MEN I HAVE MET

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 109, 10 May 1934, Page 11

MEN I HAVE MET

CAPT. ANTHONY EDEN

HIGH COMMISSIONER LOOKS BACK

(Written for "The Post" by Sir Thomas Wilford.) No. X.

Captain Anthony Eden, or Mr. Eden, as he prefers to be called, has recently "been promoted to the position of Lord Privy Seal/ held, during my term of office as High Commissioner some time ago, by the Et. Hon. J. H. ■ Thomas. Those who from the outside attempt to sum up the coming men of the United Kingdom Trill always think of Mr. Walter Elliot, Minister of Agriculture, and Mr. Anthony Eden. Both have made meteoric advances in public opinion, and botk.are men tireless and extraordinarily indnstrious. > Mr. Eden had a very distinguished career at Oxford University, and it ■will, surprise my .readers when I state that not only is he a perfect French linguist and scholar, but he also has mastered the Persian language thoroughly. In my four years at Geneva I have never before found an Englishman who could speak Persian"readily, and the head of. the Persian Delegation, who, in one of the committees at Geneva, sits immediately opposite to me, commented on the facility with which Mr. Eden was able to converse in the Persian language, and also in the French. . As a matter of fact, it is necessary for every delegate at Geneva to be able to read the French . language in order to keep up with the deliberations of the committees which are sitting, and, moreover, if a delegate at Geneva is unable to read French he has to wait a long while for his ' ordinary newspaper to arrive from ' Great Britain, for "Le- Journal de Genevre" is his-morning paper. V •■'•' MAKER OiF EPIGRAMS. Mr. Eden has the faculty of a concrete expression. He is a maker of epigrams—not too frequently, but at an appropriate moment. He summed up the. position in regard to disarmament well just recently when he defined the situation at present pertaining as, though desperate, hot .impossible of solution, and coined a phrase when he said that "it was better to have clean timber than a blind ditch.',' . When he gets up to speak in the House it is interesting, to watch the reporters lean forward with their pencils ready. It is also interesting to see the House filL .*- . . ■ .• , • Mr. Eden has a pleasing voice and 'is always immaculately dressed. He . laughs with his eyes, and has a little fat chuckle which is sometimes very effective at the end of a tilt. One would consider him a delicate men physically, but I believe he is never ill. He is - very thin and stoops rather, as- many students have the habit of doing. Though he has been created Lord Privy Seal he is still attached to the Foreign Office, and his work will lie principally in Geneva and in-the foreign capitals of the Continent. One attribute Mr. Eden possesses which'will carry him a long way—he never, shows the slightest sign of anger, or petulance. If he is . burning internally there is no appearance of it to the closest observer. - He has a poise which is admirable, and in answering questions, pven though'tiis answer may be in the negative, he conveys the impression 'to those who are listening to him that he regrets that there is no other answer he could possibly give. MARK MADE AT GENEVA. . I-have seen "a number of Ministers in Charge in the British delegations at Geneva, all men of. ability—dn fact, I think one can say that very few big prizes in this country go to unworthy hands—and I am sure I can say, as an observer and as a member of the British delegation ai Geneva, that Mr. Eden has made his mark there. Some "' of the delegates "were rather nonplussed with him during his first session there, for he always stated exactly what he meant. My readers can understand '•'; that sometimes this is very disconcerting to the representatives of certain countries which shall be nameless. Though Mr. Eden could not be considered pig-headed, when he has made up Ms mind he is full of the'-strength of his conviction. Even, so, if he is satisfied that there ;is another side to that question which should be considered and given effect to, he would " not hesitate to be convinced. \'l have had the honour of Mr. Eden's friendship during my residence in London. His wife, who is the daughter of Sir Gervais Beckett, of the Westminster Bank, is one of my daughter's greatest friends, and when. I say Nthat my daughter is the godmother of their '■. little boy, Nicholas, my readers will know what a chance I have had of understanding the character and ability of the man about whom I .am writing. Unlike many of the Ministers, he does not play golf, but hunting and horses are a joy to him, and when he frets his holidays from his work at Westminster, and is able to spend those holidays with Lord Grimthorpe, his cousin, in Yorkshire, I think he does manage to arrange things so that he is 'always able to se« the Grand National Steeplechase. ' Mr. Eden, is a connoisseur of art, and . he has that raie faculty of being able to appreciate, ahead of the general public, the value of the work of an unknown artist. Having this faculty he has been able, at times, anticipating public approval of a new artist, to ■ gather a collection of works which, as a result of his judgment, have subsequently become valuable. His wife is one of the. beauties of England and she and. her husband entertain largely at . their beautiful home in Lower Berkeley Street. Mr. Anthony Eden will go far. He has the confidence of his constituents, the House of Commons and the.country.