LEND-LEASE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 163, 12 July 1945, Page 8

LEND-LEASE

FICTION AND FACT SOME CANARDS QUASHED Rumours and reports concerning lend-lease, which are either incorrect or exaggerated; are dealt with effectively in the 19th report to the United States Congress on lendlease operations. Among the charges answered are several alleging that Britain is charging exorbitant prices for certain goods and services. While most of the information is obviously for American consumption, much of it is of interest to New Zealanders. In regard to the widely-circulated rumour that Britain and other allies plan to use lend-lease materials in their export trade in competition with U.S.A. when the war has ended, it -is stated that America retains title to all lend-lease "material that has. not been lost," destroyed, or consumed, and no disposition may be made ;of such property without American consent. The United States controls the post-war availability of such materials. Here are some further extracts: Fiction: Americans who have stood in long lines to purchase cigarettes have; sometimes-, heard that one reason for the shortage was,the large number furhish;ed to other countries under lend-lease.:■■■-, '

Fact: United' States lend-lease exports' of in ; 1944 required only about 1 li:per;cent of .production. For . every cigarette lend-leased in 1944 20 went to ; United States armed forces abroad and people in America smoked 60. Butter, Beef and Veal Fiction: American tourists in Canada have been able to purchase all the butter they want at low prices, and have allegedly found that the butter contains a lend-lease label. Fact: Canada has received no butter under lend-lease. All butter for that purpose has been sent to the U.S.S.R. for use by the.Russian army. The proportion of. total supply lendleased amounted to .7 per cent in 1942, 4.1 per cent in 1943, 4.2 per cent in 1944 arid 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of 1945. Fiction: The shortage of domestic beef and veal supplies in the United States has resulted in the idea that large quantities are being lend-leased. Fact: Only 1.1 per cent of domestic beef and 1.3 per cent of veal was delivered to the Allies as lend-lease in the first three months of 1945. American forces in the South Pacific have -received from Australia and New Zealand under reverse lend-lease two-thirds as much beef and veal as the United .States exported under lend-lease to all countries.

Fiction: Each time a United States plane makes a forced landing on an airfield in Britain the United States Government is charged 7000 dollars. Fact: The British Government makes no charge whatever for forced or other landings. It furnishes as reverse lend-lease all airfields in the United Kingdom used by United States air forces. Fiction: United States is sending to Britain as lend-lease several hundred thousand prefabricated hbuses which are consuming a substantial share of domestic lumber supplies. Fact: United States is using about two-thirds of 1 per cent of its national lumber supply in 1945 to provide 30,000 temporary emergency houses for war workers in war production areas in England. These will help replace some of the 500,000 houses estimated to have been completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe and V bombs.