Pole Deserter Borrowed £20, Made £l0,000

Northern Advocate, 7 March 1947, Page 5

Pole Deserter Borrowed £2O, Made £lo,ooo

THIS TELLS HOW

I I the revelation that there are between j 70,000 and 80,000 Poles who refused to I enter the Polish Resettlement Corps, and are still maintained in legal form ; as Polish armed forces. Both the legal position of these forces, which are hostile to the Government in Poland, and the liability of these Poles in income tax are to be raised in the House of Commons next week. It is felt that the major “racket" of i these forces is being paid for by the British taxpayer. The Poles in them get higher pay than in the Resettlement Corps, do no work, pay no income tax. and get full army rations. There have been several public outbursts about Poles from time to time and the latest revelations are unlikely to make Poles any more popular in Britain.

(Special, 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, March 6. A REMARK by the Horne Secretary (Mr Chuter Ede) in the House of Commons that one Pole has made £IO,OOO in three months has aroused some curiosity how this was done. According to the Daily Herald the Pole was a deserter speaking several languages, who went “underground” in London and borrowed £2O.

With that sum he bought elastic braces and sold them at a profit which allowed him to pay back the loan and keep £SO. With this he bought more braces and other easy-to-sell goods and sold them, chiefly to Americans. He extended his dealings to currency transactions and then bought a share in a small West End club. By black-marketeering* lending money on big-profit and quick-return terms to fellow Poles, he was able to sell his share in the club after one month for £3OOO. With that he bought another club and, making a quick resale, gained £IO,OOO. fie also earned himself a prison sentence, and is now in Paris with his English wife, and has an interest in a gown business. Labour back-benchers are reported to have been a good deal disturbed bj