LONDON TOPICS

Evening Star, Issue 20943, 6 November 1931, Page 14

LONDON TOPICS

NO SIGN OF NERVES [Pkoji Oue Correspoxrext.] September 24. Visitors to London comment on the absence of any outward sign of the financial and political crises which occupy so : many columns of the daily papers. On the surface, of course, that , is perfectly true. It is said there is a slight falling off in the crowds at the ✓ theatres and jhe restaurants, though the “slump” does not seem to have reached the cinemas. But at night the streets are still thronged by goodnatured sightseers sauntering slowly along and enjoying the free entertainment of the floodlights. It is in what is known as the “ chop houses ” of the city, and other places where business men congregate, that you realise that the national temperature is slightly below normal. Golf and the weather are no longer the dominant topics. The talk all of business, of the movement of prices on the Stock . Exchange, an’ of the effect the General Election is likely to produce on the Bourses of Europe. But there are no signs of “ nerves.” _ Even the naval trouble has been received with quite extraordinary calm. SPLENDID FAILURES. In times of financial stress the hankers know better 'than, anyone else the condition of the patient’s pulse. At a club Igst night X met the manager of one of the great London banks, and he was telling me very ruefully pf the miserable time he is having. Day after day men of absolute probity, with long records of straightforward successful dealings behind them, come to him .with requests for overdrafts. A short time ago, they wore rich men. Generally they have no adequate securities to offer, for the simple reason that all their capital is locked up in their own individual business. In some cases advances are granted even withoilt any security whatever. In other instances applicants are turned away emptyhanded. “ It is cruel work,” this bank manager commented, >“ and gives mo many a sleepless night. Very often they are old business friends of mine. I know, as they pass out of the door, that they have no choice open to them ’ except to go into liquidation.” SIGNS OF REVIVAL. One industrial leader, who is largely interested in the metal trades, told mo yesterday that at one of tho establishments for which he is responsible fifty additional men were engaged that morning. The rise in prices, which may go somewhat further, has given an immediate stimulus to confidence, as the incident I have mentioned indicates. On the other hand, till British sterling, reaches a fairly steady level, it will be difficult to make forward contracts. But it is believed that present nervousness, and the appreciation of silver is an important factor m the Ear Eastern juarkets. At my bank this morning I was told that there had not been a flicker of anxiety on the part of customers. THE MANCHURIAN CONFLICT. In view of our more closely pressing anxieties we are hardly giving sufficient attention to the events which are taking place in Manchuria. , Many Englishmen, particularly those resident in China, will feel their sympathies siding with Japan. The murder of Captain Nakamura and the disappearance of Mr Thorburu, with tho subsequent shilly-shallying of tho Chinese authorities over the fixing of responsibilities, have caused alarm and ill-feel-ing among European residents. To them, therefore, the occupation Mukden and the South Manchurian railway is looked upon as a timely lesson 'to the Manchurian Dictator. Japan, it is thought, is taking the highhanded action that is essential if foreign life is to he safeguarded in China, and it is regretted that we do not adopt a more determined front in demanding the necessary explanations of the Thorburn mystery. SINISTER COINCIDENCE. On tho other hand, those who have reason to know something of, Japan’s imperialistic aims regard the Manclui- . rian developments with natural concern. Though full account bo taken of the, provocation, Japan’s blow has been delivered at too opportune a moment not to arouse suspicions. Europe, —and America also, for that matter—is far too engrossed in the financial crisis to be able to devote attention to- the Far Eastern situation. That alono might be, sufficient to afford Japan temptation to embark on a tour de force But in addition it must be remembered that tho calamity which has inundated the whole of Central China has made that country more incapable than ever of marshalling /its factional troops into a / common National army. Japan s action coincides too closely with these two circumstances to be devoid of the sinister. GANDHI’S BAZAAR METHODS. Now that Mr Gandhi has broken his silence, my suggestion that he has come here not so much as the mouthpiece of Congress as its intermediary is substantially* confirmed. Mr Gandhi is well versed in tho customs and prac- . tices of Oriental bazaars. In making a bargain a merchant invariably opens with a preposterous price. How rapidly that price falls as the bidder starts in from the other end of the scale is known to everyone who has ever been east of Suo'z. Mr Gandhi will undoubtedly be open to offers, but ,thc really interesting development will bo to see whether the point where his scale and ours meet will receive the approval of the Congress, _ for which he claims to speak. There is a shrewd suspicion among people'who kn6w India well, that Mr Gandhi has come ever here in the hope of making a lucky bargain, and gaining enough to revive his waning influence in India. If he fails, 01 accepts proposals not approved by the Congress Party, his prestige in India will slump to an even lower level than it would have done had he refused to set out on his mission. CHIEF OF IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF. Speculation is being revived at the present moment as to the probable successoi ot Field Marshal Sir George Milne in the post of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. This speculation probably arises from tho fact that Sir George Milne is duo to vacate the appointment in February, and the name of the next C.I.G.S. is always announced about six _ months in advance. In military circles the possibility of a further extension of Sir George Milne’s appointment is not ruled out. but this is probably based on the circumstances that, while the appointment is normally held for four years, the Field Marshal was asked to continue to serve in that appointment for an additional two years. As ■ he will he only 04 years of age in November, it is cpiite possible that he may be asked to tide the army over ithe economy period. Failing that, the

