.ltSuffragist Documents The Times, 3 May 1918 TEXT OF PAPERS SEIZED BY THE POLICE. ARREST OF A CHEMIST. As a result of the seizure by the police of the offices of the Women's Social and Political Union in Kingsway on Wednesday, seven women and two men appeared at Bow-street Police Court yesterday on a charge of conspiracy. Five of the women were arrested when the police took possession of the offices, and Mrs. Drummond was detained when she entered the building later in the morning. Miss Annie Kenney was arrested on Thursday morning when she returned from the Continent, and in the evening the police detained Mr. Edwy Godwin Clayton, a chemist, of Kew-road, Richmond. The ninth arrest was effected yesterday morning, when Mr. Sidney Granville Drew, manager of the Victoria House Printing Company, Tudor-street, was apprehended. This week's issue of the Suffragette was published on Thursday after Mr. Bodkin's warning that it must be stopped, and according to the imprint the edition was printed by the Victoria House Printing Company. It is stated that when Mr. Drew was asked late on Wednesday to print this week's issue of the Suffragette he agreed to do so on condition that nothing appeared to which objection could be taken. When the nine defendants appeared at Bow-street Police Court later in the day Mr. Bodkin, who is appearing for the Director of Public Prosecutions, announced that he did not intend to open the charge on that occasion, as the police had not yet completed their examination of the documents which they took possession of on Wednesday. Further evidence of arrest was given, however, and a number of letters found at a flat in Mecklenburgh-square, stated to be the residence of Miss Kenney, were read. One paper headed "Various Suggestions" referred to a scheme of smashing simultaneously a considerable number of fire alarms. Another paper dealt with a list of seven timber yards in various parts of London, and reference was also made to various Government departments. The hearing of the case was adjourned until Monday, and Miss Lennox and Mr. Drew were released on bail, the former giving an undertaking not to take any part in the movement, and the latter agreeing not to have anything to do with the publication of the Suffragette in the meanwhile. The police completed their examination of the offices at Lincoln's Inn House during the day, and in the evening certain members of the staff were allowed to enter the building. Two constables still remained on duty outside, and the doors and windows were still closed, but on the roof of the building the tri-coloured flag of the union was again flying. Passers-by in Kingsway, however, were somewhat surprised to find that the flag was at half-mast. Mrs. Pankhurst, who has been staying at the house of a friend in Norfolk-square for some days, was removed yesterday morning to the residence of Dr. Ethel Smyth at Woking. The proposal to remove Mrs. Pankhurst from London had been notified to the police, who raised no objection, as it was felt that the change would afford a better chance of a more speedy recovery to health. It was reported yesterday that a brown-paper packet labelled "Nitro-glycerine, dangerous," had been found earlier in the week at Piccadilly-circus Tube Station. The packet was taken to Vine-street police station, and found to contain a bottle filled with nitro-glycerine. On inquiry at the offices of the London Electric Railway Company at St. James's-park Station, it was stated that no report had been received there, but it is understood that the police authorities are investigating the matter. POLICE COURT PROCEEDINGS. DOCUMENTS FOUND AT MISS KENNEY'S RESIDENCE. When the police court proceedings against members of the Women's Social and Political Union were resumed at Bow-street yesterday seven women and two men appeared before Mr. Curtis Bennett. Six of the women were arrested at the time of the seizure of the offices of the Union in Kingsway on Wednesday last. The defendants were:- Mrs. FLORA DRUMMOND, 34, general organizer of the Women's Social and Political Union. Mrs. BEATRICE H. SANDERS, 38, financial secretary of the Union. Miss RACHEL BARRETT, assistant editor of the Suffragette newspaper. Miss LAURA GERALDINE LENNOX, the sub-editor. Miss AGNES LAKE, business manager of the Suffragette. Miss HARRIET ROBERTA KERR, 54, manageress of the offices of the Union. Miss ANNIE KENNEY, an organizer of the Union. Mr. EDWY GODWIN CLAYTON, scientific chemist and author, of Kew-road, Richmond; and Mr. SIDNEY GRANVILLE DREW, 36, manager and secretary of Victoria House, Tudor-street, E.C. The