LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 20

LONDON LETTER.

KINGS IN EUROPE. MASKS FOR ANNOUNCERS. JEWft INVADE SWITZERLAND. (From Our Own Corrwipondewt.) LONDON*. Two new Kings may reign in Kurope before long. If and when Franco wins control of Spain that country may again become a monarchy. And Hungarv, after remaining for nearly 20 years in th« ' temporary status oi ,i ngeucy, is also likely to revive its throne. Spain's king, if Franco derides to r-et one up, will be Prince Juan. a. young man who, but for the overthrow of the monarchy would ccitainly never have stood any chance of occupy ing t lie J throne. Ho is King Altoii-o's third son. j Alfonso formally aUlicated, and hi.- two | elder sous renounced the succession when they married "beneath them." Prince Juan, who had the good sense to marry his eoiii-in, a Bourbon Princes*, thus ltecame pretender, lie should be accept able to Franco's allies, for he has spent milch of his time in Italy and Germany, and admires their mode of government. The future occupant of Hungary's throne is more problematical. He is likely to be a member of the old nobility, not prominent ill political affairs. Cut il six months ago the young Archduke Otto was in the running. But hi* hopes completely vanished when the Germans marched into Austria. Hungary would never risk offending her fxiwerful neighbour by choosing as King the man whom Hitler has declared n traitor. 8.8.C. Prepares for War. TTow seriously the air raid menace is taken in official British quarters may be judged by the thoroughness of the preparations being made at the headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Work has now .started on making the vital parts of the building pis-proof, if not bomb-proof. This is no sudden panic measure, for experts have been working on the plans for over a. year. Announcers are the key men in the emergency plan, for in the event of war the 8.8.C. would immediately drop all it<t lighter functions and broadcast winnings and Government instructions to the populace. Gas-proof doors nrc therefore being fitted to some of the stndios, so that the announcers will be able to carry on even if the rest of Broadcasting House becomes untenable. To make doubly sure, the announcers have been given special masks, which they can wear even when talking. A pair of microphones are let into the cheeks of the masks.

Switzerland's Way With Refugees. Of the many countries to which German and Austrian .lews have fled. Switzerland is the only one which is taking active steps to tbul with the problem in an organised way. Since the Austrian coup about 2000 Jefs have entered Swiss territory—a big influx for so small a country. To provide shelter for them, disused factories and other large buildings a re being converted into barracks. Refugees are rounded up and sent there until they find legitimate work or get permission to enter ,-oiue other country. I'nlikc Britain. Switzerland is having to deal with the refugee problem "in t lie raw." Hundreds of escaping .Tews lia\e simply walked over the mountain frontier*, with no money or possessions except the clothes on their back-. They are in immediate danuer of starving. Kefuge, - eominir to Britain are better provided for. I'hey iiki y have little 11 n 1111 ■ _\ . but tiiev iii 11 ~ t ha\e friends or iv la t i \ es to \ oin'h fur tlicni before they can gel into t hi' count rv at all. It is ||| act iea llv i n i [ ■ o — i I, I e for a destitute loreiyner to enter Britain, though alien- with a certain amount of money in,iv bribe their wav in or come over in -mall boat-. German Super liners ? Bv the time Britain's tiewe-t and lari:c-t Atlantic liner, the Ouecn Kli/.iheth, leaves the storks Germany may have laid down the keel of an even bigger vessel. There are rumours that i-lie is out. to get a larger share of the transatlantic luxury traffic. Reports speak of two liners of 90.000 tons apiece, compared with the Queen Elizabeth's Ho.OOO tons. Before the war derman liners easily led iiio world for size. And for many years after the war the distinction of being the large-t ship afloat was in hot dispute between two German vessels — although thev no longer flew the German flair. These were the Majestic and the Leviathan, surrendered by defeated Germany to Britain and America respectively. The Majestic now a training ship and the Leviathan is being broken up for scrap. Almighty Police. Not for the first time the German Foreign Oflice is experiencing the drawbacks of working under a dictatorship. The arrest and expulsion of ( aptain Kcndrick. the "British passport ofliecr in Vienna, was most unwelcome to Gorman! diplomats., coming when they are most ardently cultivating British friendship. The explanation, it now appears, is that the arrest was the work of the Nazi secret police. In most other countries a discreet hint from the Foreign Oflice would have sufliecd to stay the hands of ihe police, whatever the charges or suspicions against a man in Captain Kend'rick's position. But in Germany the police take orders from no one. This accounts for the mild way in which ':he British Goverment is reacting to an incident which is admittedly a gross breach of diplomatic courtesy. It is no use protesting further to the German Foreign Office, when everyone knows that the

authorities there had nothing to do with the arrest and could not have prevented it. Scotland Yard's Ideal Woman. I lie London police are short not only of male recruits. Advertisement# are again asking for more policewomen, ller© is Scotland Yard's ideal woman: Age 24-3.">, physically strong and possessed of patience, firmness, kindness, an observant eye, a questioning mind and a sense of humour. The job which keeps London's policewomen busiest is searching for the scores of girls who are reported missing every month. Stories about girls being kidnapped by "white slavers" do not impress women detectives. Their in qtiiries almost always prove these tales quite baseless. Missing girls are generally found working in another town, Jitter a lovers' quarrel or a tiff with their parents. Unhappy Radio Men. I lie job which many a schoolboy dreams of—to be a ship's radio operator is apparently far less happy than it appears to youthful imagination. It is revealed this week that discontented operator* are quitting British passenger ships at the rate of 24 a month. They complain that pay is poor and hours of duty so lonir that, they have no time to enjoy life afloat. Their biggest grievance. however. is against the cramped and airless quarters allotted to them, even in luxurious liners.