HORATIO BOTTOMLEY

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3617, 24 March 1927, Page 4

HORATIO BOTTOMLEY

TO BE RELEASED THIS YEAR. HIS FUTURE PLANS. BACK INTO THE FIGHT. The time will come when I shall he free once nioro . . . free, after a short rest, to get back into the fight.— Horatio Bottomley. What are the future plans of Horatio Bottomley ? What will this once great and popular figure, now in Maidstone Gaol, do when he regains his liberty in August next? Will he endeavour to make yet another career for himself or will ho endeavour to 6eek solitude and refuge from the outside world, where once he was a moving force in the great scheme of things? Will ho try to take his place in the world of finance and politics as before, or will he try to fade out of public life altogether and seek to hide his identity in some lesser occupation? These are the questions to which Mr A. J. Newton, for years the private financial secretary to Mr Bottomley and his confidential agent in many of his great financial deals, gives the reply in the Empire News. Mr Newton knows. Since . Bottomley has been in prison Mr Newton-.has visited hisi one-time chief on some sixty ..occasions, in his official capacity,, and' during'the interviews Mr Bottomley has- opened his heprt to his friend and secretary, concerning his intentions for the-future, “Yes'- Newton,” Bottomley declared on one occasion, “time-flies,, but—not in here. Thank -God, however, the time will come when I shall be free once more, free to breathe the 'fresh air of the lovely Sussex downs; freeafter a short rest—to get back into the fight.” Such is the spirit of the man who is to bo released from his term of penal servitude in August, and in the following article Mr Newton cryatalises the utterances of his chief regarding his views of things in general, and his plans for the future. (By A. J. Newton.) The New Year begins tile last lew months ot Horatio Uottomley’s prison ordeal, and already tongues are wagging as to what this man, with ms amazing magnetic personality, will uo in the tuture. in this article I want to teli the British public about that future, aim reveal the intentions ot tins man whom 1 am proud to have known and whom I am proud to-be associated with in the capacity of private financial secretary. ihat 1 can speak, with some authority will not be' doubted when I state till, l since my old chief was sentenced to that cruel sentence of seven years’ penal servitude in the May, ot 1022, 1 nave visited him in connection with financial matters something over sixty times, and during those visits—as was on:y natural—he on more than one occasion referred to the outside world. Naturally these references were brief, for the occasion of my visits was to lieip to straighten out the financial tangles of my chief, and thus they wore of a purely business nature. Yet it would be as futile to attempt to stem the tide of this great personality as) it would be to stem the tide of the ocean, and every now and again there would burst forth those flashes of the old Bottomley, yet a new Bottomley at that. For, as he has told me on more than one'- occasion, lie lias had plenty of time to think things out whilst in prison, and whilst he remains the same dominant personality that lie always was, hist views on life have changed considerably, and he has had time to consider where his failure lay. FITTER THAN EVER. ft wag during these flashes of the old-new Bottomley that I was able to glean many interesting facts concerning his future plans and intentions, and it is these ideas- and ideals which I have incorporated in this article. In the first place let me say right away that many of the stories which have been published concerning his life in prison, and his intentions when .at length he obtains his release, are based purely on the imagination of the writers, or upon information which is totally unreliable. That the “man in the street” is anxious to know all about Bottomley there is no denying, for somehow or other the fact sticks in his mind that the total number of shares owned by the whole of the witnesses called during his trial was only 220.. Against this is the memory of all that Bottomley did during the war and the public are still interested in the future of my old chief. In the first place 1 would like to say that Bottomley is better than ever lie has been, and despite the rigours and hardships inseparable from prison life, he is feeling physically fitter, and more mentally brilliant than at any time of his career. I recollect how, following the phrase quoted in the introduction to this article, when he declared he was looking forward to getting back into the fight he went on: “’For I tell you, Newton, I am as fit as a fiddle, and my brain is working better than ever. Just as it did when J was speaking from the floor of the House of Commons. “Things are clearer than ever in iny mind:, and during the long hours of solitude I have had ample time to formulate many schemes which I intend to put into - practice when I secure my freedom. EFFECTS OF DISCIPLINE. “There is so much for me to do, and —so much for me to undo, for, don’t forget, Newton, that there are tilings which must be set right, and H. B. is not the man to shirk his tasks, and he is strong enough to dig his own pathway. That pathway, Newton, will he broad enough for him to tread.” It was a much thinner H. B. who made these remarks than the chief whom I had known at the very zenith of his power and fame, when the highest in the lam! were fawning upon him and accepting his bounty. In those days lie was a portly and perhaps a little hit flabby individual. He had lived well, and in his own view now rather unwisely. He had partaken of too many of the good tilings of life, and had suffered" in consequence. But the discipline of prison life, the plain fare, and the regular exercise, had taken away the superfluous flesh, and his face had assumed a healthier tinge than it had known for many a long day.

