Page G
This is
the Gin
GORDONS
DRY GIN
DISTTRAILERS, LONIDOR
BY APPOINTMENT
́UIN DISTILLERS TO THE LATE KING GEORGE VI
Tanqueray (Jordon & Co, Lia.
THE
CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1963.
Captain Jan Cwiklinski of the Polish ship Batory, who walked off the vessel and sought asylum in Britain last June, tells how America's Number One Communist stowed away aboard her. .. an act which brought plenty of trouble. This instalment ends Captain Cwiklinski's exclusive story of the Communist ship's secrets, ・・
Quality Incomparable H
Gordon's
Stands Supreme
Distributors:--
DODWELL & CO., LTD.
let's be technical - HERMES
2000
HAS THE MOST FINELY BUILT MECHANISM
plus these features...
TOUCH ADJUSTMENT
SOFI SUPPLE TOUCH
EVIH TYPELİN
HORGHENRY
· HAIGHTEN”
chahahah!==
Sole Agents:
Stalingers
OFFICE EQUIPMENT
DEPARTMENT. 20. Stanley St.
TAILOR
The Tailor for
Men of Distinction
Look!
Cary Grant, one of the ten best dressed stars in Holly- wood, placed numerous ordere with us during his visit to Hong Kong.
For the convenience of tourists, orders can be com- pleted in 24 hours.
No. 1, Theatre Lano, Behind Queen's Theatre, Hong Kong. Tel: 33184.
THREE
Tel. 31785
CHEUNG
SILENT
Nobody recognised him. Nobody stopped him. Why should they? The ship was full of visitors.
All
THE AFFAIR OF
GERHARDT EISLER
affair, but I know that this 'matters of
have done.
this kind are theme. "I'd never heard of him expected me to would not be the end of it, I concern of the Polish Consulate until I was told about him by n Elster had bought a first-class
officials of the and line."
Wis
really worried.
I was still aboard when I got phone call from the managlug director of the line: "Captai
be in this office at ten to morrow."
Why?"
"You are to be interrogated about the Ealey affair."
I was shown
shipping passenger, an American journal- ticket, so why should I havo
reported him as a stowawnyt
They obviously regarded this never as thoroughly unsatis
UB factory. I booked at the man in the comer. He had not moved.
whole
S
ist-called Jaffo,"
man
Jaffe?
"Who is this Have you met him before?".
Thai reprimand was my pun- ishment, but there was a sting
"I had never seen him before behind it. I realised that from now on I would not be trusted, A Communist siste doos not Fellove in the benefit of the doubt
to
from
Answer
Secret Police
all round. I sensed that. The questions tallet off into routine a fool of a captain like me he told, should not have reported. Eisler's not matters, and then I was
presence aboard. "Report here tomorrow."
ho came aboard the Batory."
"Why were you in touch with Throughout the I could tell by his voice that quiry the atmosphere was tense the British and Americans by
ordinary and www to be no
unrelenting. 1 began to wireless during the voyage?" E came aboard on a came to me with an American this
uncomfortably GD I visitor's magazine he had plèked up court of enquiry. The usual sweat 25 - cent
"I received messages ticket a few hours the lounge. There was Eisler's friendliness had gone out of his realised the strength of their
picture, there was the full story tone.
suspicion. They believed that I nobody except the American before we sniled about him.
I arrived on time at the com- had
connived at Press, I refuseti somehow
without permission from the of Eisler's arrest. Prejudico was from New York in May, was in for trouble.
pany's offers on the Tenth
THE
HE purser was dismissed the 1949,
right, I told myself, if they want February Street, I was wearing against me. I was of the old company."
ship. The inference was that it him they
Party I had made a bad impression he was unlucky enough to have can take him off at
not a I was and my war regime. Southampton. Up to this moment ribbons, including those given member,
my best uniform had not spoken to Eller, and me by the Allica. After a wall
The Atmosphere did I did not jaarticularly wish to
few minutes of a
change even when we had open up a conversation now.
Into the
break. The members of tho I had to, however, One of my It was the usual sort of room
board ate sandwiches, drank passengers, an American jour- you'll find in a hundred offices,
long and narrow, with a table beer, and lemonade. I had no win- nalist called Jaffe, came in my
"Look, captain, you've down its centro, On one wall appetite. I stood by the cabin.
aboard hero, you was a 6ft. by 4ft, photograph of dow, conscious that the woman with the notebook was still got Eisler
flags draped beneath It. On the opposite wall pletures of President Bierut, Marshal Rola Zymirekci (u Polish soldier now in disgrace), and Premier Gramulka (also in disgrace now).
