I MEET SCOTLAND YARD
79
sands of these people would ever be reabsorbed into industry. In Plymouth,
six young men, all under twenty-five, had been arrested for breaking up
a street meeting. They were Mosleyites and they had worn brass knuckles
and their hands had been taped.
For two days I kept reading the papers and waiting for evening so
that there would be more papers to read. I wanted to write but I was
afraid the Scotland Yard man might return and seize what I had written.
The thick yellow fog blotted out the light from my porthole. The news–
papers said it was the worst fog London had known in ten years, all
traffic was at a standstill, there were many accidents. Every four hours
the watch at my door was changed.
Finally my friend came; he apologized that he had not come sooner.
He said it was because of the fog. He had gotten in touch with the
Man–
chester Guardian,
with a Labor Member of Parliament, with a leading
and influential attorney who had been prominent in the Reichstag trial.
They had gone to the Home Office in my behalf where they had been told
that there was no political discrimination; I was being kept out because
of lack of funds. My friend had brought his British passport and his bank–
book with him. He wanted to show the Immigration officials that he
could be responsible for me. "But how does it happen," he asked, "that
you came without money?"
"But I have money," I said. And I drew sixty-three pounds from
my wallet. "Over three hundred dollars, certainly enough for three
months. And I can get more."
"Barbusse arrived by boat, yesterday, from the Soviet Writers Con–
gress," he said.. "He wanted to stop in London for a few days but they
made him go right on to Paris. Others have been locked up. It's because
of the royal wedding. But we shall get you off. You will stop in London.
I'll
get all the newspapers down on this," he said.
"If
I can't land, please try to get me permission to see the Soviet
Consulate. I 'd like to get a visa for Russia." ·
My friend promised, but he insisted there was no reason to keep me,
and he would get me ashore; I wouldn't go on to Russia, I'd stop in
England first. When he left he told me to be careful in any letters I
might write. Their mail was opened frequently and their telephones were
consistently interfered with. The other day, when he tried to communi–
cate with the lawyers and newspapers in my behalf there had been inter–
ference on his phone for over three hours. It was a common occurrence,
he said. At least, I thought as my friend left, England isn't as clumsy as
Germany in these matters. Telephones and mails tampered with, but
the official reason is "lack of funds"; Brother Jonathan can still stand
before the world, holding the Magna Charta in his right hand.
