In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 26

In the Public Eye

Major H. •O. D. Begrave. I Everyone, whether interested or not ; in motoring, must have 'been thrilled to read of Major H. O. D. Segrave's amazing exploit on his 1000 h.p. allBritish racing car. Two hundred and seven miles'in an hour is a speed that flic imagination of tho most hardened

"road-hog" must boggle at; it is over twenty miles an. hour faster than the previous highest land speed . ever registered, ,'aiid one has a ■ 'fancy that as a record it will 3tand for a considerable time. It was perhaps a pity that in no

, ■ . . ' . part of the Briisli Isles could a track be found sufjeiently' straight and flat for the full opening-out" of the most powerful car the world has ever known, and that the event had to'take place in America. Although one instinctively venerates the. machine which has done tins wonderful thing, the tribute of most poeple will go out with intense admiration to the man who .brought the essence to bear on what was merely a scientific experiment. His superb daring and cool skill made possible a great undertaking. Those who own and; drive a motor-car—even of low horse-power— must realise to some extent what it., means to command 1000 h.p. It requires, more than a little courage, to ■ tread upon so much gas, and a great deal; of dexterity to control the .result. And then,let it not bo forgotten- that, Major 'Segrave had to face the, knowledge that another speed champion, Parry Thomas, had only just lost his life-in a similar world's recordbreaking attempt. But' Major Segrave is no man -for half-hearted records; he .has, never been content with clipping a few Becpnds, or fifths of seconds, off existing times. . As, on the present occasion, he goes straight and does forty miles faster thai he had ever done before., Precisely -.what technical lessqns-Major Segrave and the engineers who built his machine have learnt from: this ;bold- and epoch-making: venture it is difficult for the lay mind to realise, but it is perfectly obvious that speed scientists must have learnt something of value which, in due course, will have its lasting influence on ordinary motoring. Professor A. W. Bickerton.' It is a great many years ago since Professor A l. W. Bickerton was. a professor, of experimental science* in New

Zealand, but at one time ho was a ff c c tionatcly known pto tho people of Christchurch as tho "Prof."ln thoso days he lived in the vicinity of Burwood, on tho banks of the river Avon, his house and large grounds known

■■",'■' as Wainoni Park, .inj,' mostly. celebrated for the number of boys which frequented its precincts—several of them his own sons— and its fireworks displays. professor Bickertou has been resident in England for many years, now, and the present generation of New Zcalandors know him not, except, perhaps, by name. Ho came to this Dominion.in 1874 as Professor of Chemistry to the NeW Zealand University, roinaiuing in that position until 1902, but tho greater part of his timo was spent in tho study of astronomy, in which he occupies a pre-emin-ent place. In 1902 tho New Zealand Government sent him to England to niiiko known tho now astronomy of "cosmic impact," of which theory ho may be said to bo tho invontor. Ho lectured alt-over. England ou tho subject, and to the most learned of tho astronomical societies,'but his theory was not received with .tho. enthusiasm ho oxpectod, and has since been considerably modified. ..Professor Bickerton's first experiments in astronomy voro in connection with sun-spots .which ho reduced to visibility by moans of a shaving mirror, watching tho changing and whirling spots until ho had evolved a thoory as to-their cause. Since then ho has shown sun-spots to hundrods of people in New Zealand ami Great Britain, but never with such primitivo arrangements as in his own early studies. Recently Professor Bickerton declared that the astronomers.of Now Zealand are more advanced in their knowledge of the heavens than those of England, ono reason he gives being the "contrast of astronomical seeing," tho result of climate. Professor Bickcrton has written many authoritative booltß dealing with tho heavenly bodies, and though thero arc many opponents to his theories ho is general}' admitted to bo ono of tho greatest astronomers of tho present generation. M. Alexander F. Kereusky. Tho figure of M. Alexander Fedorovitch Kcrensky was a notable ono in tho days of tho Russian' Revolution, but in

1917 he and his followers fell boforo tho moro rapid forces of Lenin, and he entered into retirement. In fact, his name had almost been forgotten until recently, when a cablo messago from Now York stated that ho was lee-

.. .. turiug in that city, ami liad been slapped on the face by a Royalist woman, which recalled his name to the general reader. Ho is stated' to bo a Russian Slav by birth and ancestry, tho son of a 'schoolmaster in the town of Saratov, on tho Volga. M Koronsky early manifested oratorical gifts of a high ordor, and was elected a member of the Duma from ono of the constituencies, between tho Volga and the Siberian border. He' particularly interested himself.in Labour quostions,' and defended Labour! cases in the Law Courts, so that ho soon camo to bo regardod as ono of the leading advocates of Labour interests in the Duma. As Labour organisations were forbidden in Imperial Russia, workmen, seeking to protect their interests, were induced to join the Socialist Party in large" numbers. It thus happened that the Beds were tho best organised and most numerous body in Leningrad, or Petrograd as it was then known, when tho Revolution broke out. Their Council or Workmen's Deputies immediately became prominent, seeking to dictate the domestic and foreign policies of the irovisional Government, formed by the leaders of the Duma, and.evon interfering disastrously, with the discipline of the army. While ,M. Kerensky calls himself, a Socialist, ho did everything in his power during his term as.: Prime Minister.to:modify.the.actions of those who push the.party to'extremes A turn of tho revolutionary wheel, howovoi-, undid all tho work" that ho had done in laying the foundations of law and order, and for many years after his downfall chaos has ruled supreme in mibnppy, nuMiß. At one time he was likened to Napoleon—one seeking to ; tree,lns country. . A writer of the, dnv said: Tho Xcrcnskys are dying for freedom.. Do not : saddle or. bridle.them. They arc the, standard-bearerg .of the movement, not its executioners." -

