TWO FAMOUS GREEKS

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 20

TWO FAMOUS GREEKS

HISTORY'S DIEHARDS Are we governed by the "National Government or by Sir Basil Zaharoff? This question was asked in the House of Lords recently .by Lord Marley, in the course of a speech in which he urged the investigation of (1) the relations between Vickers and the Admiralty; (2) of lucrative appointments given by armament firms to officers leaving Admiralty and War Office service; and (3) of alleged collusion between armament firms in tendering. GRECO-TURK WAR AND LLOYD GEORGE. The reappearance in the cablegrams of the names of Zaharoff and Venizelos recalls that a few years ago Dr Richard Lewinsohn, formerly financial editor of the 1 Vossische Zeitung,’ wrote * The Man Behind the Scenes: The Career of Sir Basil Zaharoff, the Mystery Man of Europe.’ He relates that Zaharoff, agent of and a Very big shareholder in the firm of Vickers, promoted the entry of Greece into the Great War on the Allies’ side, by financing the Venizelist movement in that ■ direction. After the Great War Zaharoff and Venizelos sponsored the war between Greece and Turkey in Asia Minor, which war began promisingly for Greece and ended disastrously. While Venizelos directed the war on- the spot, Zaharoff moved in the, capitals of the Allied Powers to prevent them from restraining the Greek offensive in Asia Minor. France, according to this German author, was for restraining Greece. Lloyd George, then_ supreme in Britain but nearing his fall, was not. "Lloyd George was resolved to support Venizelos in his new advance against Turkey. The British military authorities presented objections, so that Venizelos had to forgo the open support of England, though he was sure of the more than benevolent neutrality of the British Government. Venizelos accordingly the offensive against the Turks in Asia Minor. Zaharoff’s money and deliveries of weapons brought brilliant results.” CHALLENGES IN THE COMMONS. Time passed. Opposition to the Greek policy increased in France, and gradually in Britain, "At last someone had the courage to lift the veil —Li eutenant-colonel Walter Guinness. ” In the House of Commons Lieutenantcolonel. Walter Guinness "declared that he had been unable to find any expert, whether or soldier, who approved of the British policy in the Near East, though this did not necessarily signify that the Prime Minister had no advisers. The voice behind the _ rather, to be more precise, behind the Prime Minister—was probably that of Sir _ Basil Zaharoff. The latter was without doubt a shrewd financier, with international interests in the armament industry. Outside political circles he was chiefly celebrated for the fact that —so it was said—he had controlled the production of arms in four or five different countries.” Mr Lloyd George’s reply to this " was awaited, but he was silent.” ) Later, Mr Aubrey Herbert came into the matter. “In the House of Commons ... he declared that Zaharoff had given £4,000,000 out of his own pocket to equip the Greek fighting forces and to prepare them for the invasion of Asia Minor.” Followed the Turkish defeat of Greece, the great fire of Smyrna, and the exodus of Greeks from Asia Minor. "The (British) General Election supplied proof positive that Lloyd George’s policy was not endorsed by the majority of Englishmen. His opponents were victorious, and Lieutenant-colonel Guinness, who had been the first to raise a voice in Parliament against Zaharoff, was appointed Under-Secre-tary of State for War under Mr Baldwin.” This bit of English history, written by a German, contains something of the historical background against which Lord Marley's armaments speech in the House of Lords is silhouetted. Whenever the name of Zaharoff is mentioned in the British Parliament it recalls a trail of events. OLD LEADERS IN A NEW AGE. Quite recently Venizelos again blazed into international importance with the short-lived rebellion in Greece. He was last heard of as an exile in Italian territory. The third actor, Mr Lloyd George, has ceased for more than a decade to bo Coalition Prime Minister, and recently presented the National Government with a " New Deal.” ‘ And the fourth, Lieutenant-colonel Guinness, who is he? He is none other than the Lord Moyne who, on a world cruise in a .private Diesel-en-gined yacht, looked in on New Zealand recently. It is surprising to learn that Sir Basil Zaharoff was born when Queen Victoria was still a young woman—in 1850, according to ‘ Who's Who,’ and in 1849, according to Lewinsohn, so he is at least 85 years of age. Venizelos is 71, and Lloyd George is one year older. Three of the Old Brigade. And brigadiers still dominating in their own spheres. There is no room for real friendship at the top. After the Greek collapse Zaharoff and Venizelos quarrelled, and Lewinsohn reports Zaharoff’s commentary on the man who is 15 years his younger; "Let him go, this Cretan! There is nothing in him. If only he would realise it is time he retired 1” That was said more than a decade ago, yet 1935 finds the same figures figuring and the same guns firing in Greece,