defendants were charged with conspiring together and with Mrs. Pankhurst and Miss Christabel Pankhurst and other women, members of the Women's Social and Political Union, to maliciously damage property to the extent of $5 and upwards. Mr. Bodkin, Mr. Travers Humphreys, and Mr. William Lewis conducted the case on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions; Mr. J. McDonald Cobban, solicitor, appeared for Drew, and Mr. R. D. Muir for the other defendants. Sir Charles Mathews, the Director of Public Prosecutions, occupied a seat on the bench. Mr. Bodkin said that there had been other arrests since the case was last before the magistrate. Owing to the great amount of material to be dealt with he was not yet in a position to open the case and he would have to ask for a further remand after some formal evidence had been given. AN ACCOUNT OF TWO ARRESTS. Detective-inspector Hawkins, of Scotland Yard, stated that at 11 o'clock on Wednesday morning he went to 19, Mecklenburgh-square, Gray's Inn-road, the address of Miss Kenney and Miss Barrett, and on a table in the vestibule he found a book called "Bristol Riots, 1831." Inside the book there were four documents. The witness then went upstairs to a bed room, which he was told was Miss Kenney's room, and he there found a card with some writing upon it. At 7.30 p.m. on Thursday the witness arrested Clayton at his residence in Kew-road, Richmond. He read the warrant to him and in reply Clayton said, "I think it is rather a high-handed action. I am an extreme sympathizer with the Suffragette cause. What evidence have you against me?" The witness replied, "This card and these papers," showing him the four documents and the card he had found at Miss Kenney's address. Clayton looked at the card and said, "I wrote that, but perhaps I ought not to say anything at this moment." Clayton wrote a letter addressed to Mr. Marshall, solicitor, in the witness's presence. The letter was produced and the witness said that in his opinion the handwriting on it was the same as on the four documents and card which he found at Miss Kenney's address. The witness afterwards went to Clayton's laboratory at 23, Holborn-viaduct, but did not take anything away from there. Mr. Bodkin read the card referred to, as follows:- Dear Miss Kenney.-I am sorry to say that it will be several days yet before I can be ready with that which you wanted. I have devoted all this evening and all yesterday evening to the business without success. Evidently a difficult matter, but not impossible, I verily believe. Galling as it is to have to write it, I nearly succeeded once last night and then spoilt what I had done in trying to improve upon it. By next week I shall be able to manage. The exact proportions are very important to hit, evidently. I will let you have results as soon as I think them good enough. Please burn this. With best wishes and earnestly hoping that you are much better, I am, yours sincerely, EDWY G. CLAYTON. P.S.-I am awfully disappointed at having to keep you waiting longer than I anticipated.-E. G. C. TEXT OF FOUR DOCUMENTS. The four documents found at Miss Kenney's address were also read by Mr. Bodkin. The first was on a sheet of paper bearing on the back Clayton's name and address, and was as follows:- Various suggestions. (1) Scheme of simultaneously smashing a considerable number of street fire alarms. This appears to me an exceptionally good idea. It will cause tremendous confusion and excitement, and should be at once easier and less risky to execute than some other operations. From six to eight operators might be told off, each to a district for which she is responsible; say, Mayfair, Westminster, the City, St. Pancras or Bloomsbury, Islington, Southwark or Bermondsey, Camden Town, &c. A day or so before she could visit her district, note the places and distances; and on the night, armed with a muffled stone or hammer, she could walk rapidly from one to another, smash the glass, pull the handle (with a well-gloved hand), and so on; of course at each alarm selecting a moment when no one about. All should start operations at one and the same previously fixed hour. In one journey, as I think I mentioned, I noted down the following places where there are street fire alarms:-Regency-place, Westminster, corner of Downing-street and Whitehall, corner of Trafalgar-square, corner of St. Martin's-lane, outside Parr's Bank, Charing Cross-road, corner of New Compton-street, corner of Oxford-street and Rathbone-place, junction of Charing Cross-road and High-street, Bloomsbury. (2) Certain smaller Government offices, into which entrance might be effected, or where something might be done:-Post Office Telegraph Engineers' Department, York-street, Westminster.