He disappeared among the crowds who alled the decks Maybe he leant on the call and smiled iconically at New York's kyline, Maybe he bought him-
board-room.
relf a drink in the horse-shue know thng, I want a story from the Batory, with the company's staring at me, pencil poised,
escap.
him." I
that is whs up
bar on the sun-dock, and silently
told him tonsted whatever it is an
to Ekler, and i had the littlo ing Communist would toast,
He was still aboard when the Communist brought up to me last visitor hatt answered the and asked him if he had any last cry of "All visitors ashore, objections. He was quite happy He was very please!" He was still aboard to talk to Jaffe,
the In fact. happy".
One of when wo dropped the plot.
famous slowards had heard him singing our most WOO stowaway. His name was Ger- "Oh, what a beautiful morning!" Jaffe wired his story back to hardt Eisler and he brought
New York and soon every news- trouble to the Batory,
If somebody
He
were
1 sat down where I was told, on a chair at the centre of the table, facing my interrogators
here
smlies, Werc no
по
Questioned Again
a
The following day I was seen
It was a fair enough argue
Jolic
would
have
by the Vice-Minister of Shipment. But for the purser's report to me Eisler might have reached ping, alone. The interview was
was far from Gdynda, and thus escaped arrest short and ho pleasant about it.
at Southampton.
"Captain, although you acted There WOR always Jalto,
you though. according to the rules showed no appreciation of the recognised him as he sunbathed situation. You 'showed no on the deck. patriotism and no sympathy for
It was tough when we got went back to the Mr. Elster. You showed
lutely no understanding of the to America. A hundred of the Interrogation.
state of affairs existing between Ells
crew were arrested and sent to
Island
for n while "Who
Scotland Yard us and the West. We are very Apparently we endured it like gayc permindon to come aboard?” disappointed with you.”
the patriots we were expected "Police in any harbour do not
be, however, for when we got back to Gdynia the Minister" of, Shipping came dows and gave 300 of us Crosses of Merit.
THEN WO
this name to me then it would Baiting for radio contact with making certain that his attitude inform the captain that they are had mentioned paper in the West seemed to be greeings. Each man thero w need permission so long as they
aboard."
toward me did not betray him. 1 fondod them off, saying when a man mc.
comes under in- have meant nothing.
Klve no
information vestigation behind the Irun
"Who Look Eisler ashoret Not until two or three days I could
permission from the Curtain you do not make an The Americans?" before we reached Southampton without
exhibition of your past friend- that Elster was Line, did I discover
ship with him.
America's Number One Com- munist-that he was on £5.750- ball pending appeal against con- victions for contempt of Con-
and gress
passport frauti charges.
By slowing away aboard my ship he was breaking bail.
Gave Himself Up
HE gave himself up to the Chief
Yard Men Come
THEN we reached Southamp- ton and the explosion came. We lay off Cowes Roads, and aboard my ship came Scotland Yard men and representatives from the American Embassy. With them, too, came Morski, Counsellor from the Polish Em- bassy, Ponski, head of the Polish Shipping
In London, and Ziemlowski, Polish vice-consul in Southampton.
Purger when we were six or seven hours out. Ho had made no attempt to hide, It was natural enough for him to be mistaken for a passenger.
It takes a day or 50 to check We the
lists. and passenger
until smoke-room, then table-cards are not handed quietly cut. Passengers may sit where quarters. they
Mission
officers' while Elsler slept
all met in the
in a room near
my
will in the dining-rooms, The British naked me point-
and Eisler wined and dined un- blank,
would I hand
"Brith detectives in plain
Opposite me were represen- clothes. They carried hins." tatives from the Polish Foreign.
"When Wild you discover who Office and the Ministry of Ship- Elster was?" ping, and also the managing director of the
Polish Осеза I was not going to tell them Line. To their rear was a ten- that I had read about him in a Western magazine. On the ographer,
other hand the answer I did give was not much better for
Two Others
HESE I had expected. What intriguedjme was the prisongo
of two others. The first was equat, impassive man sitting in n corner with his hands on his knews.
You couldn't have mis- taken him for anything but what ho was a man from the UB, the Polish Secret Police Throughout the enquiry he said
over nothing, but stared at me with the same expression of affection
til he decided that he could ex- Eisler? I told them I must act pose himself without being sent back.
