Evening star., 1927-05-14
BRITISH AND SOVIET
FACE OPEN BREAK
OVER LONDON RAIDS
Rupture Imminent as Police
Complete Task of Selling
Russian Papers.
SCOTLAND YARD TAKES
7 TONS OF DOCUMENTS
Object Of Search Believed to Have
Been Long Missing Gov
ernment Data.
By the Associated Press.

| By the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 14.--After working
t rough the night with pneumatic
drills and oxyacetylene torches the po-
lice today completed the task of break
ing open the safes in Soviet House,
supposed to contain something sought
by the authorities. g nature of which
has not been disclosed.
Immediately the safe-cutting appa-
ratus was removed, although large
body of police. some of them in uni
form, was kept in the offices, and
sufficient force was retained in nearby
streets to bar entrance to the building
The search of the offices of ARGOS.
Ltd, Soviet commercial agency in
London, and the Russian trade dele
CATION, located in the building, was
begun Thursday. Late last night drills
and torches were brought in. The work
of opening the safes was under the
supervision of the firms which built
t. nm.
Soviet Explains Weapons.
The vaults are modern strong rooms
OF considerable dimensions, with doors
10 feet high, extending virtually over
the whole basement of Soviet Houss.
The newspapers ceased to feature
the discovery of arms in the ARGOS
office, the Soviet explanation that the
guns We're samples of hunting rifles De-
ing generally accepted.
Soviet House was searched under
warrant said to have been issued un-
der the official secrets act, dealing with
the unauthorized possession of state
documents. 1t gives the police wide,
powers where possession of such docu-
ments Is even suspected.
After protest against the raid was
made by the Soviet charge d'affaires
to Foreign Secretary Chamberlain. 1t
was admitted by both British and Rus
sian officials in London that a rupture
of Anglo-Soviet relations was not at
all out of the question. They declared
the two countries were nearer break
tilansat any time since relations were
resumed with the signing OF the trade
agreement in 1891.
1t was generally reported teday
that the raid on Soviet House, In
London, headquarters Of the Russian
trade delegation and Arcos, Ltd,
Soviet commercial organization, was
made to discover whether a certain
document of Importance to the state,
which has been missing for several
months, was to be found there.
Seize Seven Tons Of Papers.
Seven tons of documents, printed
matter and correspondence have al
ready been carted away from the So
Wet House to Scotland Yard, it was
estimated this morning by Soviet OFF,
cials, who charged that the police
were still acting in IAN absolutely ar.
bitrary manner
The Soviet representatives declared
the raid was practically in the nature
of an attack, because the search was
started without Previous presentation
Of the warrant authorizing it. Repre-
sentatives of ARGOS, Ltd, said they
were deprived of the possibility Of be-
ing present during the greater part
Of the Investigations.
No list of the documents carried
away by the police was shown to the
Soviet officias;. consequently neither
the ARGOS nor the trade delegation cffi-
cials know what the detectives took.
The Russian officials remained pas
sive while the detectives and inter-
prefers examined the contents of the
safes and the strong rooms, which
were forcibly opened during the night.
ARGOS officials, however, protested
against the melodramatic and SenSa.
tionaI methods" employed by the Scot.
land Yard men.
All Precautions Taken.
The police took elaborate precau.
tions against possible interference
while the safes were being searched.
A large force of armed detectives was
on duty in Soviet House this morning.
The Tass Agency. Soviet news bu-
reau, states that the raid occurred
precisely at the moment when signs
were becoming evident of a revival of
Anglo-Soviet trade and when credit
and banking facilities were beginning
to be extended to the Soviet union In
Great Britain.
There is strong suspicion" 1t adds.
that the raid was the result of pres
sure exerted by those elements of
British public opinion which have AL
ways been hostile to an .Anglo-Soviet
rapprochement and whose aim was 20
bring about rupture in the relations
between Great Britain and the Soviet
union"