Evening star., 1950-01-05

as muCn commence In Cnem as
in the diplomatic dispatches. He
knew this country well. His popu-
larity on the lecture platform
kept him travelling, and he had
a subtlety about putting over the
British position that brought ap-
plause even in isolationist Illi-
noiS.
A friend once asked him what
knighthood meant to him. His
answer was: well, I'll tell you,
my boy. Willmott Lewis used to
fetch $3.50 lecture. Sir Willmott
Lewis gets $780,"
One of his last big contribu-
tions to Anglo-American relations
before his retirement in 1947 was
his wartime manual for Britains
whose war duties brought them to
the United States. It was written
in a manner that would offend
no American who saw it and must
have been a big help to the Wis
itors.
In the booklet he went to great
pains to explain the violent ex-
pressions of American crowds at
baseball games. The visitor must
remember, he said. that sport
started In this country in the days
Of Indian massacres, of tommy
hawking and blood-curdling cries.
That is why, he went on. the be-
hayior Of the crowds was so diff
ferent from those at cricket and
football matches on the tight lit
tie isle.
Sir Willmott was born on June
l8, 1877, in Cardiff, Wales, of a
prosperous family. Grandfather
Lewis was a justice of the peacej
His father was solicitor. He
learned his beers and his singing
at Heidelberg, his wines and other
elegancies at the Sorbonne in
Paris. Back home he had whirl
as an actor with a travelling stock
company. but when that stranded,
he became a reporter for the
Brighton Gazette.
Got Shanghai Job.
He went to London looking for
a job on Fleet street and did not
get it. Instead, he answered an
advertisement Of the North
China Daily News of Shanghai.
got a favorable reply and shipped
East in 1899.
That put him in on the Boxer
Rebellion. His exploits there
probably are lost to posterity. It
was the Russo-Japanese War that
put him into the company Of the
big timers. Jack London. Richard
Harding Davis and John Fox, jr.
In fact, he scooped them.
There never was scoop like
the Battle of Chemulpho. naval
affray in a Korean port Of that
name. To hear him tell it. jour-
nalistic exploits at the Battles Of
Manila and Santiago faded into
insigniflcance.
It seems that just before Jap
anese Admiral Uria sank two
Russian vessels. Bill Lewis, who
could speak Japanese, boarded the
japanese nag ship from a launch
bearing protests from the captains
of English and French ships In the
harbor. His launch, skirting ex-
ploding shells. took him ashore
and he filed his story successfully.
The Japanese discovered he was
getting uncensored dispatches out.
and he was shipped back to Tokyo
where he found London. Davis and
Fox, who had been kept tantaliz-
ingly out of sight Of the Battle of
Port Arthur by their Japanese
guardians and who felt they had
the war.
The American newspaper to
which he filed was the New York
Herald of James Gordon Bennett.
Sir Willmott said that Mr.. Ben
nett appreciated his talent for
keeping his head above alcohol, !"
a talent rare among Far Eastern
correspondents. He said Mr.. Ben
|nett's advice to him was this:
Remember. young man. many q
good story has been spoiled by
over-verification."
The Herald, which had sent
Stanley to Africa. paid we'll for