U.S. AID FOR BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23301, 10 April 1941, Page 7

U.S. AID FOR BRITAIN

CONTRACTS LET FOR SHIPS PROGRESS OF DEFENCE PROGRAMME (Received April 9, 11 p.m.) (U.£.A.) LONDON, April 9. Admiral E. S. Land, chairman of the United States Maritime Commission, has announced a further step in the United States programme to provide ships for the Royal Navy and the British merchant fleet. He said contracts had been let for nearly 2000 vessels, 950 of which would be for the merchant fleet and 913 for the Navy. The Secretary for the United States Navy (Colonel Frank Knox) has announced that Mr James Forrestal, Under-Secretary for the Navy, will leave‘for England shortly to establish close liaison between the Navy Department and the British Admiralty on matters arising from the aid programme. _ Navy officials said that one of the chief objectives of Mr Forrestal’s mission will be to see if some method could be found by which the British could use more American naval weapons and other equipment which are not now standard in the British Navy. The chief of the production division of the National Defence Advisory Commission (Mr W. S. Knudsen) announced' that the defence programme is developing rapidly and satisfactorily. “We have really commenced work.” .he said. “Our output of warplanes will soon exceed requirements and will then exceed Germany’s.” The Vice-President of the United States (Mr H. A. Wallace), addressing the Foreign Policy Association, warned “ruthless treaty-breaking nations that the American people are ready to go to war if their rights are transgressed at any vital points.” Mr Roosevelt, at a press conference, declared that a tremendous increase in disbursements for war equipment surely indicated an acceleration in rearmament and in aid to the democracies, but the results, he said, were still far from satisfactory, due to human factors (presumably industrial disputes). Mr Roosevelt added that the Treasury paid 1,800.000.000 dollars for completed war materials in the first three months of 1941, compared with 1,400.000,000 dollars in the last six months of 1940. The biggest increases were for tanks, guns, warplanes, and new factories. Mr Roosevelt appeared to be satisfied with the progress towards the settlement of the strikes. WAR AGAINST U-BOATS INCREASING VIGOUR OF OFFENSIVE NOTED COMMANDER TAKEN PRISONER (8.0. W.) RUGBY, April 1 8. ’ "Our offensive against U-boats continues with ever-increasing vigour,” states an Admiralty communique. “As pointed out, the fluctuations in the success of our anti-U-boat campaign and in the merchant ship losses which we sustain must be expected. The number of U-boats operating has lately been large and our counter measures have recently met with correspondingly greater success. “In anti-U-boat warfare it is frequently impossible to save life and we have a record of many U-boats that have been destroyed from which no prisoners were recovered. Nevertheless, we have in our hands as prisoners of war from U-boats which have been sunk more than 50 German officers and considerably more than 400 German petty officers and men. There are also in our hands a number of prisoners of war from Italian U-boats. “Among the German U-boat captains who are prisoners of war is Commander Otto Kritschmer, captain of U-boat 99. He is regarded in Germany as one of the most notable and successful of U-boat commanders. In August, 1940, he was decorated with the Knight’s Cross of the Iron.Cross. Last December Hitler bestowed on him the Oak Leaves, denoting a higher class of this decoration. He recently received special promotion.” A special correspondent who has arrived in England in a Canadian destroyer, said that the ships of the convoy it was protecting had been strung out to the farthest horizon. It was one of the most important and valuable convoys of the war. The correspondent said the crew had been disappointed at the absence of the enemy, although the convoy passed through the heart of the U-boat zone.. “This is supposed to be, the Battle of the Atlantic,” the destroyer commander said to the correspondent. “Hitler tells his Germans that British ships are being swept of! the sea. Well, look at them.” BRITISH BASE IN IRAQ SEIZED LONDON, April 8. The Vichy correspondent of the Associated Press of Great; Britain states that an official French dispatch from Beirut states that Iraqi troops seized the British base of Cindledebane near Bagdad last night. Another dispatch from Beirut states that Rashid Ali has formed a Cabinet composed exclusively of military men. The principal members of the Cabinet are all generals. AXIS VESSELS IN MEXICO REQUESTS FOR RELEASE REFUSED MEXICO CITY, April 8. The Mexican Foreign Minister (Senor Paddilla), rejected last night formal requests by Germany and Italy for the immediate release of 12 Axis merchant vessels which were seized recently in Mexican ports. In identical notes to the Italian and German Ministers. Senor Paddilla asserted that to withdraw from these ships and place them without restrictions under the authority of their captains would not only involve danger to the security of these vessels, but would be a threat to the safety of Mexican maritime traffic. NO BROADCAST BY POPE (8.0. W.) . RUGBY, April 8. Reports that the Pope would broadcast on Easter Sunday a plan for world peace which he had discussed with the Japanese Foreign Minister (Mr Matsuoka) last week, were disposed of by a statement from the Vatican wireless that “this year the Holy Father will not come down for any solemn functions in St. Peter’s on Easter Sunday.”