Hi Jeff -
Just to be clear, I am not theorizing that Baxter would have withheld Schwartz from the inquest. I agree completely that he was the sort of man who would have called Schwartz had he been available. The human angle is one worth considering. His inquests were elaborate affairs, with multiple sittings and multiple witnesses. It's not really in his DNA, as I see it. So I agree on that specific point.
But, personally, I don't think the police were all that keen on Baxter following the previous two inquests. Thus, I don't discount the possibility that Inspector Reid didn't even submit Schwartz's name for consideration. I don't know if you have read David B.'s article at Orsam Books, but he raises this possibility in passing. If--and yes, this is entirely theoretical---if the police (ie. Edmund Reid) decided Schwartz was untrustworthy or better kept back, he could have withheld his name from Baxter, who need not have been in the loop. Dishonest? Maybe, maybe not, considering Schwartz was a non-essential witness. I would prefer to use the word 'expedient,' rather than 'dishonest.'
Yes, Schwartz's name was already before the public---but only barely. He was nowhere mentioned in The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily News, etc., or other popular West End papers. One single solitary source mentioned him (The Star), and they alluded to the supposed fact that his story wasn't entirely believed at Leman Street. Which could mean Reid.
You are forced--as all of us are forced--to gauge "police opinion" solely from the existing statements in the MEPO/Home Office files. These do indeed show an interest in Schwartz, and are non-committal rather than dismissive. Again, I agree.
On the other hand, I don't think we can automatically assume that these opinions at the upper levels of Scotland Yard were necessarily shared by the local plod, ie., H-Division, who, presumably, would have been the ones working directly with Coroner Baxter.
I'm looking through the accounts of the Stride Inquest in the Daily Telegraph and the Daily News, and I am seeing no mention of the case being watched by any Scotland Yard man. The case is being watched by Inspector Edmund Reid. The local plod. Thus there is an angle in this discussion that has not been addressed: we cannot assume that the opinions at Scotland Yard and those of H & J Divisions were always in lock-step.
Anyway, I thought it might be worth mentioning. But yes, we are stuck in the realm of theory, arguing and speculating what may or may not be plausible.
Cheers, RP
Just to be clear, I am not theorizing that Baxter would have withheld Schwartz from the inquest. I agree completely that he was the sort of man who would have called Schwartz had he been available. The human angle is one worth considering. His inquests were elaborate affairs, with multiple sittings and multiple witnesses. It's not really in his DNA, as I see it. So I agree on that specific point.
But, personally, I don't think the police were all that keen on Baxter following the previous two inquests. Thus, I don't discount the possibility that Inspector Reid didn't even submit Schwartz's name for consideration. I don't know if you have read David B.'s article at Orsam Books, but he raises this possibility in passing. If--and yes, this is entirely theoretical---if the police (ie. Edmund Reid) decided Schwartz was untrustworthy or better kept back, he could have withheld his name from Baxter, who need not have been in the loop. Dishonest? Maybe, maybe not, considering Schwartz was a non-essential witness. I would prefer to use the word 'expedient,' rather than 'dishonest.'
Yes, Schwartz's name was already before the public---but only barely. He was nowhere mentioned in The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily News, etc., or other popular West End papers. One single solitary source mentioned him (The Star), and they alluded to the supposed fact that his story wasn't entirely believed at Leman Street. Which could mean Reid.
You are forced--as all of us are forced--to gauge "police opinion" solely from the existing statements in the MEPO/Home Office files. These do indeed show an interest in Schwartz, and are non-committal rather than dismissive. Again, I agree.
On the other hand, I don't think we can automatically assume that these opinions at the upper levels of Scotland Yard were necessarily shared by the local plod, ie., H-Division, who, presumably, would have been the ones working directly with Coroner Baxter.
I'm looking through the accounts of the Stride Inquest in the Daily Telegraph and the Daily News, and I am seeing no mention of the case being watched by any Scotland Yard man. The case is being watched by Inspector Edmund Reid. The local plod. Thus there is an angle in this discussion that has not been addressed: we cannot assume that the opinions at Scotland Yard and those of H & J Divisions were always in lock-step.
Anyway, I thought it might be worth mentioning. But yes, we are stuck in the realm of theory, arguing and speculating what may or may not be plausible.
Cheers, RP
Comment