Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-01-27
By HUGH WAGNON,

LONDON, Jan. Gi.-ftdCclltuC
Britain considered the expression
"go-getter" as an Americanism and
men who qualified for that descrip-
ton as upstairs who deserved scant
consideration.
But today, wartime Britain Is
counting on go-getters to win the
war, and the greatest of these is
the busy B"-who, as all Britons
know, Is Lord Beaverbrook, the
hustling, hard-hitting Minister for
Aircraft Production.
That is why the man in the street
applauded when Prime Minister
Churchill countered plane short
age last May by creating new min
istry and putting 1t into Beaver
brooks jealous hands.
The Beaver gets things done,
people said with satisfaction.
To millions long familiar with his
name, Beaverbrook was the Cana
born William Maxwell Aiken
who amassed 100000 in cement,
timber, banking and electricity
before he was 80, then came to
Britain and became great figure
in politics, newspaper publisher, au-
thor and empire-bullder.
Works Unbelievably Hard.
Everything to which he devoted
his interest succeeded phenomenally,
q long time associate said, because
he worked unbelievably hard and
directed his vast energy with swift,
sure judgment"
To the nation he has become
known as a minister who approprl-
ates men, ideas and materials from
whatever source available-lnclud-
Ing older and more sedate and some
what bewildered ministries-in his
answering drive to bring Britain S
output of warplanes, with American
help, to superiority over axis Ca
pacity.
The way he dived into his task
may be judged by Churchill's state
ment last August 20:
The splendid-nay, astounding
increase in the output and repair
of British aircraft and engines,
which Lord Beaverbrook has
achieved by genius of organiza-
ton and drive which looks like
magic. has given us overfloWing re-
serves of every type of aircraft and
an mounting stream of produc-
ton. both in quantity and quality.
The enemy is. of course. far more
numerous than we are. But our new
production already, I am advised,
exceeds his largely. and American
production is only just beginning TO
flow in"
Friends Sure of Success.
To Beaverbrook friends this
drive which looks like magic was
no surprise. They were certain
that if there were any man in the
empire who could Guido Germany's
Goering it was Beaverbrook-un-
orthodox, brilliant. hard but human,
a man to get results.
He won the admiration of
Churchill during the World War
and when Churchill took command
last May the first thing he did was
to telephone the Canadian to take
the new ministry mothered by the
same urgent necessity that brought
Lloyd George into the World War
cabinet as Minister of Munitions
after an amazing disclosure of a
shell shortage.
Beaverbrook' asthma troubled
him and he demurred that better
and younger men were available.
But 66-year-old Churchill wouldn' I
take mo" for an answer from his
61-year old friend, and telephoned
every two hours for a day and
night and the next day until Beaver
brook accepted.
Slow to take the job, Beaverbrook
was swift to act once he was in.
The first day he called in the
chief civil servants and others in
charge of plane construction and
listened to their plans. When they
had finished, he said, so in three
months you can give me large de-
nveries of planes?"
They nodded.
BeaverbrOok Gets Action.
That's not good enough" he
barked. Il want to know how many
planes you can deliver tomorrow
morning."
Three days later he announced a
merger of two great aircraft fac
tories, Nuffield and Vickers Super
marine, under one management.
Four days later he called on all
aircraft workers to forego their next
two week ends and work on those
Saturdays and Sundays.
They are asked to work by night
and by day, full overtime for the
present" he said
The workers responded willingly
They knew Britain was in a corner
and that this was the way out