In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 149, 27 June 1925, Page 24

In the Public Eye

NOTABLE PERSONALITIES IN THE NEWS

Mr. J, T. Lang, who has become Premier of New South Wales in succession to: Sir George Fuller, whose party was defeated at the General Election thi3 j month, began work as a newsboy at tha ago of seven. When 13 years old he was driving-a'bus .between Merrylands and Hulroyd. A year later he was working as a carter, and at 17 he was employed by an accountancy firm. At. tueage of 20 he started business as a real estate agent. - He was elected to Parliament at the age of 37. and at 44> became Treasurer of the State." Three years ago he was elected leader of the Labour Opposition in the State Parliament, and is now Premier at the age of 49. Mr.- Lang's father was a watchmaker and ■ jeweller in' George street, and it was there that the new Premier was born. His entry into Parliament was one of the..sensations .'of the 1913 elections, in that it.. iuvolvei! the defeat of the late John .-'Nobbs, a '.Liberal stalwart, ! who had represented G.-niiville for many years,; and: who, it :wu thought; cou'.d not be 'defeated;--.-As State "Treasurer Mr. Lang..achieved a reputation .-is a capable' and-:;sound- administrator with a great capacity for mastering ''detail. He is phlegmatic and reserved, and iii::st cautious inHhe formation of friendships. But to those who know iliim'.. well he is a_most likeable man.,- He is a stern clisciplinarian, with /strong convictions, amounting at times almost to stubbornness. As a sgea-ker.he is : vigorous]'anil eloquent, without being polished, siiJ is better on the floor of Parliament fclian on; the public platform. -•.' Mr: Lang's home, is set in a bower of trees in a secluded nook of Auburn.; Mrs. Lang, like- her husband, is of a reserved disposition. 'There are four daughters and two sons in :the family. .Ono daughter manages her father's business, another' is in the Education. Department,, and one helps; her mother 'at home. One son is in /the Government Savings Bank ; at Griffith, while the other son and daughter are still atschool. ■■ ... ■ .

Sir Roderick Jones, chairman and managing director of Renter's, who is attending tho l'ress Conference in Australia next month, first saw service with the agency in South Africa rather moro than twenty-five years ago. Ho was at that time the ypungest correspondent in the company's service. His work attracted attention, and at tho end of tho Boer War he was transferred to London to take charge of the South African department at Reuters headquarters. In 1905 he was sent out to Capetown as general manager there, in'charge of all Eeutcr's interests in South' and Central Africa. Ten years later, at tho early age of 37, ho succeeded Baron do Router when the then "head of tho agency died in 1915. He voluntoerod for activo service, but it was considered that ho could do more for tho Allied canso if he remained at his post. Subsequently, however, he put th e management of neuter, s into commission, in response lo a request from tho British Government to become director of cable and wireless propaganda in Allied and neutral countries. During tho later part of tho war this branch of tho Allied offensive was mado an unequalled success, largely by the simple process of telling tho truth Tho war over, Sir Roderick returned to his control of Reuters, and reorganised and developed the agency's machinery to meet the new conditions created after tho Armistice. Sir Roderick's chief hobby and recreation is Iteutor's. But he is a keen sportsman also, and a good jud°-e of a horse. For several years he was master of the Capo hounds, the oldest pack in the Empire outside of tho United Kingdom, and from his youth up, until the heavier responsibilties of his office interfered, ho was a hard rider, both to hounds and between tho flags. Sir Eoderick was one of tho United Kingdom delegates to the Imperial Press Conference held in OtEawa five years ago, and is a member of the council of the Empire Press Union.

j: Marshal ; :Joffre, the great French soldier, whose health is causing anxiety among his compatriots,. is seventy-three years of .age. On first, being, nominated to the Conseil Superieur do la Guerre, Jofire was designated, in case of- war, to be _ head of the administrative! and Jmes-of-communication services for which- task his varied experiences fitted him. When, however, disputes arose between- the GeneraJissimo-designate, Slicnel,_ and the General Stag as to the plan of campaign to be prepared for, Joffre was selected to succeed Michel, after Pau had declined the office, and Gallienuhad been set aside on account ,of _ age.' The appointment was a surprisev as .Joffre was a "colonial," and an administrator who was not familiar witli the particulars of the' many problems which the generalissimo mi K ht be required to solve. It was intended to give him _as assistant, Castlenau, a "metropolitan" soldier thoroughly versed in the details o£ European staff work. Uistelnau was, however, sot asido whon tho first selectiou was made at Uio outt^t h° i h% Great War- anA Berthelot took the lead.; Joffre is by nature aaid oxpenonco essentially a man of a,uthority, and both naition and army had absolute confidence in him as thoir leader. Tlius while for want of energetic command the German offensive was breaking iipj tho French .retreat, in Joffre's strong hands; became more and more coherent, x, -j y i -a suPrem? act of command Joffre bade his retreating army to turn about and take the offensive, and was obeyed. Joffro's prestige was higher than that of any living man. For. all that he be^ came the subject for political intri"ue, but it was Millerand who fell from power and not Joffre as the result. The German assault on tho Verdun front in 1916,' so nearly successful, cave Joffre's prestige a severe blow, from which it did not recover, and eventually he was recalled to Paris, and Nivelle placed in charge of the armies of France. Joffre was made a Marshal of France—the first since 1870—and thenceforward his role in the war. was that of a spectator.

As a boy, Admiral Robert Coontz, Commarider-in-Chief of the United States Fleet now in the Pacific, a portion of which will shortly visit "Wellington,., passed,much of his time in a printing shop in Hannibal, Missouri, owned by liia lather, publisher of a weekly nowspaper. Hannibal was tho admiral's bithplaco and is still'his homo. Ho is in his sixty-first year, and has been in command of the ileet since August, 1923. "Admiral Coontz is entitled to wear medals awarded for distinguished services in ■ tho 'Spanish-American War, the Philippine insurrection, tho occupation of Vera .Cruz, and" the' World Wai-.. For six years he was in tho Alaskan service, bocoming proficient as a pilot in those waters, and was executive! officer on the Nebraska when the American fleet sailed round the world in 1908. He was Governor of CJuam in 1912-13, and commanding officer ot v the Georgia in 1913-15, his vessel winning tho fleet gunnery trophy. At the end of the present cruise of tho Pacific, it is proposed that Admiral Coontz shall retire from activo service with the fleet, and will lake up shorn duty for three yearn, after which' bo will