In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 70, 19 September 1936, Page 21

In the Public Eye

Behind the revolution which is engrossing Spain and shaking all Europe is reputed to be one of the most powerful and romantic figures the land of dons has produced. 'He is Juan March, "Rockefeller of Spain," who is credited with, being one of the world's richest men,' and whose secretary Marquis de Urquijo has been arrested by the Government.: He is. said to be providing much of the money for the ; Fascist drive to unseat the present Government witfi its Communistic backing. Senbr March has a finger in most of the-monopolies of the country, its banks and electrical utilities corporations,ahd other enterprises. He began his financial career as an apprentice stevedore, earning. about 8d a day unloading bales- of tobacco. A* few years later he had,a".tobacco monopoly and was -wielding 'vast influence. Several times, during the monarchy he was called before the civil courts to explain:! his ~ transactions.; Once under Primo de Rivera's dictatorsh ip he was accused, of on the Mediterranean and escaped r to France disguised 'as a -curate. Later he was

Under the; Republic he was charged by officials on half a dozen counts having to do, with improper use of money in obtaining concessions under the monarchy;; In 1931 he,'; was expelled from ;the Chamber of Deputies for "moral iticbmpatability" and • then was arrested- and imprisoned on a charge of bribery in obtaining tobacco concessions in /Morocco, H,e escaped into Gibraltar. In 1933; the Spanish Parliament approved his election as -a Deputy and he -i was allowed to return. Senor March is reported to be in Portugal. With him is .said to be another outstanding backer- of the revolutionists—Jose Maria Gil Robles, the 38-year-old' newspaperman-educa-tor-lawyer-politician, who has been leader of the Roman Catholic Party known as the Popular Agrarian Action. Leni . Riefenstahl. .. The alluring Leni Riefenstahl, who is' Half Jewish, enjoys power in Germany similar; to that of the Jewish, and also beautiful, Margherita Sarfatti in Italy. At the age of twentyfive she is the dictator of the German films. She organises and controls all the.,film propaganda for sHerr Hitler. She flies' and ebes about socially with Def Fuhrer. Her word governs anything having/to do with a camera in Germany. At the Olympic Games, she said where and when, photographers, may take pictures. ; She is the head of the organisation ; which is producing the official party, propaganda film, into which the Nazis will place the pictures of the Games. She is the first 1 woman ever to- have mandatory power in the Olympic'enclosure. A famous moving picture actress, she made a brilliant success as a producer, catching step with Nazi ideas early in the Hitler regirne. Her first notable success was "SOS Iceberg," a hit in spite of the Jewish suggestion of the name. Her next big box-office sensation was "Blue Light." . Shebranches out a lot in diplomacy. On, March 25 Lord Crambourne and Mr. Edgar Granville, Parliamentary Secretaries, respectively, to Mr. Anthony Eden and Sir John Simon, had to sit through 'a long, closed session with: Fraulein Riefenstahl before they could-do business with Der Fuhrer. She is a beautiful blonde, handsomely gowned, clever, assured, and busy with all sorts of . R,eich affairs which have nothing to. do with films or sports. She emerged as a popular moving picture actress-in Berlin, her .native city. Naturally,: conjectures about imperial romance are denied in Germany, but border State newspapers keep toying with the-idea that some day she may be'Frau Hitlef. ......

Mr. R. B. Robertson. Mr'.; Robert Burns Robertson, who explored,'the subterranean passages under Windsor Castle, is to retire from the office of Chapter Surveyor. He is 75. In 1912 Mr. Robertson was appointed resident architect at the Castle and .Chapter Surveyor, retiring from the former office in 1926. , He. has supervised various alterations on the Round Tojver, and took a great part in the restoration of St.. George's Chapel.

The most romantic' side of his work was the-search for the underground passages which, according to popular legend, honeycombed the hill on which the castle stands. It was said that there were dozens of 'these passages, some of which found an exit in the forest, others, at Eton College, and one, passing under the river, to the cellars of Burnham Abbey, five or six miles away.

Mr. Robertson is convinced, however, that there were only three main tuhnels which had an outlet beyond the castle walls.

"I found three passages running from the centre of the castle, south, west, and east respectively, he said. "All had an exit . by the moat which in- olden days surrounded the castle. Whether .they went further into the forest I cannot say. They are hewn through chalk, they must have taken years to construct, the workmanship was good. "The purpose of these tunnels, I think I have proved, the defence of the castle. When an attacking force was at the main gates the garrison could move soldiers down the passages to attack the enemy besieging the castle from the rear. '

"I am equally convinced that there was never a tunnel extending in a northerly direction. There was no need for one on that side owing to the steep declivity of the hill."

Mr. Robertson, who was born at Bridge • of Allan, Stirlingshire, began his career in the Fairfield Shipbuilding Yard, Glasgow. There he assisted in. the construction of the Umbria and Etruria, which in those days were giant liners, both ■ successively holding the Blue Riband of the Atlantic. He entered the Government Service in 1892, arid afterwards he was clerk of' the works in Edinburgh.

