San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-04-22
Men and Affairs
BY ROBERT t. SMALL.

Copyright. by The san Antonio Light.
Washington. ID. C.. April 21.-Few
of the persons who have heard Lord
Robert Cecil speak since he has been
in this country are aware Of the rar,
played by this earnest advocate o.
the League of Nations in the main
tenance of good relations between the
United States and Great Britain, dur
ing the trying periods of the war When
America was a neutral ana was fret
ting about the frank British interfer-
ence with her commerce.
In 1916 Lord Robert, an under
secretary of state for foreign affairs,
was made minister of blockade. II
was a new and trying position. 1t
was Lord Roberts task not only to
direct the stringent regulations which
Great Britain threw about shipping
in the war zone and adjacent waters.
but to explain away these regulations
to these neutrals who were frOthlng
at the mouth and appealing 10 leav-
en- against the highhanded British tac
tics. The Allies had declared block
ade OF Germany and II was Lord Rob
ert's duty TO make that blockade wa
AtL-klEuA. II WAS HIS ,iNt 40 Stt ilut
not even a thin leaf of dental rubber
was permitted to find its way into
the enemy country. Therefore, the |
mails between the United States and |
Scandinavia were stopped and search .
ed. This assuredly was Il departure |
a warning nation holding up mails !
from one neutral to another.
But Great Britain got away with |
4 . h.. to n afVf.a
and the engaging frankneSs OF Lord |
Robert that largely made it possible. |
He was the great appeaSer of the !
wrath OF nations and it is no wonder
that he should be selected 10 have a
large part in the formation and con-
duct of League of Nations.
Adopted American Idea.
To this day ] don't know if it was
Lord Robert who conceived the idea
or il it was the American newspaper
men in London who educated him up
to the idea of receiving the CORE
spondents at his chambers in the dingy
old foreign office building in Downing
street, just as American officials. in
Guiding the President himself. receive
the correspondents here in Washing
ton, but in any event the custom grew
w anu II WAS llOIu lANutll = hNtll am
able reflection of the English point of
view. cabled freely TO this country by
the correspondents which kept the re-
lations of the English speaking peo-
pies in passable condition at very
critical time.
The writer was one Of the small
group of Americans who often visited
Lord Robert at the tea hour and from
- e
frankness on both sides which led |
TO a very close relationship. Knowing |
the wiles Of British diplomacy. the |
correspondents used TO wonler wheth- |
or it was hospitality or fineSse which |
fixed the interview at tea TING. In |
any event, Lord Robert Cecil behind |
r tea cup was not only an engaging |
personality. but a deft witness under |
cross-examination. The correspond |
ent often had some very searching !
questions TO ask as to why the Brit |
ish did thus and so. Nine times out |
of ten Lord Robert emerged and had |
a ready answer. The tenth time he
would take refuge behind that tea
cup and when he emerged after
thoughtful 80 seconds he was pre-
pared to make plausible reply. A
British statesman and a tea cup are
& hard coordination to beat.
War Real TO Him.
Lord Roberts interest in the |
League of Nations is deeper than that |
of the mere idealist or dreamer. War |
is real to him. He saw it close-hand |
and pity tits that more American |
statesmen were not on hand to see
its havoc in the making. Lord Rob
ert had little cottage in one of the |
southern counties of England, about |
30 miles from London and near the
Channel. When he went there for a
weekend, he could hear the guns
drumming away in Flanders. It meant /
something to sit in a beautiful gar
den on summer evening and listen
to that throbbing and realize that Just
a few miles away men were bong
ground to n terrible death minute BY
minute. 1t got on Lord Roberts