The Churchill Series – Nov. 7, 2006

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

Today we’ll read “Three by Churchill.”

Of Joseph Chamberlain, an important early 20th Century political leader whose son Neville would become Prime Minister, Churchill said: “Mr. Chamberlain loves the working man, he loves to see him work.”

That jab is often said to have actually been directed at Clement Attlee. I don’t know which the case is. Then, too, there’s always the chance Churchill may have believed in recycling.

Of Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister from 1902-06, Churchill remarked: “If you wanted nothing done, Arthur Balfour was the best man for the task. There was no equal to him.”

And of Stanley Baldwin, who served three times as Prime Minister and was succeeded in May, 1937 by Neville Chamberlain, Churchill observed: “He occasionally stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.”
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The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill compiled by Dominique Enright (pgs. 58-61)