Sir Donald Bradley Somervell, K.C, M.P., who featured prominently in the trial df George Andrew McMahon this week, succeeded Sir Thomas Inskip as Attorney-General, following Sir Thomas's appointment as Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence. '. j Sir Donald Somervell, Who is fortysix, is one of the youngest law officers of recent years. He succeeded . Sir Boyd Merriman as Solicitor-General in 1933, and was knighted the same year.' Called to'the Bar in 1916, he took silk thirteen years later. Sir Donald has been Conservative member for Crewe since 1931.. The salary of the Attorney-General is £4500 a year. In addition, he receives fees, which in 1929-30 totalled £17,570. As Solicitor-General, Sir Donald received £4OOO a year, plus fees, which totalled £6772 in 1929-30. Dr. Robert Bond. The business of choosing the presi-dent-designate for the conference of 1937 created a remarkable situation at the last session of the English Methodist' Conference. Without ' any preliminaries a vote, was taken and the choice fell upon Dr. Robert Bond, secretary of the conference, who received 488 votes. He was then declared president-designate for 1937. At this ' ' stage Dr., Scott Lidgett raised the question of Dr. Bond's position as secretary. He'said, as reported in the . "Manchester Guardian": "It would be a calamity if there was to bs a change of secretary until union is complete. To use a-hackneyed expression, it would be' like changing horses-in'mid-stream. I. do not say that we she-Id be unable to secure a genius equal to Dr. Bond to take over his work, but it might be a different type of genius. The change might be calamitous." .•■'■*,.-;

It was pointed out" that the executive committee, realising the possibility of Dr. Bond being elected president* had taken legal advice ana been assurta that there was no legal obstacle whatever to Dr. Bond's occupying' both offices. Minutes of an executive meeting dealing with the question were being read to the conference by the assistant secretary when delegates began to shout ."Carried." No -voice was raised in opposition until the Rev. John Hornabrook, the 89 : year>-old. delegate from Manchester, secured a hearing. He. proceeded, to warn,the conference against the peril of taking a course that might prove to be illegal in spite of the opinions of the lawyers. Later, the secretaryshp was again considered. Without comment, the president -asked delegates to write down' on their voting slips the names 'of the man they wished to become secretary. The leading four after the first vote were the Rev. Jacob Walton, 231; the Rev. Edwin Finch, .149; the Rev. J. Oliver Hornabrook, .142;. Dr. Robert Bond, 98. The first three names were sent for a second ballot, which resulted: Mr. Walton, 303; Mr. Finch, 269; Mr'. Hornabrook 140. In the deciding ballot Mr. Finch, was elected secretary by 355 votes to 298. '

After the first ballot had been taken Dr. Bond said,he' had been put into a difficult. position. "I am left without an attachment. I. will have to tour, this country and keep a house going on the small honorarium which is allowed to the president." The. Rev. C. Ensor Walters, the.president, said:. "In the.name of this conference I pledge my honour to see that the president is adequately and amply compensated."Dr. Scott Lidgett said that some power should-be given, some act.made, whereby Dr., Bond should, be,assured of a home and a stipend, and the president repeated his assurancte; Mr. Ralph Kennedy: .

Ralph Kennedy, a travelling salesman of New York, has set up : a golf record that it will be difficult to beat. In the course of his. business, which takes him all over the American continent, he has played on 1500 courses and has kept his score, for each, the card being duly attested by either the secretary or the club professional. When it is considered that Bobby Jones has played on less than 250 different courses, and that Walter Hagen has! yet to reach the,4oo' mark, some idea of the immensity of Kennedy's achievement can be gathered. At each over-night stop he make's it a practiceto play on a new course. Kennedy, who is fifty-four, and began his hobby twentyrsix years ago, expects to reach the' 2000 mark before he tires.

The strangest course he has played is at Guayaquill, Ecuador. It is under water six months in the year, and as there.is no turf the fairways are built of baked clay. A Peruvian engineer conceived the bright idea of sinking concrete 'emplacements/for the greens. The native caddies shriek with laughter when an unsuspecting visitor plays a high pitch. The ball,, when it hits the concrete-base, bounces far into the air.

It is the wish.of every golfer to play over as many courses as possible. In England one naturally turns to the famous four —Harry Vardon, James Braid, J. H. Taylor, and Alex Herdto supply a comparison to Kennedy's record. Each has been playing golf well over fifty years. \: There are' nearly 2000 courses in Great Britain, and Braid says that he must have played on 1200 of them. Taylor, who has toured in most countries, has played on over 1000 courses. Vardon has' played on more than 1000 different courses in many parts of the world. The weirdest experience was at St. Paul, Minneapolis, where he was playing a match against his brother, Tom. "On one green,", says Vardon, "my putt had dropped into the hole when a huge frog leapt out and the ball with it."

Herd has played on 1200 different courses, some as far away as Mexico City, and'- while short of Kennedy's total, the Scotsman • holds'the record in another direction; ,He has accomplished nineteen holes in one. A putter made of gold awaits Herd's twentieth ace. ■ ■ ' 4