Evening star., 1922-10-19
PREM|ER'S REIGN
BR|TA|N'S LONGEST
Guider Nation Through War
and Turmoil of Read
Iustment.
DRASTIC AMID CRISIS
Rise in Politics as Romantic as
That of Famous
Americans.
DRASTIC AMID CRISIS
By he Associated Press.


the great nation through the world w'.r.
In the turmoil of readjustment that
followed that conflict. he kept his seat
at the steering wheel when all around
him were losing theirs.
The men with whom he sat at Paris
as the "big four of the peace confer
ence, long ago were toppled over
Premier Orlando of Italy was the first
to go. His cabinet resigned in June.
1919. The following January. Glenn
enceau, the French Tiger. was cast
aside Two months later. the senate
of the United States refused for a
second time to ratify the peace treaty
Woodrow Wilson had brought home
from Versailles. and not long after
wards his party was beaten at the polls.
Most Outstanding Figure.
After all of the other three had been
put aside in their countries. Lloyd
Gorge became probably the most
outstanding figure among all the men
of the world who were engaged in pub
lie affairs. His position. constantly
in danger. from a possible dropping
away of one of the groups forming the
coalition on which his government
rested was STRENGTHENED. so far as
history is concerned, after all the
other war statesmen had gone, because
il was he who acted as Great Britain $
spokesman in parleyS !aSt WINTER Win
the rebellious Irish leaders-parleys )
which led to the creation o. the Free
State and peace after .0G years OF
strife between EnGland and Erin.
The rise of Lloyd George was an
adventure in politics filled with as
much romance as the lives of famous
Americans who came up from log
cabins to the White House.
He was born in Manchester. Eng
land, January II 1865.
His father. a Unitarian schoolmas-
ter. died when David was an infant
and the child was adopted by an
uncle, Richard Lloyd, Welsh shoe
maker and lay preacher. With only
a limited education, David went into
North Wales where he lived with his
uncle. Then he married and soon
dived into politics.
For eighteen years he was lib
eral member of parliament, repre-
rapid rise to fame His ascent to
a place among the mighty began In
1908, whsn Asr'ith y -ctrIe pr we
minister The little Welshman with
the sparkling eyes entered the cab
The next year in the great budget
battle he routed the once powerful
house of lords. His achievement IN
this fight was called the first vic
tory against the privileged citadel or
wealth in the modern world.
Convulses Country.
With the coming on of the war
Lloyd George convulsed the country
by introducing drastic reforms In
taxation which put new burdens on
the wealthy classes and confscated
part of the unearned increment of
land.
In 1916, when England was threat
ened with strikes at a TIME "neh
Germany was scoring heavy sue,
cesses on the western front. Lloyd
George left the chancellorship OF the
excheGuer to become minister of mu-
nitions and, with no other equip
ment than a private secretary and
an ofce table, staked his reputation
and his future on mobilizing the in
dustrial resources of the nation be-
fore il was too late
In this tremendous task he sue
ceeded. and so. when Kitchener OF
Khartoum was lost at sea. the Welsh
man took his place as secretary OF
state for war. With Sir Eric Geddes,
he pitched into the work of reor-
ganizing the railway system sup
porting the British armies in France.
Then, on December 6. 1916, lie was
called to the premiership.
Almost Immediately he substituted
Il small. compact war cabinet for the
larger and more unwielcy ministry
that had gone
Raised 5,58o,OOO Army.
During the war he turned the in
dustries of Great Britain into vast
munitions factories. raised an army
of $500 600 men and organized 5,000,-
600 war workers"
He provided for construction of
100000 tons of shipping, transferred
the big estates into truck gardens
and hospitals for recuperation and
enforced conscription on a proud and
free people. He followed up the COL
lapse of Russia and the Italian de-
ba,le at Caporetto by rushing British
troops TO Siberia and Italy. He helped
make ii possible for the United States
to transport 100000 soldiers to the
western front and he was a big fac
tor in the appointment of Marshal
forces.
His naturalization of shipping
greatly mitigated the submarine
menace Other remarkable achieve
enfranchisement of women. the in
stitution of minimum wage for
farmers and the initiation and sue
cessful prosecution Of TIE Palestine
expedition and the consequent down
fall. of Bulgaria AMI Turkey.
Notable Peace Service.
The British prime minister took as
notable a part in the conclusion of
peace as he had taken n the win
mistice negotiations were concluded
at Versailles he was there. When
the peace conference assembled at
Paris he went there rs the had of
the British delegation ard with
lando and Baron Chinda of Japan
Even during the peace conference
and almost daily for the. next three
years the Irish question gave Lloyd
George great anxiety. He gained
the bitter hatred of some and the
admiration of others when conditions
in Ireland grew SO serious that ne
decided to deal with the situation
in a military way and send the black
and tans into that troubled country.
He took the position that whatever
freedom that Ireland received she
would have to remain in the empire,
and in this. too. he had his way.
Heart for Oppressed.
In the appraisal of admirers Lloyd
George was frequently credited with
having always given to the poor and
oppressed the first place in his heart"
1t was frequently said of him that
no statesman ever changed his mind
on important questions as many times.
BY some he was regarded as an OPP
portunist. who switched his position
with great speed and dexterity when
ever the band wagon seemed to turn
in an unexpected direction. Nobody
could ever tell what he was going
TO do next.