GROWING ALLIED STRENGTH

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23718, 17 August 1942, Page 5

GROWING ALLIED STRENGTH

VIEW OF SIR EARLE PAGE RETURN TO AUSTRALIA (Special Australian Correspondent.) ' (Received August 10, 9 p.m.) (N.Z.P.A.) SYDNEY, August 16. “The Allies should soon be able to attack the heart and head of the enemy,” said the Australian envoy to Britain and the United States (Sir Earle Page) on his return here. There was no thought in England and America that the war could be lost, he said. “I have always believed that it would take about four years for the Allies to get into their stride,” he continued, “but the situation is’ now becoming very different. The increased Allied production is a revelation. Britain is now launching ships within 30 days of the keels being laid, and they are ready for service eight days afterwards. “We are undoubtedly beating the submarine menace in the western Atlantic. The co-operation of sea and air forces is sweeping the seas of submarines, and in time this will be true of the eastern Atlantic.” Britain had already opened a second front by massed bomber raids on Germany. Ships, aeroplanes, and tanks were being destroyed before they could be used against the Russians. The land front would come, but to open one prematurely would be to invite disaster, “The British people thoroughly understand the position in this theatre,” said Sir Earle Page, “When our plight looked desperate they even pulled guns out of their emplacements to send them to us,” Commenting on the Solomons battle, Sir Earle Page said that effective action against the Japanese now would be three times as valuable as action next year. Sir Earle Page has resigned his post as special envoy because of ill health. CHILE AND AXIS DIPLOMATIC BREACH PREDICTED (Received August 16, 9.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, August 15. “There is a definite possibility that Chile will break off relations with the Axis within two months,” says the Washington correspondent of the “New: York Times.” “The President (Senor* Juan Rios) has accepted Mr Roosevelt’s invitation to visit the United States. This obviously marks a trend towards closer relations. A well-quali-fied observer, who recently arrived from Santiago, predicted that Chile would break off relations with the Axis before Senqr Rios leaves for Washington.