ASSISTANCE TO ITALY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 58, 18 December 1940, Page 5

ASSISTANCE TO ITALY.

NO OBLIGATION ON GERMANY. THE INTERNATIONAL DISQUIET. i LONDON, December 16. The latest intimation of Germany’s attitude to Italy’s plight in the Mediterranean and the Middle East comes from Turkey, where German sources are reported to have stated that since Italy entered the war without Germany’s consent, Germany was under no obligation to help her. This is in contrast to the recent statement in the “Voelkischer Beobachter” that the situation gave no cause for anxiety in the Mediterranean and that Germany would not leave Italy in the lurch. A German propagandist has an- . nounced: “We have already won this war, only you have not realised it yet.” ' The Zurich correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” states that it is reported that German officers and picked squads are being rushed to Italy to give aid or to take command in the event of disturbances. The Munich newspaper “ Neueste Naclirichten” declares that if somo- . where among certain bourgeois circles in Italy there arc sordid elements, an energetic campaign must be waged against them. The Rome correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says that Signor Alelcni Serena (deputy-secre-tary of the National Fascist Party) announced a winter “battle on the internal front.” After a conference with Signor Mussolini, Signor Serena ordered increased aid for the needy, strict watch over supplies, rationing, and prices, and severe suppression of hoarding and speculation. Party headquarters were operating rounds the clock. Signor Serena predicted that the Black Shirts would break up any . counter movements.