Spotlight on Spivs

Chronicle (Levin), 20 January 1948, Page 2

Spotlight on Spivs

Received Mondav, 7.0 p.m. LONDON, Jan. 18. By appointing a committee to invi'stigate the extent of the biack raarket in petrol, the Governuxent has again thrown a spotlight in the direction' oi Britain's slickest salesmen — the spivs and drones. Whether Chief DetectiveInspector Chapinan, who formerjy worked with Soctland Yard 's murder-hunl-ing scjuad, cau cffeetively eheck the business of ' ' the fly boys ' ' rexnains to be seen. Despite sonie reports, it is difiicult to believe that there is anv lessening of Ihe black market iix this coxxntry at the momout. It is just- under the surface of evcrydav life. An exanxple was gi'ven last week. A friend who was induigiug iix one of the national pastinxes — lxaving a quiet oue at the local, notieed a rather flashily-dressed maix drop a 10s note. Autoxnatieally lxe picked it up and gave it to the nxan. This. resulted in a conversatiou iai whicJx the stfangei' asked xxiy friend whetlx'er he would like any ciotlxing coupons. He said he could provide tlrexn oxxly in quaxxtities, but at a rcasonable price — 10,000 at Is each. The ramiJicaiions of the biack, market crop up in a nuinber of ways. " Recently a ruxnour went round tlxat eurrexicy notes twere to be changed to leave "th" boys" with large wads of notes oix their haxids, but tlxey were "fly to this iark." Not long afterwards it was re ported that there lxad been returxxed tu 'he Bauk of Euglaud £50,000,001) in xxotes Avhicli "the boys" had not placed in the banks in case awkward questions miglit be rxsked. Last week auotlxer 25,000,000 notes, or about 37 tons, re turued to the Bank of Kugland lo be toru up. We liear that Britain's note eirculation has dropped to its lowest for txvo and a half years. And "the boys", it seexns, are in oi) another lark. Bilver is said to be disappexlxaxxg from eirculation. At One time the Bank of England lxeld reserves of silver of uearly £2,000,000. Now, it is stated, this reserve is down to £300. 000. Apparenlly silver, or to be uiox'e accurate, enpro-nickel, is beixxg lxoardeu in preferenec to notes. Petrol ration ing does not really worry the ' ' fly boys". li" tlxey ward to go to the races or for a qniet drive to do a bit of business they .ijxg up a hire car compau> and gct rid oi a few more notes.