Layout 8 - Winston Churchill

Churchill: “It is sometimes the same thing.”Twain: “How long do you think the war inSouth Africa will last?”Churchill: “The war is over now. The Boers arewhipped, but do not know it….Gradually, as the conflictingelements become reconciled, a system of autonomousgovernment must be introduced, until at last the coloniesbecome as independent of the British Crown as Canada.The Boer is a splendid fighter and the coolest man underfire I have ever seen. He is what you might call a ‘lowpressure’fighter. He never gets excited, and as long as hethinks he is going to win he will stay at his post.” 5Overwhelmed by the star power of the newly-returnedMark Twain, unfazed by his fierce antiimperialistrhetoric and probably coaxed byLady Randolph, the literati of New York invited him tointroduce the new hero of the British Empire at his firstspeech, four days later at the Waldorf Astoria. To some itmust have seemed like inviting William Jennings Bryanto introduce William McKinley.Churchill, just turned twenty-six, was a proudcitizen of the most powerful country in the world. Hehoped his visit to New York would be as exciting as hisfirst, five years earlier, on the eve of his coverage of theCuban rebellion against Spain. While he had reason tothink that his lectures would be well-received—he’d beena smash across Great Britain and was half-American bybirth—he appeared nervous as he waited to give his wellrehearsedspeech to the New York audience. Given theevents of the past few days, he had cause for worry.Churchill was aware that he did not have theunanimous support of the committee hosting his appearance.The New York Times had reported that antiimperialistson the committee openly opposed invitinghim. Some, including the mayor of New York and thepresident of Princeton University, went so far as to requestthat their names not appear in the program. WhenChurchill’s tour agent failed to remove their names itcaused a stir on the eve of the lecture. 6The possibility of a hostile reception must havecrossed his mind as he sat on the dais. And yet he wastouched by the presence of Twain, whose Tom Sawyerand Huckleberry Finn had enthralled him as a boy: >>FINEST HOUR 149 / 41