- A yard open to the street, with wooden galleries on each side; easy to rush in and out. The head office of the telephone system, Addle-hill.- Here the basement windows are frequently open, and it would be most easy to throw in missiles from the street while just passing by. An out-of-the-way corner of Doctors' Commons, where I do not remember ever to have seen a constable. The Paymaster-General's office, Whitehall.- An old-fashioned wood-fitted office. Go in with some cock-and-bull story about a pension. Also Somerset House is very easily entered from Wellington-street or the Strand, to stamp documents, see wills, &c. TIMBER YARDS AND COTTON MILLS. The second document, which was on similar paper, read as follows:- Timber Yards.-I have a list of seven in various parts of London, which I hope to inspect during the next few days. One, indeed, I have already submitted to a reconnaissance. That is in the neighbourhood of Farringdon-road; it lends itself particularly well to attack, because even were the gateway at night to be fast closed, as would almost certainly be the case, the timber is exposed to view-and to projectiles-through an open lattice work of iron, which replaces the usual fence or wall. The street, too, is somewhat out of the way; squalid and, I should think, likely to be deserted or nearly so after 11 or 12 at night. It is unlikely that there is a night watchman, for a friend whom you know inquired over the telephone in my presence of a person with whom he is acquainted-a member of another firm-whether they have any one on the premises at night, and the answer was "No"; also that they close at 6. This is probably typical of others. The third document read:- Cotton Mills.-Most of these, of course, are in the North, but I have made a list of two cotton manufacturers, two cotton waste manufacturers, two cotton wool manufacturers, and seven cotton waste merchants in London, and during the next few days I will inspect some of them and report. Have not had time for this yet. THE HEALTH INSURANCE OFFICES. The fourth was as follows:- National Health Insurance Commission, England.- The chief offices are in a building formerly, I am told, the Wellington Court Hotel, filling the angle between Buckingham-gate and York-street, opposite to Westminster Chapel. At the back is a narrow yard, from which an outside iron staircase leads up to the first floor. Beyond the yard, which is enclosed by wooden palings and gates, are small houses. At the back of these is a motor garage, behind which is a very narrow alley leading through from one stand to the other. The building has been visited three times; the porters were in the hall on each occasion. Late as was the evening visit, the entrance hall and a large part of the building were brilliantly lighted up, and the doors were open for free ingress and egress. Evidently the staff is doing much evening work. . . . It might be possible when the York-street door porter's back was turned to dash down the basement staircase into one of these rooms. Risk of capture was great. . . . I was not successful in framing a query which the clerk in the inquiry office was unable to tackle. Evidently it is not an easy matter to gain access to the upper floors and inner chambers of this building. But I gleaned largely from the stock of pamphlets in the waiting room and after a perusal of some of them I may be able to concoct a knotty problem which will necessitate my being sent upstairs to some chief for its elucidation; that is to say if the information in this paper is insufficient for your purpose and you will let me know. In the ground floor of the building on the Buckingham-gate side is a series of rooms. . . . This building does not appear to be watched from without: "I saw no policemen about upon any one occasion, not even in the neighbourhood. It would be easy to smash each of the large windows above mentioned and escape might be possible through the narrow court leading into York-street. Having broken a window the operator might have time to throw in a previously kindled paraffin or benzoline torch (a stick with rags at one end dipped in the liquid) among the papers. But how to enter the building, eluding the vigilance of the two porters and an inquiring room clerk and proceed further than the waiting room I confess I do not at present see. At a quite slack time, say during an afternoon, one might find one's self alone in the waiting room, as I did, and with