BEHIND THE SCENES

Levin Daily Chronicle, 29 August 1918, Page 1

BEHIND THE SCENES

IN THE BILLING CASE. PLAIN SPEAKING TO DEOrENEB,A'l'EiS. HORATIO BOTTOMLEY'S "BLACK BOOK." Last week, in dealing with "Vice in High Places," I wrote under circumstances of considerable difficulty. The Billing case was still on, and it was essential that 110 word sliuold be said which could by any possibility prejudice the proceedings. Now, thank | Heaven, the unsavoury business is over; and in returning to the sordid Thing behind it all, my one aim is to "put the lid," onco and for all, upon the sexual cesspool whose foul odours arc poisoning the atmosphere of our sotial life, and threatening to undermine the virility and cleanliness of our race—as, indeed, they were intended to "do by the agents of German bestiality and depravity, who during the last ten years have been busy, like the Mormons, proselytising their filthy gospel of moral perversion" and degeneracy. Now let us consider the significance which lurked behind it "all. The general I'ress may denounce or deplore this or that aspect of the case; witnesses may be condemned, and conduct may be censured —but the big and outstanding fact remains that the prisoner (for that was his position) was acquitted triumphantly. Bo not let us either exaggerate or underestimate that vcrdict, or the scene which accompanied it. But rather let us look behind to the influences which operated to bring it about. Why was the Old BaiTey Court turned into a bear-garden; why did the public alternately hiss and applaud; and why, when Mr Billing left the Court a free man was there a spectacle of wild enthusiasm and cheers from a thousand throats? It will not do to ascribe conventional reasons and to throw up our hands in horriiied deprecation that such things should be We must look closer into the facts, and when we do so we find deep public suspicion, profound public unrest, based on a firmly-seated, belief that at last one aspect had been discovered, and that the man who sought to expose it was ; battling against forces designed to j crush him. Now it is not necessary to j believe all the fantastic volume of . mystery and wild improbability which ; was bulit up in the course of the trial. Much of it was camouflage—and much . of it was hysteria; but much was only too true. In connection with my journalistic work I am made the repository of secrets which hold often the liberty and sometimes the lives of men in jeapordy. I learn much that touches public people at many points. And I say this, deliberately: that since we have, been at war with the Hun, the evidence of some grave and hidden — j some deep and sinister —influence at work, which has been against this country and in favor of the enemy, has 1 accumulated with appalling strength. j

THE GERMAN "BLACK BOOK." Nearly four yuars' growing sus•ion—that is the meaning of the public interest and excitement which made jiandenionium in Justice Darling's Court, and unnerved the temper and imperilled the dignity of the Judical Bench. That is also the' reason why thousands in Great Britain to-day believe every word that was uttered and regard Mr Pcmberton Billing, M.P., as i national hero. What did he allege? That the Germans possess a "Black Book" which was called the "Book of (he 47,000" —that in that book were to be found th e names of the men and ,v 0111 en in Society, in our governing ••lasses ,in finance, in art, in every walk if life, who were addicted to low and debasing vices, to practices which -hanie the human body, make a mockery of sex distinction, break the •lerve. undermine the physique, deleave the mind, and blacken the soul. Twelve jurymen—ordinary plain, honest men of London, who heard all the evidence and sat ealin and contained, in example and reproof alike to the levity and license of tho crowd—believed the prisoner's witnesses' story. They believed that ever since the beginning of the war the enemy had taken advantage of this knowledge of the moral perversion and the sexual degoneracv of men and women whose names are in that Black Book, to blackmail the offenders—to forca the will of the foe, or, alternatively, that those recorded degenerates were afraid to act with honest energy and patriotic strength in i (lie task of defeating Germany. That such a book exists there is no doubt. Counsel sneer and journalists may iibo —l,ut before long its contents may be known. It will then, however, be seen that certain names which were branded in Court arc there for a very different reason from that suggested. Only one section of that book deals with sexual perverts —and that is where the witnesses were wrong. There are sections for those in Germany pay — for political sympathisers, for British spies and "naturalised" friends, and all kinds of other people—but, above all. there is a section for politicians and journalists who are the enemies of Germany, and I should not be surprised to find my own name included in that list! There arc also the names oi Judges who have sentenced spies and traitors. So now you see hovr it is possible that anybody may bo. there; and iii common fairness these facts should bo borne in mind in regard to any of the names of public men and others which were mentioned i« the ease. Do not. however, let lis waste further words about the book. The Secret Service of almost every country possess a similar volume. HOW GERMANY WAS AIDED AND ABETTED. . Just think of some of the things for which there seems to be only one ex-planation—-the Hidden Hand. At the very first flush and onset of war there was that grossly criminal order to the "Fleet not to interfere with German reservists, who returned in their thousands from America to swell the army of butchers against whom our sons were fighting. Then there was the weak blockade. That appeared a deliberate act in favor of Germany, just.as the persistency of the Foreign Oflice in making the King responsible for putting into force au instrument his Parliament had rejected —I moan the Declaration of London—looked like a wanton and wicked attempt to load the dice of war against us. Again, there were those months and months during which, supported notably by Lord Hal-

