WAR MATERIALS FOR BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23220, 6 January 1941, Page 6

WAR MATERIALS FOR BRITAIN

American Shipping

Plan

TRANSHIPMENT IN

ICELAND

Ct7?TITEJ> PR3SS ASSOCIATION- COPYRIGHT.) (Received January 5, 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON, January 4. Diplomatic sources in Washington disclose that the United States Government is considering a plan whereby neutral Iceland would become a transhipment base for United States war supplies to Britain. The plan would allow United States ships to transport supplier to Iceland, which is outside the combat zone as defined in the Neutrality Act. It would reduce by more than two-thirds the distance British ships and convoys would travel. On the route between New York and Iceland,'icebergs are sometimes sighted, but the United States has a most competent iceberg patrol. A message from Buenos Aires says Lord Willingdon and the Argentine Government are reported to have agreed on a plan for Argentine foodstuffs to be shipped to Cuba on neutral vessels, and there transferred to British ships, which would thereby have a shorter haul and reduced risks from raiders. Quantities of Munitions Sold Transactions that have taken place in the purchase of war materials between Britain and the United States were detailed in the United States Senate.on Friday. It. was disclosed that- the Governmefft had sold to the United States Steel Corporation for resale to Great Britain a vast quantity of war material,' including more than 1,000,000 rifle's. 18,000,0001b of - high explosive, 83.000 machine-guns, 2800 field guns. 100.000 shells, 200,000 revolvers, and millions of rounds of rifle, machinegun, and revolver ammunition. This material cost the United States Governmen' 60,000,000 dollars and was sold for 26,000,000 dollars. New Shipbuilding Programme

President Roosevelt has announced preparations for a 350,000,000-dollar new shipbuilding programme, providing about 200 ships; also 36,000,000 dollars already allotted by the Maritime Commission 'to start ‘construction of shipyards for the building programme. The ships will be of about 7500 tons. Both .ships and shipyards will be owned by the United States Government.

The keel of a new 45,000-ton battleship is to be laid at • the Brooklyn naval yards on Monday. The vessel is to -be completed in 1942. President Roosevelt, acting on the grounds that “extraordinary emergency exists,” suspended the eight-hour day for Government employees engaged in constructing bases at the sites leased from Britain.. Mr C. Vinson (under-Secretary for the Navy) announced that United States warships already in service will be given bomb-proof caps' of prefabricated design fitted over their decks, as part of a proposed 300,000,000-dollar programme for strengthening the antiaircraft defences of warships. He said many fighting ships would ' join the fleet in 1941, including two new 35,000ton battleships.

BRITISH FUNDS IN U.S.

LARGE BALANCE STILL AVAILABLE POSITION AT END OF YEAR OF WAR (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) : (Received January 8. 1 a.m.) . . WASHINGTON, January 5. A financial expert of the Commerce Department (Mr Paul Dickens) has published statistics showing that Great Britain and Canada at the end of the first war year had investments in the United States valued at' 3,954,000,000 dollars, compared with 4,371,000,000 dollars before the war. It is stated that Britain’s investments in the United States declined relatively little because she used gold Shipments largely to pay for purchases.

“Although the net merchandise exports to Canada and Britain amounted to 875,000,000 dollars, Canada-and Britain drew only 186,000.000 dollars from their, dollar balances and 193,000,003 from United States securities. The balance, plus advance payments for merchandise and capital outlays connected therewith, has been paid principally from ’ the proceeds of gold shipments to the‘United States.”

BOMBS DROPPED IN EIRE IDENTIFICATION AS GERMAN OFFICIAL PROTEST MADE (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Received January 5, 9 p.m.) LONDON. January 4. It is officially stated in Dublin that twe magnetic sea mines dropped at Enniskerry and bombs dropped at Oylegate have been identified as German. The “Irish Press.” in commenting on the Eire bombings, says: "Even if bad weather or other causes force aircraft over our soil, there are still lights in cur cities to indicate our neutrality. Nevertheless, bombs have been dropped in our largest city, as well as elsewhere, What is the explanation? That question is being asked in thousands of Irish homes, and if normal relations’between the two countries are to be preserved it should not be left unanswered." It was officially announced in Dublin yesterday that the German Charge d’Affaires in the Eire capital has been instructed to convey a protest to the German Government against the bombings at Dublin, The Curragh. Julianstewn, and elsewhere. A protest is being made not only against the dropping of bombs but against the violation of Eire’s territorial rights, and the loss cf life and property damage. Full reparation is asked for. The Berlin radio states that British allegations that Gorman aeroplanes have bombed Eire are nothing but an attempt to spoil German-Irish relations, thus concealing Britain's own aggressive intentions. An unidentified aeroplane, flying in a straight line in a northerly direction, dropped a stick of bombs at 4 a.m. on Friday. This was Eire!s third air raid in 24 heurs. At least’ 12 persons were irljured. Bombs fell on the Rialto area, wrecking two blocks of houses. A.R.P. workers and police, digging in the ruins, brought cut those injured. It is’feared others, are still buried. One bomb fell within 150 feet of the famous Griffith Barracks in the middle of the Ghetto. Windows 'f houses in several blocks on both sides of the street were shattered, forcing the residents to evacuate. The city's principal synagogue was wrecked. ' It was officially announced in Dublin; "This morning a civilian passenger aeroplane arriving at Dublin from England got off its course owing to bad weather conditions. Warning shots were fired by anti-aircraft artillery. and the aeroplane returned to its course and landed safely." London morning newspaoers. with the excenticn of the “Daily Telegranh, ’ are inclined to play down thp Eire bombings, none attempting to suggest what they may portend.