I
aboo-
Nothing To Say
Baid nothing to that. Thera
was nothing I could my.
"You are taking your ship back to America soon, and thero will undoubtedly be trouble from the Americans. They will be tough. We have informed our Embassy there to give you every support. Goodbye"
to
Mine was a golden one, But the Elsier affair did not erd with medals.
The Batory had become a Within six suspected ship. months Peter Szemtel was ap- pointed as Cultural Officer, and after him came Kaminski."
I realised then what I should The Batory was handed over have dono, or rather what they to the Secret Police.
They Tried
To Make
Me A Peace Fighter'
of on orders from the Poles pro- you might observe in the eyes risk
ent. Their orders were pretty of blunt-"No."
Maybe, too, he expected sym- pathetic treatment on an Iron Curtain vessel, though, to be fair, he never demanded it.
beard of his presence from
the Chief Purser, who came to me and reported: "One stow- away, sir."
he
repille.
Io the other corner
face.
detector.
Who an
MOR two long, weary
E
Some
By Robert Yates
Private Yates, 27, of the Glorious Gloucesters,
4051; released last month: flown home to Newcastle-under- Lyme, Staffs, because his mother was ill. He tells his story in an interview, with
years as a prisoner in
· Korea the Chinese Then The Americans
and unsmiling woman with a note Reds tried to turn me into Britons went ashore to confer. book. She kept her eyes on my a "peace fighter." und when they came back it
captured in April noting down my expres people would say they used will "Can we have Eisler?" done, my reactions to the ques-methods of indoctrination.
"I've told you my position. lice Ing. She was a human le The gentlemen. Ask Mr Elator if will come with you voluntarily.” So we called in the man and sold: "Eisler, will you "they "I don't know. He gives the come ashore with us?" name of Eisler. And str
Ite looked Since giving himself up he hoo smiling.
at them without He looked at me and bought a first-class ticket to the Polcs. "No," he said, "I
shall resist." I think he was conce: This Was something new. still counting on the fact that Stowawaya are not usually we would back him up. people with money. This ought The Scotland Yard
-"Who la he?”.
Gdynia."
to
but I didn't take it. The prob- resist?" lem was where to put Elster Ho may have had a ticket but WO did not have a cobin. So
In For Trouble
THE trouble came from else..
man
They let him do this, and then they said once more: "Will you como freely?"
"No. You'll have to
forca."
Chinese repeatedly denied it. They called it The Foreign Office man cón- ducted the enquiry. The direc- "instruction." tor of the Line looked out of the window unhappily. He kept clearing his throat, never look ing at ma
The questions got to the point
"How did Eialer come aboard your ship?"
wis
So far as I am concerned my political views have not changed, and I still support the Socialist Party.
which side actually started the
Robert Blake
If the answers to such ques- tions were not to the instructor's liking we were told that our "attitudo" was wrong.
Some whoee. "attitudes" were not up to the Chinese Com- munist mark were sent to other camps. There they had extra work at woodcutting and carry- and ing,
with fewer games
cut. In food privileges, but no and no harsh treatment.
All the time they told us.
that the Chinese people were not our enemies, and that Russla and China only wanted peace.
For our part we called all the China, things were
very instructors "slopehends." They gave us books by Marx, Lenin, different.
and a blography The lectures were held every Maxim Gorky, do
saw the day for two months. After that of Stalin, they became less frequent.
English Daily Worker, but no
Records kept
instructor.
other newspapers.
They handed round hundreds
VER
I do not intend to become a militant peace fighter, nor "As I explained in my report, shall I rush off to join the have been a warning to me, turned to me. "Captain, will you gentlemen. By means of a 25-Communist Party. On the
cent visioc's ticket.”
other hand, from what the "No," I said. "How could I?"
"Who told you to send a tele-Chinese told me, I will admit They looked at Elsler. It was gram to the American authorities that on some things I have
of pamphlets, but these, which had to be returned, were full of we put him in the ship's hos up to him. I think he realised when you discovered he
second thoughts.
its camp had
chief crude propagando that nothing was going to stop aboard?"
THE
about :"Im- pital and there he stayed for
instructor-wo called him a perialist : warmongers" and them taking him ashore. "I IC- "It is the regular procedure the rest of the trip, keeping to quest permission to write a mes as laid down."