Dane, the Government refused to make cotton contraband—octton, the basis of ajl high explosives. Recall, too, the crucl indifference of tlic authorities to the danger from tli e enemy in our midst, the long delay'in interning the Hun. Even to-day' thousands are at large among us, and a wealthy German baron, naturalised since the war—"for financial reasons"—is allowed to store hundreds of tons of coal and maintain hothouses for orchids! That scandalous story is just one of the tilings that make for social revolt. This man Schroeder should bo interned; he should never have been allowed the protection and privileges of British nationality—assumed, let me repeat, only after war was declared. Neither bluster nor explanation availed the Home Secretary of th 0 tiyie; the nation was angry and suspicious, and nearly four years of war have increased the anger and deepened the suspicion. To-day the Hun is squealing in his towns and cities because at last we arc bombing him in his home. But how long did the nation demand, and demand in vain, that there should be reprisals? Think, too, of those enemy banks, and of the enemy businesses in London and the country. Only by threats were the Government forced to stop the blackguardly game of bolstering up Hun enterprises, or seeking to preserve goodwill so that after the war h c could return here and renew his trading. AVho can wonder that he "Daily Mail," controlled by one who has been in close touch with the Foreign Office in an official capacity, has recently called upon Mr Lloyd George to close up that Office for the duration of the war? WHAT THE PLAIN MAN BELIEVES

How can it bo wondered at that ordinary citizens—what the superior people call the "common folk"—believe that German ' influence has been at work? One mistake—two mistakes — of policy; one blunder—ten blunders — favouring Germany, might be put down to ignorance. No Government is foolproof; but deliberate acts, defended often with venom, justified with heat, the critics either derided or denounced —which have all helped the enemy and crippled us in the war—need sonic other explanation than stupidity, and God knows wc have seen enough of that since August, 1914! The crowds that seethed about the Old Bailey the Other day believed that one secret of much of this cruel incompetence and wicked inaction which until recently clogged the wheels of war is to be found in that Black Book, and the jury —despite every rule of law*—accepted fully the story told them. Their verdict however, did denounce a foul and decadent play—which gives dramatic expression to some of the vices recorded in the "Black Book"; vices which, to quote the language of Father Bernard Vaughan, mean "constructive treason against the majesty and sanctity of God"—and which the Judge declared is so offensive to public morals as to be unfit for performance. Yet

but for the libel and the trial that filthy production of a perverted mind v>-ould have been taken to neutral countries by a naturalised alien, on the pretenco that it was typical of English drama and English thought. It was to be propaganda "work! It is not possible to imagine any more outrageous scheme, and if this Dutchman, who enjoys the security of our laws and the amenities of our social life, had had his way, that "melodrama of disease," that "impure and degenerate thing," aa honest English dramatic critics described it, would have gone abroad as our gift from the English theatre to the neutral! I think it only right to say that such an outrage was to have been committed without the authority of the Ministry of Information, under which department Mr J. T. Grein swore an oath he was acting, and it is but fair to Lord Beaverbrook. and those associated with the Ministry of Information —what a title! —that this fact should be known. Really, we are an amazing people, and I wonder sometimes whether we are right in our minds. In the very early days of the war an ox-Ger-man was allowed to masquerade in khaki with complete official sanction, in order to carry out in the British Press a recruiting campaign. It did not need a libel action to stop that offence. Press exposure finished it in a day. And yet now, after nearly four years of Avar, it is a Dutchman, acting on some sort of authority for which the Minister of Information was not responsible, who is found interfering in propaganda work, applauding a foul play in open court, and making arrangements to carry the filthy thing across the North Sea in the name of England. Y e Godsl when will this tragic fooling INTERN THE VICIOUS. So I say that, if the Billing trial did nothing else, it has put an end to a scheme which, if a German and not a Dutchman had been behind it, could have been better understood. But it has, I hope, done more. I trust His Majesty's Government realise the deep underlying significance of an outraged public opinion. No greater calamity could befall this beloved country of ours than that any real expression of social unrest should be made manifest. There hav e been troublesome movements in different parts of the country, and incidents have occurred which only the consorship has hidden from general knowledge. But these have been due to grievances of the workers and to feelings of discontent aroused by .wage difficulties. Reasonable compromises and adjustments and appeals to patriotism have readily availed. But it is a different thing where the governing influence is a rankling feeling that persons in high places have jeopardised victory by selfish greed or enervating lust. * That flouting of the dignity of Justice, and that deriding of the majesty of the law the other day is not a healthy—it is a bad and sinister sign. Read your history in the French Revolution and you will see the first portents of the storm which swept aside all authority and order were to be found in the courts where the populace laughed at the Judges and bandied words with the Bench. Now, we want nothing of that sort here. A cool national temper, a stout national heart, confidence, and unity—those arc what we must have so long as we are fighting this perilous fight for Liberty and Truth. But the Prime Minister must understand the position. It is useless to attempt to put indignities on a man whom a British jury have acquitted, or to deny him his rights as an M.P. — and I am sure Mr Lloyd George will be no 'party to such criminal stupidity. There is something more behind this man than the allegation against an American dancer and a Dutch journalist. And I solemnly warn the Governjnent of the danger of increasing public distrust or feeding the flame of unrest. The war is in a most critical phase. Behind this Billing case arc the long and weary months of war, with their ever-growing catalogue of Ministerial mistakes and departmental acts, colored, it has seemed, with pro-German intrigue. I beg Lloyd-Gcorgc to make an example, where the evidence is sufficient, of some of the men —yes, and | women —whoso names are in that Blaak !Book. We are at war. Wo intern on suspicion of enemy associations. Then let us intern on proof of enemy vices. | In the words of the late W. S. Gilbert, ji they "never would be missed." MY BLACK BOOK. I Without pandering to the morbia and I the prurient-minded, but realising the grim and terrible reality of the evil

