In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 108, 2 November 1929, Page 30

In the Public Eye

jCommander Fvangeline Booth. Quito a number of changes have been ■taking place in the higher offices of If he Salvation Army in all parts of the >vorld, and New Zealand is not tho only •place alifctocl. Commander Evangeline t ;ißooth has removed her sphere of operations from New York to Ottawa, and after being ■' in command of the Salvation Army's operations in the United States for a number of years has now gone to Canada in a similar capacity. Commander Booth is thoroughly in rT^' —^ her mo^ aeti'vtty^nd ;git£lity :13 reflected in her leadership. : Bh6.has a great reputation as an ath- , ; woman in _the- United States, for 6iSWl^ mer ana an «ceUent y eiiater. Only quite recently she swam 7-* d;?tance of over five miles in tireless fashion, and it is quite common for ~3ier to ig o skating late at night in the v^xnterjaf^r addressing a^big meetin V 3n the pearlier part of the, evening. She .ps a real leader" of militant Christianity sana though she has witnessed many ...changes is not at all disheartened by ???.f?ra youth .or controversies between religion and science. Twenty-five years ago Commander Booth began her active iSalyation Army life by facing'a'h'owl•Hg niobin New York. She took with £?=:*■ ?»aU--smc-Stars Stripes, and loldiag.this high above her head dared the. noting mob to hiss it. Such actions are typical of ;her daring. When she : was pioneering on behalf of "The !Army";in thoso d ; stant d v was necessary, for her and her companions to readitheir music with one eye and scan-the horizon with the other, for many, things besides words of scorn ;wera hnrled at them. Her interest in •youth has always been amazing In ler conversation and - her animated plans for the Salvation Army, she is iorever counting on-youth,' and she really, seems to understand young people, probably because she never lets herself grow old in thought or body Eer interest in their sports, which are also her own sports, is evidence of this Her^career is a striking demonstration f>t the-opportunities of leadership and distinguished public service that"are •open:jto -women of capacity and conyietibnia all parts of the world.. As a girl.of 20 she became a dominating figure during an era when women Headers were not accorded the deference; and sympathy they now receive. British-born, she yet understands the thoughts and^ ambitions of the American- Continent,'.particularly of its northern portion, and it is more than probable , that she will so handle her new command that it will step from one activity to another, led by "one of the great:voices of this age," as President Hoover describes her. iMr. SYfllianiß. Shearer. ;\ v v':; ' The;,naval authorities in England and rthe 'United States were-\ greatly ner.rturbed in'the early part'of last nio'nth .at the operations of Mr. William B. (Shearer, the self-styled "naval expert," '■who had stated that he was enlisted by American shipbuilders and "big navy" propagandists to fight naval disarmament. His statements became the subject of an official inquiry at Washington, and Mr. Shearer was repudiated. During the course of inquiry, M r. .;-. ....... Shearer claimed friendship with high. American Admiralty "officials and ranking officers of the (U.S:A; Navy, but these contradicted the existence of such a friendship emphaticallyj and it is now apparent that this •paid-; propagandist was never even on speaking terms with the persons who, he declare^, encouraged and abetted Ms- activities against reductions of armaments. Although it has been proved that.he did not attempt to take part ; ii the naval discussions as the mouthpiece of. the naval authorities, it las teen .demonstrated that he represented shipping rings and trusts to .•which; disarmament is anathema. The -of :the Bethlehem Steel Corporation admitted on 10th September that "Mr. Shearer was engaged by the firm^s"an observer," but he declared i;hat;his services were disposed of when it was found: that he was a propagandist. .Mr. Shearer, however, still persists in stating that the United States Navy, although it paid him no fee, was as nraeh his-client as the shipyards, ■whieKi he alleged, employed him to campaign, against a reduction of naval armlaments. It was not necessary for him to go!to "Washington, Mr. Shearer made plain ■in the, newspaper interviews he «o readily gave at the time of the trouble. All he had to do was. to.-let it be'known that "Shearer is going to Geneva," and needed facts and figures for ammunition, and "lo and behold," ftheyywere forthcoming anonymously, 3>ut none the less officially. The data lie received, he said, was contained in a:private Blue Book certainly not intended for the public, and it came, to lim without comment in an official navy •envelope. He, denied that the British government had refused him admission to _England,, but he admitted that he lad received a warning from "a sood source" not to attempt to enter En»- ---: V He-;demed that he was antlEntish, but Admitted that he was proAmerican. Mr. Shearer, who is a former London theatrical producer, and who employed as a civilian by the US uSavy; Department during the war is quite .unabashed at his role as a paid propagandist • being found out. Ho served in the Spanish-American War as a.gunner's mate, and in the course of .years^as been able to establish himself al-?it T Y!li cx Pert'" not by his own ability but by a lack of knowledge on naval affairs by people generally. Sir Henry Thornton. A. recent cablegram from Ottawa stated that: Sir Henry Thornton had ■been re-engaged as President of the Canadian National Railways for' an- ; «ther:.-.five years' at an annual salary of 515,000, an increase of £.200 Q. He also receives' £2000 a ;^year; for travelling; expenses. Sir Henry has been head of of this big;Stateowned undertaking for a number o-f years, and in its later development he has achieved remark- ' able success.: His career is a; veritable romance of T . "it,. ' inanstry. Born at Xiogansport, Indiana, U.S.A., in 1871 snd graduating from the University of Pennsylvania twenty^hreo years later, he' obtained a positron as draftsman ■with tho railway in his home district. It was a very humble beginning for the wan who- is to-day one of the towering figuresan.the'.world's railways. After holding-various 'posts in America his opportunity came when he- was invited in. 1914 to reorganise the Great East,<jsn, Eailwaj; in. England. The appoint-

