Evening star., 1941-01-22
British N. P. Accused
OF Seeking 10 Profit
From Official Post
Boothby Resigns Ministry
Of Foods Post as House
Committee Reports
BY WILLIAM H. sTONEMAN,

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
LONDON, Jan. 22-Air raids and
foreign affairs were temporarily
forgotten today as the British people
INDUCED in long-delayed job Of
washing their domestic political
linen.
The process started with a loud
bang yesterday afternoon when
select committee Of the House OF
Commons produced report repri-
manding Robert Boothby. member
of Parliament and parliamentary
undersecretary to the Food Ministry.
for having tried to capitalize on his
political position. The charge,
against which Mr.. Boothby Is still
strenuously protesting. is that he
hoped to make 24,200 pounds by
publicly advocating the settlement
of certain claims made against
Czech assets held in this country
Mr.. Boothby, 40-year-old native
of Aberdeen, was parliamentary pri-
vate secretary to Winston Churchill
when the latter was Chancellor of
the ExcheQuer from 1926 to 1929; he
has had reputation as a bright.
right-minded man and the report,
accompanied by his resignation
from his ministerial post, left a very
bad taste in everybody's mouth.
Mr.. Boothby's protests to the effect
that he never received any money
out of Czech assets and that the
committee had not treated him fair
ly have not altered the idea that he
is politically cooked.
The Week Also Suspended.
A few hours later the extreme left
wing got it in the neck when de-
tectives occupied the Offices Of the
Communist Daily Worker and
stopped its publication under Reg
ulation I'D Of the defense regula-
tions.
At the same time another order
stopped publication of the Week. a
political newsletter edited by Claude
Cockburn, brilliant and WE'LL
known journalist of the Stalinist
school. The Week was founded in
March, 1888, and. because OF its
wealth. inside information and habit
OF debating pompous politicians,
gained wide circulation in Britain
and the United States. Following
the wars outbreak it steadily de-
Tended RuSsia's position and by late
June its tone had become 50 dis
tasteful to the government that its
circulation outside the United King
dom was prohibited.
Mr. Cockburn indicated today that
ne might appeal to a high court.
The Daily Workers suspension may
be attributed. at least partly. to the
recent peoples convention which
was organized by the extreme left
wing and supported by the Com
munist party. One Of the principal
planks in the platform of that body
was to bring the war to a speedy
close. The authorities did not pro-
hibit that gathering, nor did they
take any immediate action against
the Communist party. which they
held directly responsible for organ
izing 1t. Now, by banning the Daily
Worker from publication, they have
deprived both the party and the
peoples convention, which had been
given permanent form, of their one
real mouthpiece.
Leftists' Hand Forced.
The inevitable result of this action
will be to force the Communist
party's hand. Party organizers may
still take the stump throughout the
country and, unless further action
is taken against the party itself,
they will probably do so in a big
way. If the party itself is prevented
from functioning openly, then. in
evitably, it will go underground.
Conservatives and most members
Of the Labor party will support the
of the Daily Worker,
which. ironically enough. was Or
dered by no other than Herbert
Morrison. old-time Labor party
leader of the London County coun-
Gil, VINO is now home secretary. 1t
Is very probable that a non-Laborite
would not have been able to take
such drastic action without causing
a tremendous uproar.
(Copyright, 1a41, by Chicago Daily Nevs)