“ FRIGHTFIILNESS ” AS AIM

GERMAN FIRE RAID ON LONDON DAMAGE STILL BEING CLEARED (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Received January 5, 9 p.m.) LONDON, January 4. The technical journal. “Aeroplane," in commenting on the fire raid on London last Sunday, said: “Again the Germans have revealed their aim as destruction irrespective of effect on the war effort. We have been loth to subscribe to the "'theory of pure ‘frightfulness,’ and to believe that any air force would deliberately waste its substance on non-military objectives. This attack" on a business quarter seems to leave no further room for doubt.” Many more condemned buildings in the City of London were dynamited to-day, as firemen and salvage workers continued the gigantic task of extinguishing incipient fires, and clearing up the wreckage, but a fortnight will probably pass before the whole of the city area is open for traffic. All the damaged buildings, except a few churches, are likely to be demolished. Lovers of the city mourn the destruc. tion of Simpson's, in Cheapside, one of the oldest London taverns, where guessing the weight of a cheese was a rite known throughout the world. The remains of the Great Hall of the Guildhall are partially cleared. Workmen are rescuing undamaged articles Damage In Fleet Street

It is now possible to gi\- the first comprehensive story of the share of Fleet Street in Sunday’s devastating fire raid on London. Hundreds of incendiary bombs fell in the street and in adjacent buildings and alleys. High explosives were expected to follow at any moment, but all newspapers are produced much as usual. Tremendous material damage was done to buildings ringing Fleet street. Few persons were injured, though a number lost their lives fighting a fire in Shoe lane. , Newspaper employees displayed great gallantry. Messengers, disregarding orders, rushed out to help the firemen. Sub-editors and reporters dropped their pencils and joined the mechanised staffs in saving threatened buildings, and then went back to their jobs. The Cheshire -Cheese Inn was at one time gravely endangered by si bis firs. Among the places narrowly escaping destruction in the St. Bride s fire and still threatened throughout Monday was Reuter’s buildings ini. which are the offices of the Australian Assoc - ated press and other Dominion news services One floor was evacuated owing to the heat, tt was feared that thp snire of St. Bride s misbt crash. Portion of the offices of the “Daily Telegraph” was burned put Members of the staff of the Associated Press of Great Britain continued cabl ng messages while fumes choked their nostrils and water swished their ankles. They were eventually obliged to evacuate their building m Tudor street A “Daily Express” crime reporter removed a dangerous fire bomb from the roof of the Press Club.

JAPANESE AND U.S.

MARINES

APOLOGY AND INDEMNITY SOUGHT SHANGHAI, January 3. The United States marine commandant at Peiping is reported to have demanded an apology and an indemnity from the Japanese as a result of the detention and man-handling of .five marines by Japanese gendarmes. This is a sequel to a clash which occurred in a cabaret on December 31. The Japanese authorities declare that the trouble was jstarted by an American* marine who snatched the pipe out ®f the mouth of a Japanese. ,

INFORMATION ON SHIPPING Preventing Leakage In Australia DRIVE AGAINST SPIES (Receiv'd January 1.30 a.m.) SYDNEY. January 5. The Australian Minister for the Navy (Mr W. M. Hughes) announced to-dr • that the Commonwealth had embarked on a big round-up of spies and fifth columnists in an effort to slop the leakage of shipping information. Shipping men in Sydney are advocating more stringent official measures to prevent leakage of information about shipping movements. Their contention is that among the crews of neutral ships calling at Sydney and other large ports there are ardent Nazi sympathisers who can be expected to listen for scraps of information likely to be useful to the enemy. They assert that the activity ol enemy agents seems to be move general and effective in New Zealand than in Australia. They also urge that there should be restrictions on private messages from New Zealand to Australia Shipping men in Melbourne suggest that the names should be removed from British ships, and that for the remainder of the war they should be known only by numbers. The Polish Consul-General in Sydney. M. Denoskovski. has come into conflict with Mr Hughes, who is At-torney-General as well as Minister for the Navy, as a result of his disclosure to sections of the press that he knew of several recently arrived Poles working in defence industries in the Commonwealth who should be dismissed instantly. Mr Hughes said it was a most extraordinary thing for a Consul-General to make such a statement to the press, and not to the responsible Minister. He added: “If he gives us the names of these disloyal Poles we shall attend to them."

