"Enemy Aliens"
Figures published by the Home Office show that last October there were more than 74,000 Germans or Austrians registered by the police in the United Kingdom. Such a large number of persons who are technically " enemy aliens" appears to offer a formidable task to the authorities con- cerned with the suppression of espionage, and it is not made easier by the fact that a majority are refugees whose sym- pathies are with this country. The cases have been dealt with individually by 112 special tribunals, who up to date have ordered 486 persons to be interned, 8,021 to be exempt from internment but subject to special restrictions, and 53,882 to be exempt from both internment and special restrictions. Happily there has been little of that conspicuous spy-hunting on the part of the public which was an unpleasant feature of the opening monthsof the last war. Apart from some 2,000 British-born wives of Germans, there are tens of thou- sands of refugees who desire our success in the war, and many persons long employed here in domestic service who are pro-British in sympathy. These will prove a useful accession to our labour strength in the future, and the Government are wisely leaving the exempted majority free to accept employment subject to the approval of the Ministry of Labour. Even those who are left under restrictions may accept employment with the consent of the Home Office. Close on a thousand have joined the fighting forces.
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