A HIMMLER EPISODE
Sus,—On the rzth December, a squad of the Special Branch raided the premises of Freedom Press, with a search warrant issued under Defence Regulation 39s. This warrant authorised them to seize any objects which they had reason to suppose might be evidence of the commission of an attempt to seduce from their duties members of H.M. Forces. Instead, however, of choosing relevant material the police proceeded to empty the contents from the letter trays straight into sacks, seize invoices and account books which dealt entirely with transac- tiOns with bookshops, the office typewriter, the boxes containing stencils of addresses, letter books, and other material without which it is impos- sible to carry on the legitimate business of such a concern as Freedom Press. No attempt was made to decide whether the material had any bearing on the investigation, and, in spite of protests, it was two months before any of it was returned.
At the same time raids were made on the homes of at least five persons connected with Freedom Press, and in one case on that of a private citizen who had no direct connection with Freedom Press. Personal correspondence, professional notes, literary manuscripts, cheque counter- foils, etc., were all seized, and again the police made no effort to choose papers which might possibly contain relevant evidence. In one case, when the person visited was not at home, the police broke in and departed without leaving any notification of their action. Furthermore, in the Army and Navy, searches were made in the kits of men who had been in correspondence with Freedom Press, and 'copies of pamphlets, as well as issues of War Commentary, Peace News and Now were seized. We submit that such actions are prejudicial to the liberty of speech and writing. If they are allowed to pass without protest, they may become precedents for future persecutions of individuals or of organisa- tions devoted to the spreading of opinions disliked by the authorities. (Signed) ALEX COMFORT; T. S. EmoT ; E. M. Fooszna ; ETHEL MANNIN ; JOHN MIDDLETON MURRY ; HERBERT READ; REGINALD REYNOLDS ; D. S.' SAVAGE; STEPHEN SENDER; JULIAN SYMONS.
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