RAIDERS’ NEWS

SOURCES

NEUTRAL VESSELS SUGGESTED LUCKNER’S LEADERSHIP . DENIED SYDNEY, January 4. Special trains equipped with every comfort are carrying the Nazi raider victims to their destinations. Among them is Captain H.' Upton, commander of the Rangitane. He told an interviewer: “It does seem certain that the Pacific raiders have been getting and are getting effective intelligence from someone and may be getting it by wireless from neutral vessels. The raiders’ recent activities have been based on sound information.” Other survivors said the raiders hud known all about the cargoes on the various vessels they sank. A report from Hone Hong says it is reliably stated that one German raider is the former British ship Glengarry, which was seized at Copenhagen and sailed to the Pacific under the British flag, commanded by Count von Luckner She has been masquerading as a Japanese ship, and carries an aeroplane. There is no British ship named the Glengarry in the official list, said a London official. . The Berlin High Command professed to know nothing of reports that von Luckner is commanding a Pacific raider. Count von Luckner's Swedish brother-in-law has denied a report that Count von Luckner is in command of a German raider in the Pacific. He stated that the Count spent Christmas wild boar hunting in the Harz mountains. PRISON SHIP DENIAL BY JAPANESE CONSULATE-GENERAL (TRESS »SSOCI*TIO» riLEOBAU.' WELLINGTON, January 4.. It is stated by the Japanese Consul-ate-General in Wellington that the assumption that the supply and prison ship used by the German raiders in the Pacific was the Osaka-Syosen Kaisha motor-ship, Tokyo Maru, is quite erroneous. She had been, it was said, and still was. in normal service between Japan and Australia. . She was at Kobe on November 26, when the Rangitane was attacked and sunk, She left Mojo, Japan,-on December 3 for Australia, and arrived at Brisbane on December 14. PROTECTIVE DEVICES ON SHIPS SYDNEY, January 5. A mass meeting of seamen at Newcastle decided to lift the ban on ships not fitted with paravanes and degaussing gear, and to man all ships.

CAPTIVES OF RAIDERS ARRIVAL IN SYDNEY GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S WELCOME (Received January 6, 1.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, January 5. A spontaneously cheerful welcome was given to-day to 328 survivors ol the 10 ships sunk in the Pacitic by German raiders. Prominent among the thousands who awaited their arrival by a special train from Brisbane were the Govern -General (Lord Cowrie) and Lady Gowrie. They complimented the survivors on their good fortune in escaping with their lives. Meanwhile wives and daughters embraced and affectionately kissed husbands and fathers in one of the most touching ; ccncs seen here tor years. Some of Ihe men still wore beards grown during their captivity on the prison ships. The 12 wounded were carefully helped to ambulance vans, Red Cross nurses accompanying them to hospitals. Most of the seamen, besides' being heavily bearded and bronzed, were poorly clad in travel - stained clothes. A few were clad m shorts and open-necked shirts, and carried win.'' personal effects they had in canvas bags and picturesque native carry-alls'■from Emirnu. but all were in high spirits. During the height of the excitement Lord Gowrie mounted an improvised dais on the railway platform and addressed the gathering. "My wife and I are Very glad to tender you our personal sympathy for the terrible experiences you have been through, and also to congratulate you on the wonderful courage and fortitude you have shown. We were horrified by your stories of how enemy forces attacked defenceless ships in mid-ocean with women and children aboard. Such acts should arouse indignation and anger throughout the civilised world.

"The most I can do now is to give you an assurance that every step will be taken to see that dastardly outrages of this kind will not happen again."

The passengers and crews were driven in cars and omnibuses to various city hotels and boarding-houses, where they will be accommodated at the expense ofAhe Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments, the shipping companies, and the Childrens Overseas Reception Committee. The New Zealand passengers from the Holmwood and the Rangitane will be provided with their fares to New Zealand. U.S. NAVY IN PACIFIC STRONG FORCES AT HAWAII CRUISERS GOING TO PHILIPPINES HONOLULU, January 4. It is estimated that approximately ‘2O United States cruisers. 60 destroyers, seven battleships, and one aircraftcarrier are in Hawaiian waters. However, it is rumoured that a contingent of cruisers is en route to the Philippines and may possibly also go to Darwin. It is also reported that Washington has ordered all naval bombers to get ready to take up stations in the Philippines.