TO THE LEAGUE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 44, 21 February 1940, Page 7

TO THE LEAGUE.

NORWAY MAY APPEAL. Suggestion That Roosevelt Be Arbitration Judge. GERMANY'B REACTIONS. United Btcss Association.—Copyright. LONDON, February 20. The Norwegian Minister to Berjin, M. Arne Schcel, handed the German Foreign Office an aide memoire stating that Norway intends to submit i the Altmarck incident to the League of Nations, savs the Berlin correspondent of the "Daily Mail." •The German official view, says another message from Berlin, is that now that Britain has transferred the war to neutral soil a completely new military situation has arisen of which Germany will take the fullest advantage. A message from Washington says a suggestion by a Norwegian newspaper that President Roosevelt might preside over international arbitration on the incident is treated cautiously. The Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, refused "to comment. The Altmarck affair continues to dominate the Norwegian Press, as well as the newspapers in other neutral countries. Holland shows little sympathy for Norway, but condemns the British action as a breach of neutral rights. In Paris, the Bourse responded vigorously to the news of the British naval enterprise in boarding the Altmarck, and there were frequent cries of: "Vive Churchill'." The incident has delighted the peoples of Danubia and the Balkans, and Britons were stopped and congratulated in the streets of Belgrade.

NO RETALIATION.

Altmarck's Captain Denies Shooting At British. SHIP NOW ICEBOUND. (Received 2 p.m.) LONDON", February 20. The master of the Altmarck, Captain Dau, in a statement, said that his ship's stern was ashore, the rudder broken and one propeller damaged. The ship was in the Gulf of Mexico on the outbreak of war, and he received orders to place his vessel at the disposal of the Graf Spee, to which it acted as supply ship throughout her activities. Desiring to observe the law in neutral waters, he ordered that no retaliation be made to the fire from the boarding party of the cruiser Cossack, to which not a shot was returned. The official German news agency says Mr. Chamberlain** reprimand to Norway proves that Britain is openly demanding military aid from neutrals. The Altmarckfe captain declared that he i« now free to sail his ship, as Norway has not placed restraint on him. Tugs are needed to pull the Altmarck. which is icebound, off the rocks.