In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 73, 23 September 1933, Page 21

In the Public Eye

COUNT CIANO. Count Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, mounted another grade in a rapid career when II Ducc made him head of the Government Press Bureau. This is one of the most important posts in Italy, because of the Government's strict supervision ■of newspapers. Count Ciano, son of Count Costanzo Ciano, Minister of Communications, who is just turning thirty years of age, has been lucky in having a powerful father and a more powerful father-in-law. The Count's newspaper experience was limited to dramatic criticisms and feature writing for' the "Tribuna" of Borne and to special correspondence for Mussolini's paper "Popolo d'ltalia" of Milan. His journalistic work ceased when ho went in for diplomacy. For a brief timo he was secretary of the embassies at Buenos Aires and Bio do Janeiro. Then four years ago, after Italy signed the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, he was given the same post in the Embassy to the Holy See. Next year the young* Count married Edda, Mussolini's first child, to whom II Duee is devoted. The' wedding was an elaborate ceremony, although held in the Mussolini parish church. Tho Duee, Donna Baehelo Mussolini, and the foreign diplomatic corps attended. After the wedding the couple and their parents drove to St. Peter's. Count Ciano had littlo, timo to enjoy married life in Italy, for his new father-in-law soon appointed him Consul-Gen-eral at Shanghai. There the young couple becamo the parents of Mussolini's only grandson, Fabrizio. Tho Count and Countess were in Shanghai while the Chinese, defended Chapei against the Japanese. Frequently their iipartiucut was shaken, by tho big guns.. Ciano served on the commission of foreign consuls that tried to arbitrate the conflict. .' After three years jn the Orient, *■ Count Ciano ,was recalled in May of this year, and was sent as,, a delegate to the London Economic Conference. He delivered several speeches before sub-committees: Ciano V new position gives him practical dictatorship over the Italian Press. Editors' ideas for editorials will come from him. Every important official communique must emanate from him. The head of the Press Bureau travels wherever' Mussolini' goes. Frequently he is the only important' Government official accompanying the Premier. .'.,'' Sir A. M. Samuel. Sir Arthur Michael Samuel, M.P., who has given his opinion.that the other principal nations aro unlikely to risk investment in Germany again during our lifetime, is a past Financial Secretary to the British Treasury. Jf.o is a leading member of the ' Conseryativo Party and has held many important posts, - including those of Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Minister for tho Department of Overseas Trade, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, and Lord Mayor of Norwich. '. Ho was born in Norwich in 1872 and educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in that city, an institution of which ho is now one of the Board of Governors. He presented his native city with the George Borrow Museum, a gift which attracts people from all over the world. During the war he worked in t'ho War Offico and Ministry of Munitions, and also served on tho council of • tho Association of British Chambers of Commerce. He was also appointed on" a committee set up to reorganise the Consular Service. He was the author of the programme of British trade policy accepted in 1916 by the British Chambers of Commerce and'liscd as the basis of the Paris Economic Conference of tliat year. In 1920 ho served on a Select Committee on National, Expenditure, and between 1921 and 1924 he was a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Estimates and the Committee oh Public Accounts.. v Lord Barnby. Definite evidence of improving, world trade is seen by Lord Barnby and his wide experience and . commercial connections make his judgment worth attention. Lord Barnby is a man with a varied record of administrative and commercial experience, ho has served the Empire in foreign fields, and is intimately interested in tho financial life of London. He was born in 1884, a Yorkshireman and a Bradford man, too. His,father, Francis Willey, was later to become the first Baron Barnby. Young Willey was educated at Eton and at Magdalen College, Oxford, and did not linger in search of academic distinction. His career was early marked out for him, a post was waiting in the Bradford firm of, Francis Willey and Co., wool merchants, and there was much to do. But the war interrupted this successful commercial career and young Francis Willey went overseas with tho Notts Yeomanry, where ho already held a commission. Ho was recalled in 1915 and came all the way back from Egypt to serve as Assistant Director of Ordnance Stores in the Clothing Division of that great organisation. His special work was tho recovery and repair of all uniforms, both Home Service and overseas. In June, 1916, he became Controller of Wool Supplies under tho War Department, and organised Jho purchase and distribution of tho British and Colonial wool clips on Government and civilian account. In the last year of tho war ho entered Parliament, and remained there until 1922. In 1918 he received tho C.M.G. and M.V.O:, arid in 1919 the C.B.E. Ten years later he succeeded to the barony through tho death of his father. But before this he had spread his activities over a wide field, he was a director of Lloyds Bank, of the Cqmmercial Union Assurance Co., and of the Central Electricity Board, ana ho had become a Master of Fox Hounds for the Blankncy Hunt in Lincolnshire.

