WRECKING A HOUSE

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1930, Page 5

WRECKING A HOUSE

COMMUNISTS' ACTIVITIES. ELEVEN MEN IN CUSTODY. •Sydney, July 31. Times, of distress offer all sorts of oppoiUnities to Communists, and they have been .particularly active in Sydney during the last month or.so. They have fostered strikes, particularly the ilifated strike last week of men who were ■ engaged on relief work; they have in- > timidated workmen; they have led the unemployed into all 6ort» of scrapes | which have done -the idle v.o good. Suspicion fell on Communists when this week a party of men descended upon a vacant house in one of the suburbs close to the city and wrecked it. They broke down doors, shattered windows, tore down lights and fittings and smashed a gas stove. The raid was in the nature of a reprisal organised by a communistic organisation against landlords in general, and particularly against a landlord who had evicted an unemployed musician who was £lB behind with his rent. On Monday morning the Communists met, and a call was made for twenty ‘'comrades'’ to raid the house. There was a big response ■■ to the call for liousewreekens, and nearly forty men went out on their audacious mission. The raiders wrought great havoc in a remarkably brief time, and then rushed and caught a tram back to the city. Neighbours did not realise the seriousness of what was happening until it was all over. It was not until after the raiding party was well on its way back to the city that the police were informed of what had happened. The police were greatly hampered in their inquiries, but they soon had reason to suspect the Communists. For that reason they decided to raid the 'Communist Hall in the city, just as tea was being served. They quietly mounted the narrow stairway leading to the hall, and made a sudden entrance. As soon as the police entered a powerfully-built man sprang ovver a dining table and rushed them. Sergeant Coombes was felled and then several .constables were flung to the floor. A few women who were in the hall screamed and one of them fainted. The ethers urged their comrades to stand their ground. Within a few secinds of their arrival the police found themselves surrounded by about GO excited men and women. Some were lighting, some were preparing to fight, and others were hurling abuse at the police. , Finally the police were given permission to use their batons. The batons had a sobering effect on the crowd. They fell back a step and were out to continue the fight when one of the women called out, “Take it easy boys. Go quietly.” A sergeant then shouted that the police had come to the hall to make certain arrests, and that they would do their duty no matter what opposition confronted them. The police then selected, one by one, the men they were after, and seized them. They struggled violently, and the general outcry commenced afresh. They were handcuffed, and, still resisting, were dragged down the stairway to the waiting patrols. Those who were left in the hall crowded on the heels of the police, and they sang lustily their favourite song, “The Red Flag.” In all eleven men were taken into custody, and they have since been remanded on charges of wilful damage.