mcnt of an American for this task evoked muck criticism, but the- decision of the board speedily justified itself. Shortly after the start of tho Great War,.he was made a member of tlio executive committee of general managers which, under the direction of the Government, controlled and operated all British railways. In 191G ho was appointed Deputy-Director of Inland Water Transport, with the rank of Colonel EiE. - Early in 1917 ho was sent to Paris as Assistant Director of Eailway Movements and in that capacity represented the Director and the Army Council in all negotiations relating to transportation with tho French, Italian, and United States Governments. Eapid promotion followed, and by 1918, with tho rank of Major-General, he was in charge of all British Army transportation on the Continent; In 1919 he was knighted for his services. His organising genius was recognised by the Government and his fellow railway managers, and it was a great surprise to all when, in 1922, he accepted an invitation to assume administrative control of the Canadian National Eailways. In this capacity, however, he has grappled with problems calculated to daunt a man. of less courage and resource, and has solved them in a manner which has compelled tie admiration of all who realised what he was up against. Mr. E. M. Remarque. The publication of "All Qniet on the Western Front" caused something akin to consternation among the world's readers some little while ago, and many people were asking what manner of man coul* write such a book, but very little was known about the author at that time. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is probably the most wonderful and terrible book that has come out of the war,' for it gives a profound insight into the life of the individual soldier at the front and of the truly horrible things he "had to experience. Mr. Eemarque was born 31 years ago, a member of a family that emigrated from France during the French Revolution, settling down in. the Bhineland. At eighteen he went from school into the Army and then straight to the Western Front, with all its horrors and awe-inspiring events. While he was away his mother died, and most of his friends were killed in action or died of wounds, so that when he returned he found himself entirely alone. His subsequent life really typifies the deep unrest through which the men of his generation have passed and are even now passing. Needing above all things rest.and quiet, he became a teacher in a village on the moors of central Germany. When the loneliness "became more than he could bear he became in sucessuui. an organist in an asylum, a music teacher, manager of a small business, ■ a motor-car dealer, a draughtsman, later still a dramatic critic. He was—and is—a born gambler, and he finally won a largo sum at roulette, which enabled him to travel abroad. On returning to Germany he became foreign correspondent for a large motor firmj?fLnallywbec6ming its publicity managers* —HißsnextoEirivo .was as-editor of a motor magazine, but even here he failed to find rest. Last year he wrote "All Quiet Yon tho Western Front," without any -deliberation, merely out of his own and his friends' war experiences. It aroso from the consideration that so many men of hia generation, still young, nevertheless lived a friendless, embittered life without knowing why, and that every country is to-day still suffering from war's consequences. It is said that he has received countlr expressions of approval as well as of disapproval, and many declare that his diagnosis is horribly correct. Certain* ly he has described three things—the war, the fate of a generation, and true comradeship. And these are the same m all countries. Sir Hugh Trenchard. .Last month' it was announced that Air Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard was to become tho next Governor-General of New Zealand, but later on the rumour was denied, and his name is now almost forgotten as a possible representative of the King in, ithia country. Sir Hugh, however, is far too important a man to pass over in that manner. He was gazetted Marshal of the Boyal Air Force on Ist January, 1927, and has since had a great deal to do with the progress made by his command. The rank he now holds is equivalent to that of Field-Marshal in the Army, and Sir Hngh is the first to hold it. He was also the first man to be promoted Air Chief Marshal when this rank—equivalent to a full general in. the Army—was created in 1922. Sir Hugh Trenchard is an air officer of outstanding ability. He entered the Army in 1893, not so much by choice but because he had failed in spelling m the entry examination for the Navy. When the Great War commenced he was major in the Eoyal Scots Fusiliers attached to. the Central Flying School of which he was commandant. By 1916 ho had become a major-general, and he was then.only 43. Sir Hugh was born m 1873, and. after joining the Army served in the South African War with the Imperial Yeomanry and the Canadian Scouts. From 1903 to 1910 he served in West Africa. In 1912 he first qualified as an air pilot, and became an instructor •at the Central Flying . School at Upavon, which ho eventually commanded. His next command was at Farnborough, but before, tho end of 1914 .he was sent to France and became tlic head of^the military wing of the lioyal Flying florps. His strong personality, torosight, and power to command made tas_ name- a household word in France and with-the expansion of the air service !■ he-was rapidly promoted in rank. Alter the formation of the Eoyal Air -boree he became, in March, 1918, Chief of the Air Staff. This position he resigned. a month later on account of a disagreement with the first Air Minister,Lord:Eothermere; : But a few weeks later he received command of the newlyformed .Independent Air Force, whose mission;;was to raid Germany, a post that fcave scope ;o h* gift of inspiring menvand^ o his development of thi strategical. role of aircraft. I n the same year he was created K.C.B and in 1919 he received a baronetcy.