When I went to see him in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings which followed his imprisonment he was quite frank as to the cause of his failure. '

“I took too many chances, my boy,” he told me. “I kept too many irons in the fire, and although as a'rule 1 could generally get hold of as much money as I required in- any of my schemes from one source or another, there came the day when the so-called friends upon whom I relied let me down. TO WIN THROUGH. “I am not blaming them, Newton; understand that, for nobody realises more than I do that the two greatest curses in my life have been vanity and a lack of restraint. Not vanity in the ordinary sense of the term, but a love

of power; a desire to be the ‘big noise’ in things. “There were those who flattered me, and led me into the error of believing that I was. To some extent they were right, but their flattery did not help me much when the crisis came, and—--1 know better now. ' “Still—l shall make my ‘comeback, Newton! J I shall win through, and 1 don’t intend- to be like the vast majority of men who leave hero to go back into the world. Do you know that the percentage of men who do really make good when they secure their release from prison is a beggarly five per cent. “It seems incredible, and a ghastly waste of human life and purpose, and whilst I have been here I have been looking at this problem from every angle. The ex-convict is up against it all the time, and thin is one of the greatest problems which should be faced and which I shall make a point of dealing with when I leave here. “It will not happen in my case, Newton, for, thank God, I have many true friends. Many who will be literally waiting at the gates to give me a timely hand and help me over, that first great stile which every man who has suffered gaol must climb. “No, my boy, those who the moment I passed behind the grim walls of prison turned and rended me, those who when I was down stretched out their feet to kick me, will live to see the day when I shall be back amongst them once more, a living man with a name, and no longer a number.” Concerning this statement of my old chief’s, I would like to say here that he is quite right, for at the present moment there is a club in process of formation, the name of which is to be the “H. B. Club,” with its monomark B.M. —M.8.T.4, London, W.C.I. TO PRODUCE A PAPER. A number of wealthy and- influential men.and • women sire behind this club, the idea of which is to provide'Horatio Bottomley with ‘a chance. of• enabling him to restart a business career.'- Circulars are already being sent-out to those likely to be interested, and amongst the privileges which members will enjoy is a great deal of “inside” racing information. Beyond that I can say no more at present, but that Bottomley is right in his surmise that there are those who will be ready and willing to help him make the “come back” lie is so desiring of making is obvious from the facts which 1 have mentioned. “But what are you going to do? How do you propose to start on this great work which you have in mind?” 1 asked him.

Bottomley smiled. “I intend to start a publication under the title of “Bottomley’s Weekly,” he declared. “And in that publication I shall write the truth, hurt tlioiigh it fiiay. The truth usually does’hurt someone. It will be a fair field and no favour, and despite the long years I have spent within prison walls I know that my pen lias not lost its touch. “It will be good to get back min harness once more and good to talk to the public once more through my own journal. Perhaps the greatest lesson which I have learnt during my incarceration is this: I was labouring under the delusion that my knowledge was extensive. Strangely enough, tlm world apjiearal to think the same, anti thus 1 was encouraged in my belief. “The years here have shown mo how superficial it all was, and so I am trying to cultivate the blessed quality of simplicity. That is one of the most wonderful words in the English dictionary. There is another wonderful and even shorter, word which I am committing .to mind, Newton, and you perhaps better than anyone else will realise the truth of what 1 say. That word is ‘No.’ “If only J had been able to say that one little word more often in those dear old rooms at King Street, St. James’, the history of Horatio Bottomley might have been written in different vein. But that vanity ol which I have spoken and the weakness of the flesh were against me, and it is only now that I have learned the great lesson of Life. “The thousands of hours of confinement, and ’ the terrible ■ punishment that this must bo to everyone who has to suffer-it, have ben occupied for the best part by visions of the past and — dreams of the future; and I may say that the problem of one’s future is the main thought by day and by night

THE GREAT CHANGES. “I intend to ‘get back’ without the aid of any bankruptcy officials, receivers, or legal celebrities. 1 have fed their greedy maws too much in the days gone by, ray boy. Apart from the production of a paper, 1 intend to engage in other undertakings ol a financial and business nature, but—in no instance will any undertaking or contract be considered, nor will 1 embark upon any scheme unless I am in a position to pay, no matter whether it be a failure or success.

“I shall concentrate on one or perhaps two big things which I have ur mind, and concerning which it would lie premature to mention just at present, but i shall never make the mistake that .1 made before—have too many irons in the fire. “Before ever I can start out on my plans however, there is much to be done.’ First of all it will be essential that I have at least a month’s rest in order to get used to life outside prison walls, and in order to get a grip on life once more. * “So far as I can gather the world seems to have been revolutionised. Take, for example, the tremendous strides which wireless lias made in this country alone. Why broadcasting was not in vogue when 1 changed the name of Horatio Bottomley for a number/ and became a unit with the hundreds of others who are destined to spend tlieii - prison lives in organised routine. “Imagine the marvellous achievement it must appear to us who have no notion of what is going on outside. What a wonderful methods of approaching unseen millions. And imagine what a boon a crystal set would be if it were installed in every cell of the poor devils who are doomed to spend years in gaol. How it would keep their mind from brooding. “It is only right that politics should be barred, for it would be a pretty bad. thing if this great invention should be prostituted to the use of party politicians. Which'reminds me that when I received my sentence, the Lloyd George Liberal Party were well in. power and there were no signs of them fading away, but I have recently heard—through newcomers to this House of Correction —that the Liberal Party look like being wiped out altogether. THOUGHTS ON POLITICS.

“These are all threads which 1 shall have to gather up into my own fingers before I can hope to proceed with my plans for the future. 1 must know what is.going on, and—.l must beware of superficial knowledge. “Our Saturday lectures, given by the chaplain of the prison, keep us a little in touch with the outside world, but obviously these can only contain but the barest details of what is happening. For example, I have gleaned the impression that big trusts in everything are the fashion, and that in the newspaper world the most astounding changes have taken place. Then there was the coal strike, and the general strike, both of which were dealt with in our lectures.

“How I yearned to bo free during that great crisis. How I longed to put pen to paper. So.many times in days gone by had I written and spoken grave warnings on what would inevitably happen, and—the way out. And then there are the millions of unemployed, and again 1 think that England requires her scientists to get together and see whether they cannot discover some new lymph—with which to inoculate the people all round.