An article in the Sunday Express stated that Sir Basil
Zaharoff, the millionaire "Mystery Man," is a shareholder in a prominent pro-Coalition newspaper in London. It was thought that this referred to the Daily Chronicle. Lord Dalziel, the chairman of the company which owns the Daily Chronicle, however, stoutly denies that Sir Basil MIA or has ever had any connexion with that paper. But our interest is centred on Sir Basil Zaharoff himself. As the Sunday Express says :— "He is a Greek, but lives most of his time in Paris. He owns Monte Carlo, but the gaming tables do not interest him. Instead, the destinies of nations are his sport, the movements of armies and the affairs of Governments his special delight. . . . He can hardly estimate his own wealth, for it so permeates the financial arteries of Europe that every move of the political nervous system reacts on his fortunes. In the wake of war this mysterious figure moves over the tortured areas of Europe. He spends hundreds of thousands of pounds on putting M. Venizelos into power and organizing the Hellenic dream of conquest. Through his puppets he gains control of newspapers in many countries. He has the ear of Presidents and Prime Ministers. His charities are fabulous."
The article declares that he "arrives in every European capital unheralded and unrecognized," and it ends by demanding that "this man's influence in Britain's affairs comes to an immediate stop." For "the lives of men and destinies of nations are sacred trusts to be administered by the chosen representatives , of the people."
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