great good luck one might have time to leave some fire-lighters, pour out some inflammable-liquid, such as benzoline, methylated spirits, or paraffin, apply a light and instantly walk out of the building by the nearest or Buckingham-gate door. But the porter would probably be standing just inside the hall door, close to the entrance of the waiting room. These porters are a grave difficulty. I don't see how one could go upstairs without being stopped. The branch offices (the document continued) are at 29, Queen Anne's-gate. There is a large room on the ground floor. . . . Contents highly combustible and the room is so close to the entrance that escape might be tolerably easy. . . . When I first entered no porter or other person was in the entrance hall. Evidently there is not quite such a strict internal watch kept at this house as at the chief office. Moreover, it is obviously a tremendous store of papers and stationery. . . . The lower windows referred to could be readily attacked with stones or hammers, and inflammable bodies could be thrown in already lighted. The basement windows are sometimes opened from the top for ventilation. The worst of it is that nearly certainly one or more persons live upon the premises of such buildings as these, as caretakers or resident housekeepers, sometimes, though not always, on the lower storeys. Mr. Muir said that he had only just been instructed and did not propose to cross-examine the witness at present. THE PRINTING OF THE "SUFFRAGETTE." Chief Inspector Fowler said that he received the warrant for the arrest of Mr. Drew on Thursday night, and at 11 o'clock yesterday morning he arrested him at the offices of the Victoria House Printing Company, Tudor-street. The warrant was read to him, and in reply he said, "I see." He made no statement at Bow-street Police Station when the charge was formally entered. The witness produced some documents which were handed to him on the premises, and also a copy of the Suffragette dated May 2, bearing the imprint, 'Printed by the Victoria House Printing Company (Limited), T.U. (Trade Union), Tudor-street E.C., and published by the Women's Press, Lincoln's Inn House, Kingsway, London, W10. Mr. Charles Fraser, a reporter on the staff of the Daily Telegraph, produced a report of a speech made by Mrs. Drummond at a meeting held at the Albert Hall on April 10, in the presence of about 7,000 people. The speech was made immediately after the collection had been taken, and contained this passage:-"Most of the money goes in constitutional work, and some of it in meetings like this. It does not take much for paraffin oil and shavings." The hearing was then adjourned until Monday morning, at 10.30. Mr. Muir applied for bail on behalf of Miss Lennox. He pointed out that she was sub-editor of the Suffragette, in receipt of a salary of $2 a week. She corrected the language and was in no way responsible for what appeared in the paper. Mr. J. McDonald Cobban, who appeared for Drew, also applied for bail on behalf of his client. He was, he said, in an entirely different position from the other defendants. He was the manager and secretary of the Victoria House Printing Company, which had printed the current issue of the Suffragette. That was the only way in which Drew was associated with the matter at all. He did not think that there was anything in the Suffragette of this week to give offence. The MAGISTRATE.-Is this his first connexion with the movement? Mrs. Drummond (from the dock).-We don't know the man. Mr. Bodkin did not oppose bail in these two cases, but said he would leave the question entirely to the discretion of the magistrate. He asked that if bail was allowed Miss Lennox should give an undertaking not to take any part either directly or indirectly in connexion with the militant movement of woman suffrage by public speaking or otherwise. He also asked that Drew should give an undertaking not to take part in the printing or distribution of the Suffragette in the interim. Miss Lennox and Drew gave these undertakings and the MAGISTRATE agreed to allow bail for Miss Lennox in her own recognizances in $50 and two sureties in $25 each; and for Drew in $100 and two sureties of $50 each. He said he should not take bail for the other defendants until after he had heard counsel's opening statement on Monday. Bail was at once forthcoming for Miss Lennox and Mr. Drew. The other defendants were driven away to gaol in motor-cabs amid the cheering and booing of between 50 and 60 persons who had gathered outside the Court-yard gates. .lc .llThe Vote: WSPU .ll .lsWR07:WR07_01S .ls