Show Round Merry By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. S ALLEN One free ride on the Washington Merry- Merry Round Go-Round goes with the Brass rass Ring to Astor the American lady who with her Cliveden set now rules England WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Most Most potent governing group in Britain today is not the cabinet but the little gathering of lords and ladies newspaper editors and bankers who gather at Clive Cliveden den country estate of Lord Astor every week-end week to drink highballs around a huge fireplace and discuss the foreign policy of the empire This is the Clive Cliveden den set becoming more famous and m more re powerful month by month Lady Astor is fonder of talking politics than her Virginia relatives relatives relatives rel rel- rel- rel are of talking horses She is one of those intensely energetic people who is never happy unless she is making people turn handsprings Now say something amusing Mr Shaw she once commanded the venerable Bernard Shaw who had been invited to Cliveden to meet the late bate Senator Joe Robinson Secretary of State Stimson and other Americans Mr Shaws Shaw's response was a facial expression which clearly read Oh Lord why did I come Hitler and Cliveden When Nancy Astor puts this same energy to work in the field of political relationships there is no telling what may eventuate One of the things that eventuated last November was the visit of Lord Halifax to see Hitler Another was the Chamberlain journeys to see der fuehrer in September The Clive Cliveden den set has not quite adopted Adolf Hitler as their leader but almost Their feeling feeling feeling feel feel- ing toward him is one of mingled admiration and fear They fear that eventually he will turn against England But they admire the manner in which he rebuffs Russia One reason for the affinity between Hitler and and andl the Cliveden set is the fact that most of them are Christian Scientists When Hitler first seized power in Germany one of the Clive- Clive visited the new chancellor and persuaded persuaded persuaded per per- him to exempt Christian Science from nazi religious persecution Not long ago Robert Robert Robert Rob Rob- ert Watson Seton-Watson prominent British writer d de described described de- de scribed the Cliveden set as a mixture of Christian Christian Christian Chris Chris- tian Science and African gold Lord Lothian The gold is represented by Lord Lothian who is secretary of the Rhodes trust for educating Americans at Oxford and whose family inherited inherited inherited vast gold fields in South Africa Himself educated in a Jesuit school he rebelled became converted to Christan Science but still has the Jesuitical manner of thinking Lothian makes frequent visits to Hitler and the notes of these conversations which he has shown to friends indicates that he considers himself spiritually affiliated with the German dictator Lord Lothian began life as Philip Kerr secretary to Lloyd George was considered a great liberal He now carries tremendous weight with the cabinet is a sort of minister wi portfolio Londonderry Unlike Lothian Lord Londonderry another member of the group is noted for the vacuum- vacuum like condition of his cranium His part in British British British Brit Brit- ish politics is largely through the influence of his wife He is a close friend of Goering and apparently is so anxious to protect nazi secrets that he suppressed certain findings of the British British British Brit Brit- ish air ministry showing that Germany had lo located located lo- lo aerodromes near her west coast within easy striking distance of London The British were permitted to know about this only after it was revealed in American newspapers Part of the Cliveden sets set's strength is their control of the British press Major John Jacob Astor law in of Lady Astor owns the London Times whose editorials have empire reverberations Also members of the set are Geoffrey Dawson editor of the Times and Barrington Barrington Barrington Bar- Bar rington Ward assistant editor Viscount Astor Viscount Waldorf Astor owns another powerful powerful powerful pow pow- erful newspaper the Sunday Observer while Lord Beaverbrook the present Lord Northcliffe Northcliffe North North- Northcliffe cliffe of England is a frequent Cliveden visitor Viscount Astor notes in his self-penned self biography biography biography raphy that among his college accomplishments were representing Oxford in polo steeple chas ing and sabres The viscount does not seem to tobe tobe tobe be accomplishing vastly more than that today Nancy Astor has several distinctions She was the first woman ever to be elected to the British parliament Although divorced before she married Lord Astor she also has got by the hurdle that no divorced lady can be presented in court Other members of the Cliveden set include Sir Nevile British ambassador to Berlin who announced months in advance of the Vienna putsch that Austria could be considered considered considered consid consid- ered a part of Germany Lord Halifax the foreign foreign foreign for for- eign minister also drops in for a spot of tea as do dp Sir Samuel Hoare Sr John Simon and other high Montagu Norman head of the Bank of England England England Eng Eng- land also is a member and was influential inputting in inputting inputting putting through the British financial credit to Germany The effect of the loan was to speed speedup up German rearmament Meanwhile 1 the British government w s scratching arou around d to find mo y to it it it- oi 1 nt rit in brief gives CS the policy of the Cliveden Clive Clive- I den set namely to grant favors to Hitler even though those favors jeopardize the empire Copyright 1938 for The Telegram c |