Evening star., 1932-11-02
London in Turmoil.


Minister Macdonald will make the tradi-
tional government speech at the annual
lord mayors dinner, wherein it is Gus
tomary to discuss in terms both of
review and forecast the state OF the
kingdom and the plans of his ajesty S
ministers for dealing with it. Seldom
in times of peace has the prime min
lister Of the day risen in the city" amid
such anxious moments as prevail in
London this week. The ordinarily placid
metropolis has been plunged into tur-
moil by the arrival from the provinces
OF couple of thousand hunger march
ers.' In numbers, amid the great city's
teeming millions, they do not constitute
much of menace. But their presence
is being exploited by Londons vastly
larger army of Communists, constantly
on the lookout for pretexts to fan the
populace into militant discomfort and
turmoil
Last night the West End was turned
into something resembling a battle
field. Milling mobs aegregating at one
time as many as ten thousand surged
through the Strand. Thames Embank-
ment, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall,
fighting foot and mounted police every
inch Of the way in an attempt to storm
the gates Of the Houses of Parliament
in Westminster Heads were cracked,
including the craniums of several
boobies" Store windows were smashed.
Taxicabs were held up and overturned
Shouting agitators mounted the base
Of the Nelson Monument and did their
violent best to incite the demonstrators
to deeds OF excess. 1t was a wild night
in dear old London, but Scotland Yard
seems at the end of it to have had the
situation we'll in hand
Apparently the authorities did wisely
in arresting during the day a Com
munist cheftain named Harrington at
the headquarters of the National Un-
employed Workers Movement and seiz-
ing mass of material designed to or
eanize police, soldiers and sailors to
mutiny. AS result of Harrington S
detention, last nights rioters were
leaderless and did not contrive to op-
crate in mass formations, which might
easily have been too much for the police
to master. The government obviously
recognizes the necessity of remaining
on the alert. The night before an at
tack in organized form was launched
at Buckingham Palace and was foiled
with the utmost dificulty. Tuesday
nights demonstrations in the heart of
the West End will hardly be the last of
the sort.
1t is too early to discern the end of
the London uprising If it remains
confined to the Communist element, 1t
doubtless can be suppressed and held
within bounds. AS political force,
British reds are not yet formidable The
Labor party, though in sullen mood
since its expulsion from Office and
Ramsay Macdonald went over to the
enemy" by becoming the head Of q
government conservative in all but
name, has given no indication of sub
versiVeness 1t is still "his majesty's
loyal opposition" But Britain, having
found that even the dole Is incapable Of
keeping her jobless and hungry toilers
in leash, may yet have to resort to anti
dotes which will violate some staid old
British traditions. The weeks events
in London are in themselves not tragic
They do constitute stop, look and
listen" signpost which the sagscious
counselors of the crown are not at all
likely to ignore.
-Four or five years ago, when the gen.
eral strike for time threatened to do
something farther reaching than merely
dislocate British life temporarily, the
country gave magnificent demonstra-
ton of poise, self-control and resource
fulness. The hopes of the fcrces Of un-
rest, the apostles of a new deal" were
thwarted on that occasion by the
aroused common sense of the British
people That is always the reservoir Of
resistance upon which Britannia can
depend in times OF upheaval like those
7 Aa,, ts nnu, avnaria~