which wc are up against, I intend to give ■ some of its devotees a very plain i hint that they are under observation. It is, of course, difficult to get direct i evidence, but it is an adage that "there i is no smoke without fire"; and when you have such dense and voluminous i fumes of rumour regarding the wives and even the daughters of certain public men, and in association with i them the lady members of certain noble families and also eminent actresses, you | cannot be surprised that the cult of \ Lesbianism is the theme of convcrsa- < tion in many West End--circles. Here j let me echo the hope of Mr Justice | Darlinf that the newly-enfranchised | women o will look carefully into those , matters. Now is their opportunity. Let them take Ilcr Majesty the Queen and the wife of the present Prime Minister , ■ as examples of that domestic purity— ( ' in tin 1 time sense of the word which j„ when'all is said, is the best security ' for the good name of our race. Again, when certain prominent persons arc notoriously "women-haters," you cannot wonder that they, too, arc suspect of another vice. When you have a play like 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' staged at a London theatre —with its filthy and revolting dialogue, and an audience of painted men, again you cannot wonder if Germany chuckles and thinks that her campaign of vice has not been in vain And when almost every week you may read in various Sunday newspapers cases of abominable indecency, "Ciin vou are entitled to ask yourselves whether the virus of sexual degeneracy I'is not. polluted our blood. Many who read these words—words which must be ,wiH(Mi— will be able to fill in names ->nd details which for the moment I omit, but I want our degenerates _to understand clearly that, _ in sporting parlance, their il number is up 3.nc that unless they take warning from i this Billing case and amend their ways, there is at least one journal, of wide circulation and some influence, which will not hesitate to tear asi.de the veil of hypocrisy and convention which at present protects them from public exposure and obloquy. As I have already indicated, there would not _ be much difficulty in compiling a British Black Book. Indeed, I have long had such a publication in contemplation, although I confess it had never been part of my intention to include a section for moral ! and sexual degenerates. Pro-Germans, suspect aliens, pacifists, and Little landers were to bo its contents—and I hope it may never be necessary to add i such a section as that which forms part of the German volume. . . • Id ° not want to see the vigor and fibre of the British race sapped and undermined by the vices of Berlin—whose peculiar kultur, as wc all know now. has produced the most bestial and depraved type of being—a satire upon Humanity and a blasphemy on the name of God! -— £ 'John Bull." CANADIAN LUMBERMEN IN THE BRITISH FORESTS. "The passing of the forest" is much more than a phrase in England to-day. As a matter of fact, there are few forests of great extent at Home, but there arc mauv largo and small tracts ox woodland in almost every county, and the disappearance of these will change the face of the countryside, and leave scars which will remain for generations as grim reminders of the war. Before the war, Britain imported 90 per cent, of her timber requirements, the quantity in 15)13 being 11,000,000 tons; last year the imports had brrn cut down to iess than three million lons, this year tliev are probably small »r still. The war has largely increased the demand for timber, so that British woods have to supply much more than the difference between the quanliiy that used to be imported before the war and the present restricted supplies from abroad. As wo wen- told by eabl" the oilier day, timber is now benig felled in Britain at the rate of fifteen million tons a year That Ihis enormous amount is made available for the multifarious purposes of war is due in a measure to the work of Canadian and American lumbermen. Tn February. 11)10, Mr Bonar Law, then Secretary of State for I the Colonies, cabled to Canada asking I for foresters to cut down English I woods, l'n a few weeks the Canadian Forestry Corps had come into existence, and a few weeks later the first CanaI dian "Forestry Battalion was at work in Windsor Great Park. In November of I the same year the drafts of Canadians were sent across to fell timber and saw logs iu France. Battalion after battalion came over form Canada, and there are now forty companies of foresters operating at Home and sixty in France, the total strength of the force being about 30,000. Most, of the men now engaged on the work have been wounded or invalided at the war. Their efforts are being supplemented by somo 800 Portuguese, 500 Finns. GOO prisoners of Avar, some Newfoundlanders, and a party of New Zealanders. They produce altogether about 185,000 tons per month of sawn and hewn material, but. a great deal more is produced in France in order to save shipment. The amount mentioned leaves, of course, a great deal to bo produced by British woodcutters.