names of General Sir Charles Harrington, and Sir A. Montgomery-Massing-bercl .are mentioned as in the running for the appointment. WAR MEMORY RECALLED. With the week-end the Army exercises in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Plain have been brought to a conclusion, The Third Division—tho Iron Third, as many ex-service men will remember it from the war days—has bulked largely in these exercises, and has been commanded by Major-general Sir H. E. S. Knox, a commander whom I first met when lie was a General Staff officer in an Army corps in France. My most vivid impression of him dates from the second battle of Ypres, when the Corps H.Q. wore located ,at Poperinghe. Late in the evening, after gas had been used for the first time in modern warfare, Major Knox, as he was then, received news which loft it in no doubt that the Germans were breaking through, and he informed General Plumer, who commanded the corps. General Phnner was, ’apparently, already in bed, or about to retire, but on receipt of the news he rushed down at once in his pyjamas. Soon lie was bending over a map with Major Knox and other Staff Officers, making the plans which helped to avoid disaster. DEMONSTRATING COMMON \ SENSE. Wo have not yet lost the sense of humour in the army. To demonstrate to villagers outside .Rangoon that rebellion against British authority was a foolish policy an exhibition of, Lewis gun fire was given for their edification. Two platoons of soldiers .visited a village that had shown signs of unrest and fired with their Lewis guns on a row of kerosene tins at 300yds range and then on a log 9in thick. The log shooting impressed the villagers immensely, for it showed them q’uito plainly that logs were no protection against rifle and Lewis gun fire. Then, to give the villagers a chance, there was a bugle-blowing competition arranged for them. The Burmese are a playful people and like fun, but none of them could succeed in even raising a note. After a good laugh %11 round the villagers came to see that rebellion was no good, EX-KHEDIVE IN LONDON. Not since 1908 has Abbas Hilmi Pasha been in England, though before then he was a fairly frequent visitor. He received an address at tho Guildhall in 1900, and stayed as a guest of Queen Victoria. But lie never reallyliked, the English; at heart ho loved Turkey, and when in 1914 war broke out Abbas Hilmi sided*with tlio Sultan instead of King George, dnd was promptly deposed. Now, apparently, he is friends again with England ami Egypt, and has recently taken £30,000 a year from Egypt to shako the dust of Tim key off hi > feet and a lso renounce all claims to tho Egyptian throne. Abbas is now fifty-seven, of fair complexion, active, a typical type of country' gentleman, fond of horses and dogs and their breeding, a lover of music and the arts, and'still fond of goldfish, railway and fire engines. As ox-mon-archs go, he is very well off, at the head of a “ profession ” financially which has increased in numbers considerably since the war. Ho is shrewd enough to keep it, and I would not be surprised if ho made England a regular rendezvous in the future, if only to accommodate his agricultural and sporting tendencies. ARNOLD BAX. Mr Arnold Bax’s many admirers will be delighted when they hear he is to be awarded the gold medal this year of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Most of these admirers know his music —and particularly his Irish melodies—better than they know Mr Bax, .who is a bit of-a hermit, arid not one to go willingly to parties. His great hobby is cricket, and his knowledge of cricketers and their averages is more encyclopaedic than that of many fourth form small hoys. He is much happier talking cricket than music, which sometimes takes elderly and admiring women by surprise when they meet him for tho first time. NEW PARISIAN CRIMINAL. While New York has its gangsters and London its smash-and-grab raiders, Paris, where little now is heard of the one-time sinister apache, has a now class of criminal all its own. This is tho high way women, and it may be surmised that only>in such an impressionable city as Paris could this alluring lady make her business pay. Her methods are simple and full of charm. Dressed in excellent taste and seated in a smart car, she suddenly draws up beside her victim and asks him if ho would be so kind as to oblige her with a light. It is one of the foibles of the boulevardier that ho is always ready to believe that the feminine heart is captured at the sight of him. Tho victim is delighted. There is a brief , conversation while the cigarette is lighted, and the cavalier gladly enters the car—and is “taken for a ride.” At the end of_ the ride there is much bowing, hand-kissing, and exchanging of visiting cards. The boulevardier is enraptured and goes his way rejoicing—until he finds that his wallet is missing.