Mile. Suzanne Lenglen, who has accepted a position with the famous firm of Selfridges, has been off the tennis courts for so long-now that people are' beginning to forget that she- is probably the greatest living player of the game. Her complete domination of her rivals has never been equalled by any other player still alive and her grace, wonderful array of strokes, and temperament made her a great draw in any country. It is recalled that ;her presenco or absence at Wimbledon, in the old days meant thousands of pounds to the Tennis Association. Tho ability of Mile. Lcnglen was summed up by another great player, S. N. Doust, at tho tiuie when she was most brilliant. "'Wonderful' is tho right word to describe her," wrote Doust. "Itis a word that she herself uses when she wishes to describe any great tennis, as she did tho JohnstonRichards classic singles match. Anyone watching Mile. Lenglen play for the first time must ,be just a shade disappointed that all her strokes ,are not fast ones. Tilden himself thought she was a decidedly "soft" player the first time he watched her play, but I wonder if ho thinks so still? "But that is just whero the young Frenchwoman, is so wonderful. She, can vary her pace without any apparent change in .tho swing of the racket, like a bowler at cricket who varies his pace without the batsmen being able to observe when ho is going to do so. "Mile. Lenglen beats all her opponents, with one or two exceptions, with tho greatest of ease—generally the scores read 6-0, 6-1. So wonderful a player is she that the crowd usually speculate not as to the likelihood of her opponents, gaining a set, but as, to whether they will win even one game. And when tho poor victim, occasionally gets within a point of' a game, the excitement is as intense as if a set were involved. . . i "That tenseness is a great compliment to tho prowess of Mile. Lenglen. But Suzanne is never so dangerously clever as whfcn she is within a point of losing a game.' To her, so accustomed to victory-is she, the,loss of a ganio is like losing one's renown. If she misses two returns of services in a game it is "awful," and to miss an easy winning stroko onco. in twenty times,is "terrible." . ■ , "Then sho becomes, super-steady— not in a mechanical way but in a superhuman way, with imagination developed to its highest power. She returns every ball safely, high over the net, anticipating with uncanny certainty the direction of her opponent's shots, so that she is always on the spot before the ball, which enables her to make her strokes' easily and gracefully and to return the ball into an awkward position far her opponent. With a few quick steps she gets back on to the middle of the base-line, to. .await the next shot."' ' -. : • '. . ,'.'. _ , M. Edouard Herriot. One of the latest European personalities to pay a;.visit to. Bussia is M. Edouard Herriot, who until- -the end of -last- year "was Premier of France. The downfall of tho last Government led by M. Herriot was due to a policy directly opposite to that which hg_j)ursued when in power in 1924. In that year his Ministry fell because it followed a course of inflation which was hold imperil the credit of France; in 1932 he went from office because-' ho stood for the honouring 'of France's debts to the United States. Last year his term of office was extremely brief. He came to power only five months before his resignation, and for two months before the crisis of December his v Government had. been in a precarious position. There, appears to be more than a possibility that in future French Ministries 'M. Herriot will bo Minister of Foreign Affairs more often than anyone else. Those who know already see him as the .successor of Briand in French politics. M. Herriot is the son of an army officer. He had an excellent education, and upon his . graduation was appointed Professor^ of Rhetoric at the Lycce,'first of Nantes, then of Lyons. Later he became a popular lecturer, journalist, and propagandist. In May, 1914, he was a councillor and Deputy Mayor of Lyons, and the following year he was made Mayor. Thenceforward, with, the exception of throe months, he guided the destinies of Lyons. In 1910 he was a member of the Coriseil General,, and in 1912 a Senator. From December, . 1916, to March, 1917, he was Minister of Public Works; and Transport in the Briand. Cabinet. In 1919 he was elected a deputy, and tho Radical Party chose him as its leader. May, 1924, revealed him Premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs. During the London Conferences, in the application of the Dawes Plan, and finally over tho Geneva Protocol, he displayed combined idealism and common-sense. He managed to' gain the confidence of Europe, and to him may bo attributed the feeling in France which endorsed the Locarno Pact. In 1925, however, he was forced to resign on account of his wild financial policy. A few days later he was elected President of the Deputies. In 1926 Briand invited him to join the Ministry. Tho Radicals, however, objected. He then tried to form a Government, but failed. Briand succeeded but was defeated in a few weeks owing to the unexpected action of Herriot leaving the Presidential chair to speak as a Deputy against the Government. He formed a Ministry, but was defeated after two days. He then joined Poincare's Government. This Cabinet is famous for having included in its personnel six past Prime Ministers—Poiucare, Painleve, Barthieu, Leygues, Briand, and Herriot —and one Minister who was to become a Prime Minister —Tardieu. In 1928 Herriot resigned owing to"1- the Radicals withdrawing their support from the Government. From then until May of last year ho was in opposition.