LONDON LETTER

Evening Star, Issue 25677, 28 December 1945, Page 6

LONDON LETTER

SALE OF HITLER RELICS WAR ON GANGSTERS (By Melanie S. Primmer.) LONDON, December 16. Truly life is chaotic at the moment — too much money with some, so that they spend foolishly; too little with others, resulting in a crime wave worthy of Chicago gangsters at their best in Prohibition days. “A FOOL AND HIS MONEY.” Jt took the sale this week of the former German Embassy to make one realise how Hitler managed to impose himself even on the stolid English. Clutching their 10s catalogues and uttering shocked imprecations, the foremost furniture dealers of Britain wandered, defeated, from the auction room, after having waited five hours, watching, fascinated, as lot after lot was put up, till the grand total of £20,000 was reached the first day, this for 300 pieces of carpets and furnishings. And practically the whole of that, as well as stuff on the succeeding days, went to private buyers, anxious to have some relic of Hitlerite days when Ribbentrop was the darling of London hostesses. The one bright spot in the whole affair, apart from the auctioneers’ fees, was that the proceeds belong to the British Treasury, so perhaps the taxpayer may ultimately benefit by a halfpenny or so on his income tax.

An antique Aubusson carpet, valued at £2OO, began its dizzy record at £100; the dealer waited hopefully with his cheque ready for twice that sum. At £4BO even the seller was staggered as it went down to a hotel proprietor at Eastbourne. Jt was obvious from the irregular conduct of bidders that they were i amateurs. None of that quiet “catching the eye,” only waving paper,'calls, and energetic arms. Some of them must have been rather surprised at their enthusiasm; at least, one kindly assumes this out of regard for the nation’s sanity. Mr Pomeroy, # tor instance, a theatrical producer, paid £590 for a mahogany table; a single armchair went for £l2O, a settee for £240, a three-piece suite for £SOO. So much for the first day. What would the next bring, with Hitler’s bust and Nazi flags to be offered to the public? The first bid for the Full rev was 2s, rather as a jibe. German sympathisers hastened to his rescue, and he was finally knocked down for £SOO. From there he has found a home with a new fanatical sect with headquarters in Kingdom House. These pro-Germans then proceeded to buy up Nazi flags at equally fantastic prices, so much so that in a few days the public wrote about subversive propaganda, till at last now the Government has stopped this sort of personal relic selling, But this has not cooled any ardour, and the last sale shows that small bath towels fetched £3 a-piecc, plus coupons, and three pairs of damask curtains £360.

Folk who disdained catalogue sales nevertheless have shown themselves equally senseless. For seven years hucksters have not reaped such*a harvest. People must be mad to pay 2s 6d for a paper hat, the sort one got in a Is 6d a dozen crackers; boxes of j non-cracking crackers fetch 16s. and that with only six in the box; secondhand dolls’ prams are up to £lB, air guns £4 15s, and so on. , As a last attempt by. Authority to cope with this stupidity, there is issued an official warning against Christmas stockings. “ Look before you buy,’.’ or you may find that your 2s 4d has procured a sheet of paper representing a diagrammed Ludo board, a leaflet picture of a sand scene entitled ‘ Holiday Fun,’ a blow-football (otherwise a celluloid ball the size of a pea), a paper tube, and a. paper cut-out of a Mauser- pistol. Meanwhile, the black market carries on merrily, and will continue so long as controlled prices do not repay the farmer for his labour and cost in rearing birds. Dealers come early in, the season to buy young stock and fatten them. Then, at the proper moment, they take these to hotels and restaurants, often secretly at night, or tucked away in baskets, and there and then the cash transaction takes place. Firstclass restaurants have the best parts, such as breasts and legs, second-class take the carcass, cheapest ones manage with giblets. So the vendor finally hauls in a good amount. Stockings at a penny a pair and coupons are not uncommon. The coupons are then resold at 5s each, quite easily done, as loose coupons may be sent by post with an order. “ Well, you see,” said a poorisli woman as I watched her buy four'pairs and hand over eight coupons, “ I can’t afford to buy things these days, so what’s thfe use of coupons? I’m glad to part’ with them and get stockings cheap.” OUR CRIME WAVE. It came with a shock; and it marked how alert are our police. For a month or so all over the country, in small towns, large cities, and even quiet, lonely places, one read of masked men holding people up, armed with pistols used much too easily, sometimes with fatal results. This followed on a long series of thefts of lorries, laden perhaps with thousands of cigarettes, or stacks of butter, or clothes; in fact, with anything that is rationed or on points. Often enough the theft was (and is) of the smash-and-grab type. But until quite recently there has not been assault,, tying-up, and even murder. It is this that has now outraged public feeling, for even young girls in post offices or clerks in shops are attacked with threats. In at least two cases the thieves gave themselves away, one by unwittingly starting the policecall as he opened the door with its patent protection, the other by stepping on a wire hidden under the carpet. This rang the telephone bell that automatically called the police if it were not answered within five minutes. So up came the police and caught two men as they were rifling a drawer. But cases like this are the exception, unfortunately. But what did startle us was the fine police raid on Saturday,night in Piccadilly. This patch of London teems with life day and night, especially on Saturdays, when people are at their night clubs, theatres, restaurants, cinemas, or just lounging to enjoy the lights after so many years of darkness. Exactly at 8 pm. London experineced its biggest ' police operation against thieves and deserters. It continued practically all night, with more than 2,000 detectives and police, helped by hundreds of extra police from the three British services. At one time the whole of the West End was sealed off by a cordon of police across the main roads and bridges. Cars, taxis, buses, trams were all stopped, and every passenger had to produce identity cards or other appronriate papers. In one area alone 50 military personnel were detained an hour and a-half. Police ears with wireless sets kept in constant touch with Scotland Yard, and even such feats as searching Mnvfair roofs were quickly chronicled to headquarters. .Jewels are naturally the objective of these richer districts, enormously valuable ones

having changed hands lately, 1 suppose because they can be carried easily and have a quick sale and no questions asked. On Saturday afternoon another police raid tackled football grounds, with equal success. Definitely gaugsterdom is doomed.

Now, who are these dangerous men? By far the larger number are deserters from various armies and services, the figures being something like 9,000 British, 500 American, 100 or so Poles, and 500 of other nationalities. Being deserters, they have no ration cards or coupons, and cannot get food or clothing legally (hence are ready buyers in the black market); nor have they identity cards that might give them a chance of a job., So there they are, cast on a friendless world and forced to help themselves by hook or by crook. Lost, desperate, they become savage and determined to get their own back on societv. ■ ,

The remedy? One useful suggestion is to let deserters (who often offended for sensible reasons, such as family trouble) give themselves up , without fear of severe reprisals. After all. the war is over, and surely desertion should die a natural death. Another help would be to yield a little on controlled prices, as this ’would tend to kill illegal sales. Apparently after the last World War something similar was in our midst; this time we have added complications due just exactly to the good that was done to us by 1 Government controls. Stern punishments will not remedy the evil, yet we cannot go about in fear of life and limb. So what?