliant, pellucid. but nom
committal on matters relating to the
Balfour note. Next to him was Mr..
Churchill, round-faced beneath his
tall silk hat, monocled, bland, mis-
chievous as a boy, this secretary of
state for the colonies.
| Asquith was companioned by Sir
Robert Cecil, bald, small of stature,
big -nosed, with an overhanging brow
and a too serious manner that saw
ored of gloom, and by Capt. Wedg-
wood Benn. frank, fearless, liberal and
clear-cut in his ideas.
Lady Astor. in black relieved by
cream -colored collar and cuffs. en-
tered in a nervous, restive fashion
and did not sit still two minutes.
She is very alert and entirely youth
full in appearance. She is very slight,
looking more like a schoolgirl than
a woman of middle age. The mem-
bers laughed in a big-brotherly way
at a remark that she made upon the
floor. She sat a little to the rear of
Asquith and just back of her sat the
labor members, among whom vas
Thomas Shaw.
iVI1HENEvER the members approve
w remarks made on the floor they
call out, "Cheers, cheers" and when
they dsapprove, "Oh, OH" Capt.
Wedgwood Benn tried six times to
state a point. He was "oh'ed" down.
drowned out, each time. He kept his
head and his temper. The members
f> nIo fr
laugh and they enjoy their fun as
schoolboys do. Churchill. who wore
his silk hat, would, when some one
referred to points he had made upon
the floor, tip 1t in a roguish, good
natured manner in the direction of
the speaker. Indeed, they reminded
me of lads in school until they spoke,
and then / knew that brainy men
were in those benches.
While Capt. Wedgwood Benn was
on the floor 1 observed something
dangling just above his head like an
abbreviated sword of Damocles. 1t
proved to be Lord Cecils foot, for he
was sitting on the middle of his
shoulders with one foot out upon the
table holding the mace, while the
other leg and foot was thrust
straight up to danGle a finely polished
boot above Benn's head!
On the other side of the table
Lloyd George had slipped down to the
middle of his spine, thrusting both
legs out before him SO that he could
rest his feet upon. the same table as
did Horne and Churchill (when
Churchill removed his hat for brief
space).
1 shall not soon forget Asquith as
he sat facing Lloyd George and their
too evident antagonism. Asquith is
opposed to Lloyd George and his poll
cies and thinks that Germany ought
to be released from her big war debt
in part in order that the world may
recover it's health and start all over.
The premier believes that England
must be carefully remembered, abate-
ment in reparations must be made
and France be persuaded to accept
abatement or else get nothing from