HUGE FIASCO.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 57, 8 March 1930, Page 9

HUGE FIASCO.

"RED" THURSDAY. Police Rapidly Break Up Riots by Communists. NOTHING- ACHIEVED. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LONDON, March 7. "Ked Thursday," which was organised throughout the world by Communists as an international unemployed day, appears to have achieved nothing beyond several broken heads here and there, in the course of the universal breaking up by the police of various demonstrations. The whole thing was a fiasco. London's storm centre was - Tower Hill, to which was made a procession with banners, and where about 500, persons gathered. A section attempted to rush in the direction of the Mansion House. They came up against a body of mounted police. There was a general melee, in which five people were injured slightly. The crowd finally reassembled _at Tower Hill, where Tom Mann, vicepresident of the Workers' Union, flamboyantly spoke of the "cowards and incompetents" in the Labour Government. At Glasgow 200 persons made a procession to the City Chambers. Two of them were arrested when attempting to make speeches and two others, who attempted to rescue them, were also taken into custody, after which, the remainder broke up into groups and discussed their grievances. In Manchester the police broke up the demonstration, and five persons were arrested. These were later fined 40/ each. Episodes on Continent. Reports from all the European centres reveal similar episodes. At Paris the police were so strongly reinforced that demonstrations were impossible. To give an idea of their watchfulness, three persons who were found sticking bills were arrested. At Berlin the police, with rubber truncheons, rapidly dispersed a crowd of 2000 strong which had assembled in the centre of the city. They began to stone the police, who used revolvers, and .killed two of them. At Warsaw a handful of Communists tried in vain to stir up a crowd of unemployed, but they were arrested before they were successful. In Vienna seven persons were arrested when they attempted to break through the police cordon. A procession of 1500 demonstrators was jeered. Fighting in America. Reports from Newhaven, Connecticut, indicate that the rioting there was attended by considerable fighting. Several persons were injured by the police when they were dispelling the rioters. Some fear was felt that the demonstrators might attack the City Hall, which was locked against invasion. At Chicago the observation of "international unemployment day" was held without disorder of any kind. There was first a parade of 4000 persons,' who quietly moved through the streets without any attempt to proceed to the City Hall. New York, with 50,000 celebrants, and Detroit/ with 75,000, had the most important demonstrations, which on the whole were hot considered serious.