, has given to a man who was a working steel-smelter
the unshackled control of labor, has chosen as another Cabinet Minister
a young American who has made a fortune in business--staggering
appointments indeed for conservative old England. But that is only a
beginning. The Prime Minister has hitherto been but the titular head
of the various departments of his Government, but now he is going to be
the real head, for Lloyd George has set up a Prime Minister's
Department which co-ordinates continually all the various Government
offices. Lloyd George means to be no mere figure of dignity as a Prime
Minister.

What more can he do? There is no end to the war expedients which are
to his hand if the conflict with Germany goes on. If more young men
are wanted for the army I can see him levying the whole of the women in
the country for work on the farms and in the offices or its shops. He
may turn his eyes to the overseas dominions, where there are scores of
millions of population from which separate vast new armies may be
drawn. I have little doubt that erelong the enemies of Britain will
come up against the quality of unexpectedness which has so often
discouraged his opponents at home. No field of endeavor will be closed
to him. I can even see him with a board of inventors and constructors
setting to work to provide, let us say, a fleet of one hundred thousand
aeroplanes which shall, in truth, make the invasion of Germany
possible. There are other novel fields of effort with potentialities
of equal or even greater scope.

It was complained of Mr. Asquith that he was too much of a gentleman,
too kindly and considerate even to those who harassed him, that he
feared to repress those who strove to make his tenure of office
impossible. There will not be any nonsense of that kind about Lloyd
George. Heaven help those who, however highly placed and whatever
their services to him in the past, now stand in his way. Interesting
suggestions have been made that his recent alliance with Northcliffe
was a fatal mistake for him, because Northcliffe, in pursuit of
newspaper sensations, combined with patriotic aims, having helped to
place him in the seat of power, will presently turn on him without
scruple and without mercy. Well, there may even be an attempt in that
direction. I know both men pretty thoroughly, having been brought into
personal contact with each, and watched the work and studied the power
of both of them for ye