BREAK WITH AXIS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 87, 23 January 1942, Page 4

BREAK WITH AXIS.

AMERICAN REPUBLICS AGREE. HUGE WAR PLAN CONSIDERED. LONDON, Jan. 21. The Pan-American Conference at Diode Janeiro is expected to approve - a gigantic war production plan embracing the entire western hemi- . sphere, including the abolition of trade ' barriers, the establishment of a eonimon currency, and the -use of United States air and naval units to convoy hemisphere shipping. This was disclosed by a high official of the United States Commerce Department. Argentina and Chile have officially ."greed to a severance of relations with the Axis, but with a face-saving gesture requiring Congressional ratification of the action of their Foreign Ministers. A four-point agreement to sever j relations with the Axis was reached after a three hours’ conference of the leading delegates from all the American Republics. It is regarded as a victory for the. United States. . The co-ordination of British and American economic warfare measures has already had considerable success in squeezing Axis commercial and political activities out of neutral countries in the Central and South American States. The-Washington Economic Defence Board made agreements with Brazil, Mexico, and iPeru during 1941 for the purchase of all the available surplus of certain minerals, fibres and other materials essential for modern war industry. Furthermore, the United States and Britain made an agi’eement assuring for themselves the , whole prodiiction of Bolivian, wolfram '• Colombian platinum and Argentinian wolfram. The Board of Economic Warfare now set up in Washington under the chairmanship of the Vice-President (Mr H. A. Wallace) has issued “proclaimed lists” of traders or sympathisers with the Axis, which, together with the existing British “statutory lists” make a formidable “black list” against which it is difficult for them to carry on. business. An example given to-day by the Ministry of Economic Warfare is the “D'iario del C’omereio” in the Dominican Republic. This newspaper, which carried pro-Axis news, recently closed down because, as it said: “W r e were asphyxiated by the black list.” Many other examples of similar results could be given in Central and South America. On January 14 the United States lists were extended to Europe and neutral countries. It is noted in London with satisfaction that the American Assistant Secretary of. State (Mr Sumner Welles), at the opening of the conference of American Republics at .Rio de Janeiro, spoke of co-ordination of economic measures against the Axis Powers.