31 DECEMBER 1937, Page 4

Journalists have assumed with zest this week the role of

fire-assessors. On Boxing Day the H.M.V. showrooms in Oxford Street were burnt out. What did the damage amount to ? The public must be told. The Daily Herald told them, £100,000. The News Chronicle told them, Lioo,000. The Daily Express told them, £70,000. The Times told them, £30,000 to L40,000. The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail reporters didn't tell them at all. They must have been just reporters. [Later. The Telegraph, after twenty-four hours' investigation, put it at £75,000.] JANUS.