Sir Charles E. Madden. At tho outbreak of the Great War when Admiral Lord .Tellicoe took over the post of C'ommandcr-in-G'bic£ of the

Grand Fleet, he selected Hcar-Ad-miral Sir Charles Madden as bis Chief of Staff. Tho war years over, the latter has ceased to some extent to take an active part in the management of the Royal Navy until just recently,

... when- he was appointed. First Sea Lord. He has had a long and. varied experience of fleet work, but his greatest gift is that of organisation. It was in this direction that, he was Lord JeUicoe's closest confident during the-period that the Grand Fleet was being welded into the greatest means of offence that the world has ever seen. When the time came for this stupendous war machine "to prove itself at Jutland, Sir Charles Madden was. at tis chief's side on the bridge of the Iron Diike, .where he remained throughout the action. That the work he had,carried out at that time had been extremely-valuable was evidenced by .the .wording of the Com-mander-in-Ghief's dispatch-after the action. Ho .wrote:—''lc.annoticlose this Cispatch without recording ,the brilliant work of my Chief of Staff, Vice-Admiral Sir Chailes Madden. ?.' ■ ,He then goes on to enumerate the valuable assistance Sir Charles, had rendered to the country.*arid-tho fleet, ending with the significant words: "I : .owe him more than I can-say." For the eminent services he had rendered .Sir Charles Madden was created a'Baronet of Kells in County Killarney, : and received a grant of £10,000 wherewith to sustain the title * A further- honour ,was conferred upon him when he was appointed First and. Principal Naval a:d!c. to ™ o^B. ™ office which he held from 1922 to 1924, Sir.-OharTes is related £ Viscount JeUicoe, though only by inarnage, as he.' was wedded -to Miss Coustauce Winifred Cayzer; who is a sister of Countess Jellicoc, in 1905. Educated in the usual naval colleges, he passed successively through Dartmouth and the training ship Britannia, to take part m the Egyptian War of 1882. His promotion^ the rank of Admiral took Ep,T c*£ n 91f' 5*^ heat Ollc tlnie occupied the post of Fourth Sea Lord at the Admiralty. . ... . . M. Klcmentiv Voroshiloff.

Cable news fi'om Russia during the ast week-end stated that M. Voroshilofl, Soviet Minister for War, had declared that the States- of Europe.were rapidly arming again, and the timo Was coming when Russia would have to pre-

pare for war, taking her place.in tbo arena probably against several .nations. Whether . the wish was father to the thought is difficult to say at this distance from tiurope, but his remarks mako it very evident that Russia is arming

uilh onu „i,jm- ,„ view—to meot the Uestorii notions in ■military conflict... M. Vorosluloff is both: a politician and a soldier, a combination which is not very frequent, but when combined is usually dangerous. Born the son of a workman, at the age of seven he began to toil in the mines, and only learned to read when he was twelvo years old Ho becamo n revolutionary in 1903, aud three years later was a delegate to the Stockholm congress, of the Bolsheviks. In 1907 ho was sentenced to banishment for organising strikes and Bimilar activities, and in banishment, except for escapes and rearrcsts, ho remained until the yenr of tho Great War. His military career began in the Ukraine svhoro. he organised ■ a detachment of partisnns and carried on guerilla warfare against' the German forces of occupation. Shortly afterwards ho was commanding a small army, and when it tought its way out- this army became tho nucleus of the Tenth Red Army, the command of which was entrusted to M Voroshiloff. \Yhan the Germans left tho Ukraine, M. VoroshilofT became a member of the Ukrainian. Soviot Government, and was later associated -with (Joloncl Budonny as .a member of the revolutionary military council of tho First Cavalry Army. When tho Kronstadt revolt broko out in 1921, during tho tenth congress of tho Communist Party, M. A'oroshiloff, together with other delegates of the congrcos, went to Loningrad and took an active pnrt in tUo suppression of the revolt. At tho samo congress ho was elected a member of tho Central Committee, and in May of 1921 was appointed to tho command of the Northern Caucasian military district. Three years later ho was appointed commander of tho troops in tho Moscow district, and a member of tho Military Council of the Union. Aftor the death of M. Frunze in 1925 ho became President of tho Military Council and Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs.