OCCASIONAL BIOGRAPHIES : HI. MR. EDEN
TN these last three critical years when with each month 1 the international situation has worsened and the prospects of disarmament have become increasingly remote and Europe is once again as it was in 1914, an armed camp, one man has stood out with courage and consistency for the translation of the ideals of the post-War peace system into realities.
Mr. Eden's achievements in foreign affairs have been really remarkable. His tour of the capitals of Europe has resulted as nothing else could have done in a vital appreciation by the foreigner of the strength and sincerity of Great Britain's belief in collective security. He played a dominant part last year in settling the dispute between Jugoslavia e and Hungary which in the old days almost certainly would have led to war. And. now comes the news, that largely owing to the way in which Mr. Eden conducted the negotiations Signor Mussolini, who up to the eleventh hour was breathing fire and slaughter against Abyssinia, and denouncing interference by anyone, has consented to arbitration, and fully recognized the right of the League of Nations to concern itself with the dispute. At thirty-seven he has won a position for himself abroad and in . his own country that no man of comparable age has achieved in our time.
How has he done it ? I would give as the fundamental cause his deep sincerity. The fault of politicians in England today is -not so much that they believe in the wrong things as that they have ceased to 'believe in any- thing at all. Apart from Mr. Baldwin there is hardly a man of front bench rank who ever gives evidence on any question of real conviction. Anthony Eden believes passionately in the League of Nations. I remember a speech of his in Birmingham a year or two ago when with reference to the Geneva system of settling disputes he suddenly exclaimed—" Is that method wrong, is that machinery wrong ? My answer to that question after considering it as deeply as I can is 'No, a thousand times no.' " One felt as he said it that here was something for which he was prepared to go to the stake, or rather its modern equivalent, the political wilderness. It is this essential disinterestedness and honesty of purpose that has impressed the foreigner. They feel that Albion could never be perfidious if he was in charge of her foreign affairs.
To his sincerity is allied a great political courage. I talked to him on the eve of his last visit to Geneva when so far as the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia was concern' ed all seemed lost and a march to Walwal with all its incalculable repercussions on the EurOpean situa- tion appea- red only a matter of days. " The League must stand firm," he said to me. " It cannot afford another Manchuria." He refused to regard the situation as hope- less and that is probably the main reason why, in fact, it has not proved hopeless. Abroad Mr. Eden is on easy terms with everybody. It is worth a special visit to Geneva to see him' in the lobbies greeting his colleagues with his infectious smile and asking them questions that would appear a little odd in England but for some reason goes_ straight to the heart of a foreigner, for example, " arez votiW.bieri darmi?" With the foreign correspondents he is always' frank and natural.
It is not necessary to disparage Sir John Simon in order to eiplain Mr. Eden's success. The essential thing aboui,him is' that with all his sincerity and charm he does- thoroughly understand his job. He is a hard Worker. Did he not win a first class honours degree at Oxford iri Persian.? The- fact that he was the only man .who entered' for thdt particular school does not explain away his success. He has served a severe apprenticeship for his present position. He had a brief career in the Diplomatic Service and from 1926 to 1929 he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir Austen Chamberlain. When at Geneva he displays powers of industry and concentration that would rival those of Lord Curzon. Except for a little week-end tennis he-is never away from conferences and memoranda. His appearance helps him. Tall, well-groomed, with a " Guardee " moustache, he is exactly what the foreigner expects of the aristocratic young Englishman. There is more in the fact than a mere misunderstanding of the position of the Lord Privy Seal in this country that in the foreign Press he is almost invariably referred to as " Lord " Eden. He presents to the foreigner all, that another generation meant by the " English milord." His fluent French attracts the Quai D'Orsay. His War record impresses the Wilhelmstrasse. The German Press paid to him in their opinion the greatest compliment within their power by describing him as a " front- Soldat." He served in the King's Royal Rifles in the War and won the Military Cross.. Hitler found an immediate bond of union with him when he discovered that they had both been gassed " in front of Ypres. But he hates war with the passion of a man who knows what it means. His sensitive mind reacts against the idea of destruction. I like the story of the State shooting party at the time of his visit last year to Sweden. An elk suddenly came into view and Eden, as the distin- guished guest, was naturally accorded the privilege of shooting it. But all he could say was—" isn't it a beauty ? " and the beast bounded past untouched.
Will Anthony Eden really attain at thirty-seven the position of Foreign Secretary ? There is no doubt that with the great majority of the House of Commons, foes as well as friends, it would be the most popular choice. There is nothing in him with which even the jealous can find fault. His speeches are a model of what those of a young Minister should be—quiet, confident, polished. He is unhurried, his voice is well modulated and he has the rare power of producing a stream of beautifully regulated sentences which do at the same time mean something and carry conviction. With all his success there is no " side " about him. He is no lover of the limelight and is more often to be seen at the end of the Government front bench than in the centre. On only one point are doubts raised. His progress has been too easy. He has never had to display in the House of Commons the qualities of a fighter. He hai no experience of the rough-and-tumble of debate. He took little part in the cut-and-thrust of the conflict when his party was in opposition. How would he shape, fore instance, as Minister of Labour ? Would he be able to retrieve a critical situation or dominate an angry Opposition when something more was required than grace and charm ? Is he, in a word, a little too precious ?
These are the only questions asked in regard to the Lord Privy Seal by the old Parliamentary hands. I believe that they would be answered if he were given a real chance. Anthony Eden is infinitely more than the clever strategist in politics. He has been too often " up against it " at Geneva not to have developed those hidden reserves of power essential to great Parliamentary . leadership. Not since Lord Rosebery has there come into English politics a man so full of promise. In the case of Lord Rosebery the promise for a variety of reasons was not fulfilled. I am convinced that it will be other-
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