ALDERMAN STRINGER is in the news, again. He is the
Socialist leader of Coventry Council which last year refused to run Coventry's Civil Defence—a refusal which naturally pleased the Russians, who royally entertained Mr. Stringer and some other members of the Council at Stalingrad. As a result of the 'strike' by the Council, the Home Secretary a year ago appointed a committee of three to run the City's Civil Defence. Recently, however, the Council realised that it had made a fool of itself and this week it started again to run its own Civil Defence. When the Council formally took over on Monday Mr. Stringer refused to shake hands with the two male members of the committee, Air Vice-Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet and Major-General John Dalison. He did shake hands with the female member who had not drawn her salary. 'We admire voluntary work in Coventry,' he said. This a certainly a wel- come change of front from a man who last year did all he could to dissuade the people of Coventry from engaging in the voluntary work of. Civil Defence. But he refused to shake hands with the two male members because they had both drawn their salaries of £750 a year. 'I told the other two,' he is reported to have said, 'that I would not shake hands until they had handed back their salaries.' I should have thought that a hand-shake with Alderman Stringer at £750 a time was a little expensive, and I cannot see why the two men should not be paid for the work they have done. Indeed, since the cost of their salaries was only incurred because of the folly of Mr. Stringer and his colleagues in refusing to do the work themselves, it would be fitting if these Socialist councillors paid the salaries out of their own pockets. If. they did so, then I should think that the Air Marshal and the General might, after a suitable apology from the Council, be prepared to shake hands with Alderman Stringer.
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