LONG DEBATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23479, 17 October 1939, Page 7

LONG DEBATE

NEUTRALITY ACT; ' ■ • '■ " V : vote: next week ■ ' • j r't ryyo y) 'A f V PRESSING FOR THE" ISSUE USING ALL STRATEGY By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received October 16, 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, Oct. 15 Democrat members of the -Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate are preparing an amendment which seeks to relax the shipping restrictions of the Neutrality Act, as applicable to the Pacific, says a message from Washington. Mr. A. W. Barkley (Democrat — Kentucky), predicted that the general debate on the Act would be completed % on Wednesday, but the opponents of "I repeal of the arms embargo are believed to have mapped out a speaking schedule lasting until Friday. Both sides are agreed that the Senate will begin to deal with the amendments at the latest by October 23. The final vote may be expected next week. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says Administration leaders are apprehensive of the intro-. duction into the debate of a discussion on the safety zone proposal. Critics say the zone scheme can become effective only at the risk of war, and the Administration is .anxious for little debate on the matter pending" the belligerents' replies. The official view is t'iiat until the belligerents' attitude is it is impossible to tell what further action the American Republics may take. Leaders of the Administration are expected to enlist all their reserves of strategy and strength to end the debate. What form these steps may take has not been disclosed, but it is reported that the leaders are ready to invoke any Parliamentary weapons short of applying the closure. *

PRISONER OF NAZIS MAKSHAI VON BLOMBERG I*' REPORTS REACH ENGLAND GENERAL VON FRITSCH'S FATE (Daventry Broadcast) LONDON, Oct. 16 Reports have reached Belgium, the Netherlands and France that FieldMarshal von Blomberg and' five other important officers have been imprisoned in a Bavarian fortress since August 21. Field-Marshal von Blomberg was & former Commander-in-Chief of the German Army. He was forced to retire from this post and was expelled from Germany for a year "because o£-his marriage to a woman of a lower social status than himself. . ' The German secret wireless Btates that General Baron "Werner von Fritsch was shot in the back by a Nazi storm trooper acting on orders. General von Fritsch, who was a former Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, was reported in a message on September 23 to have been killed in action on the Warsaw front. He was given a Sta;e funeral. ' ! .

SINKING NEUTRALS; BOOMERANG EFFECT J NAZIS* SCANDINAVIAN TRADE British Wireless LONDON, Oct. 15 The brunt of the German TJ-boat campaign on merchant shipping so far has been borne by the Scandinavian countries. In all 23 neutral merchant ships have been sunk to. date, while nine Swedish ships haive been held up at Goteburg on account of the danger of German mines. - Germany may soon begin to question the wisdom of sinking neutral shipping, in view of the fact that the Scandinavian* countries are virtually the only ones with which Germany .can continue to trade by sea. *- Since the introduction of the convoy system 1275 British, and 47 Allied ships had been, safely convoyed to tlieir destinations up to last Tuesday. No convoyed ship had been sunk by eheiny submarines. It is pointed, out in London that Germany's financial" difficulties may compel German merchant, ships to leave the neutral ports where thev have been taking refuge owing to their inability any longer to pay harbour dues. Already one 4000-ton German vessel Jhas been arrested at Curacao owing to it 3 inability to pay dues.- • :>

"WAR ALREADY LOST* DUTCH PROFESSOR'S VIEW NAZI COLLAPSE PREDICTED (Received October 16, 9.40 p.m.) BOSTON, Oct. 15 The professor of international relations at Harvard University, Br. J. Anton de Haas, a Dutchman, stated to-day that Germany had already lost the war and that the time of lier collapse depended upon the period when the Nazis balanced their books with'the gun. ■ ... The professor cautioned the. Allies, in the event of their victory, to avoid, the errors of Versailles. A bankrupt Germany would be as fertile ground for Communism. The Allies would find that tlite defeat of Germany would face them with a moro disturbing problem. -Russia, thereby aided, would establish Communism throughout Germany, for which reason conservatives, the middle classes and industrialists hesitated. to revolt against the Nazis. Dr. do Haas urged that the Allied peace aims should be to offer Germany equalitv and aid in solving her financial chaos/The ultimate goal of European co-operation should be to overcome economic problems.

PROPAGANDA MENACE (Received October IC, p.m.) Times Cable LONDON', Oct. 1G Well-known people' throughout tha Union of South Africa have launched nn appeal for £200,000 to detent enemy propaganda, savs . the j JfjhjfcnTiesburg correspondent of the Times.. .