Foreign News: Imperial Conference v. Youth

Edward of Wales’s spruce, militant, black-mustached cousin Prince Arthur of Connaught, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Greys, presided at last week’s welcoming banquet to the British Imperial Conference—held aperiodically since Queen Victoria’s jubilee in 1887.

Prince Arthur, representing the Royal Family, sat ramrod stiff at the head of the glistening Guildhall board, waited with just the proper, courteous inclination of his head for James Henry (“Jimmy”) Thomas, Secretary of State for the Dominions, to propose his very good health.

Mr. Thomas rose to do so, swung into his speech, was suddenly seized from behind by a strange young man in immaculate evening dress who forced Secretary Thomas back into his seat. (Even this and what followed did not cause Prince Arthur to reveal by so much as a glance or unbecoming Royal start that he noticed what was happening.)

“Gentlemen,” cried the well-dressed young man, “I am twenty-one! Will you hear me? Solomon once prayed for wisdom, and I pray for wisdom. I have a message of Youth to deliver. I am speaking, gentlemen, to help Humanity—yet you laugh!”

No one had laughed. Jimmy Thomas had merely sat gaping. Several ushers rushed the young man out of Guildhall, still shouting “Youth! Youth!” He told reporters that he is one Herbert Gervers. Such is British tolerance that he was not arrested, was even permitted to re-enter Guildhall to get his coat, hat and stick from the cloakroom, finally swaggered off into the night, immaculate.

“I represent no organization,” was Mr. Gervers’ parting shot. “I only wanted to ask those old fellows to give Youth a chance.”

Postponed. Because Great Britain’s Labor government is split on the question whether to experiment with an Empire tariff scheme (Scotland’s MacDonald being pro and Yorkshire’s Snowden con), the Prime Minister, in formally opening the Imperial Conference last week, weasled on its major economic problem, stressed “peace & disarmament” (the only field in which his cabinet has acquired kudos) and temporarily postponed proceedings by setting a future plenary conference session vaguely “some six or seven days hence.”