*As an example, I now wonder political maniac-and each of "Capitalist criminals." himself, sunbathing on the deck, sago to the public, protesting
¡Hadi · m - bland, reserved little man against your action."
From my brief-case, contala- Korean war. Dit the North Pur seven compapfen
'Peace' crusadės who gave nobody any trouble.
ing all coples of my telegrams attack the South, or the South and reports on the Eisler case, attack the North? After hear-
Each platoon of 40 to 50 men
camp loud-speaker arguments I had a full-time Chinese Instruct I produced the company rules ing the Chinese
tor too. At any time of the day system they pumped their which had been given in 1847, found I just didn't know. use I
and night we would be called ideas at us while we stood on referred the court to cedure with Stowaways."
2-hour lectures to the platoon Instructor's office parade. They told us stories of
-Korean mud hut,
famulics, Thare, Russian
how they They looked at it without
on a wooden stool, I would all worked and how they could carn change of expression.
THEN there is the matter of
opposite akhak! uniformed enough money to live decently-- "How do you know that Elster Chiang Kai-shek. I used to Chinese Instructor
then sald how much better off a bought a ticket after he was balleve that Chiang'a· Govern-
Russian or `Chinese “family was discovered?"
ment was the right Government poronal "chat."
family in a copiialist "From what the purser told for China. Now I am not sure for each of us, and the office country.
They kept individual records than me and I was also shown the The Chineso began their counterfoll of his first-class "instruction" within 14 days of interviews would last from five They urged us to join "peace" ticket at Southampton,”
up to threo hours. crisades and alm petitions. In my arrival at Camp One, in minutes "If he was u passenger then, June 1951..
Cigarettes would be offered, and tact, it was mostly peace, peace, why did you surrender him?”
we would be asked if we had peace all the time. They told They
compulsory we started
us they were not, indoctrinating icoturce, with 50 men at a time any complaints.
Was the food good? How us, but felt it their duty to ex- outside tho grouped
open
were the sports going? Did we plain to us why China had to around a blackboard.
war. An English-speaking political getur letters ell right? Then intervene in the Korean
very gradually the talk would Some of the men took it all Instructor would then talk to us about Capitalism and Marx- be steered round to politics. ism for anything from: half an hour to two: hojara."-
where. When I wired the passenger list thead to Gdynia, I added: "Also one słowaway."
Next day came a cable from our New York Office:
namo
ma of stowaway."
Not Much Force
"Give NOT much force was needed.
Two men picked him up by I did so. Back came another the elbows and carried him off wiro: "Give full detalls about the ship. His foet dangled and Eisler."
kicked above the deck-boards It was enough to tell me that and his face was red. That was this stowaway was of import the last I saw of Gerhardt
How Important I under
Elaler. stood when one of my officers
nace.
SALESMEN
真真真
Largest Morning
Öfroulation.....
Largest "Afternoon
Circulation.
Sunday
But not by any means the last (I heard of him, The Polish offlelais showed by their faces as they left the Batory that, in their opinion, I had coino'out of the affair very badly. But what was I supposed to do? `Arm the crow and resist?
Pretty Plain
made ray answer pretty plain, "Nobody surrendered himh, He was taken from the
"Did you maite ro.prof."
Ho would any that the money "I pointed out the British made by working men goes into We docked in Gdynia on May and the Americans that I was the pockets of shareholders and 10. I had already wired ahead in command of the Batory on those of the bosses.
Then he
my report on the Southampton the high sces only. In port all would show how, in Russia and
JOHNNY HAZARD
COME ON, BUTTERBALL
„LET'S OGHÜNT UP YOUR [MOTHER? YOU'VE BEEN IN
ENOUGH TROUBLE TOPAY/
·NOT MY MATER... MY GOVERNESS, AND THERE SHE IS LOOKING
FOR ME!
Extra work
for..
¤
to
Most
heart--just a few.
of the played along with
the Chinese because
It was
common senso to pretend to see
WAS asked who started the things their way and earn your
record marked. "This Korean war And: Do you self a ballove the Americans have been prisoner has the right attitude."
It made life easier, dropping germ canistera?
By Frank Robbins
I'VE BEEN LOOKING
·LIL
GEE, JOHNNY, IT'S.
EVERYWHERE sin.
GOOD TO SEE YOU
AGAIN/.
ולל
(GEB, LI'L WILL, "IT'S 'GOOD TO SEE
YOU AGAIN A
situation
alis for
San Miguel