SITUATION IN DENMARK

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24043, 3 September 1943, Page 5

SITUATION IN DENMARK

“GERMAN MILITARY DICTATORSHIP” LEGATION IN STOCKHOLM SEVERS RELATIONS (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 2. The Danish Legation in Stockholm has broken off relations with Denmark “because constitutional government Las ceased to exist there with the advent of German military dictatorship. Danish guards at the Horseroed internment camp, north of Copenhagen, allowed 412 Danish Communist prisoners, including several members of Parliament and prominent intellectuals, to escape. The Government, under German pressure, interned these Communists on the outbreak of the RussianGefrnan war. The Germans on Tuesday notified the Danes that they intended taking over the camp. By nightfall all the prisoners had disappeared. “Serious disturbances broke out in Copenhagen last night,” says the Stockholm newspaper “Svenska Dagbladet. “The Germans brought artillery into position in the streets and the Gestapo and S.S. troops occupied all the Copenhagen police stations following a unammous refusal by the Danish police to take the oath of allegiance to the German commander (General von HanneThe Germans are patrolling the streets of Copenhagen in armoured cars and firing on groups of more than five persons. . In spite of the German ban on assemblies thousands of Danes lined the streets of Copenhagen yesterday and cheered the King and Queen as they drove under a German guard through a Copenhagen suburb. King Christian stopped the car and said: “I am happyto hear the Danish language still spoken in the country. Keep on with that.” The Official German News Agency has announced that in view of the calm attitude of the Danish population the curfew in Copenhagen has been relaxed to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. ; Restaurants, theatres, and cinemas are permitted to remain open until 10 p.m. Previously the curfew began at sundown. The latest Danish arrests include all trade union leaders and many university professors, pastors, and industrialists. Reports from Stockholm say it Is officially announced that a number of Danish warships have arrived at the Karlskroha naval base from the ports to which they escaped. The • transfer was carried out under the Swedish Naval Command with the Danish crews manning the ships. SWEDISH-GERMAN RELATIONS (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 1. “The Swedish Government does not intend to lie down under the storm of abuse from Germany, nor will the Swedish people allow it to do so,” says the Stockholm correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” “A delegation of fishermen to-day interviewed the Premier and Foreign Minister and insisted that a further protest be made to Berlin with reference to the sinking of the two fishing vessels in the Skagerrak. “In the meantime, 2000 fishing vessels to-day lay moored inactive in the west coast harbours, with their flags half-mast for their lost comrades. This is believed to be the first strike in Sweden for international as distinct from internal reasons.” The Germans are already climbing down as a result 6f the firm Swedish attitude. A Wilhelmstrasse spokesman said that this was only an isolated incident and emphasised that neutral States must understand that Germany in these days, when rumours of an enemy invasion were rife, must be especially watchful. FOREIGN POLICY OF CANADA “WISH TO JOIN PANAMERICAN UNION” STATEMENT BY OFFICIAL (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 2. “Points of Canadian foreign policy hitherto unknown either to Canadians or to the rest of the world were outlined by Mr Brooke Claxton, Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Prime Minister (Mr W. L. Mackenzie King) at a press conference,” says the “New York Times.” “He saifl that the Canadians wish to join the Pan-American Union and wish to co-operate with the United States in the defence of the Aiperican continent, but prefer the inclusion of Britain as an outpost of American defences, “He added that Canada would not return to trade restrictions after the war unless the United States again imposed high tariffs. Also, Canada preferred the widest possible international trade to reinstatement of the Ottawa agreements after the war.” 8.8.C. CONTROL APPOINTMENTS BY BOARD OF GOVERNORS (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 2. Following the resignation of Sir Cecil Graves, Joint Director-General of the 8.8.C., the board of governors has appointed Mr Robert Foot, the remaining Joint Director-General, as the sole Director-General and chief executive officer. The board has also appointed Mr W. J. Haley, editor-in-chief. Mr Haley is at present joint managing director of the “Manchester Guardian,” and a director of Reuter and the Press Association. He will be jointly concerned with Mr Foot with the character and quality of the whole of the 8.8.C.’s output. Newspaper circles regard the appointment of Mr Haley as one of the most daring 8.8.C. moves, and consider it likely to have far-reaching result's. The Australian Associated Press understands that Mr Haley will have complete control of the entire 8.8.C. programme as well as the news organisation, being in effect the most important man jn the whole corporation. [Mr Foot a‘nd Sir Cecil Graves were appointed Joint Directors-General of the 8.8.C. in 1942, Mr Foote served in the last war, won the Military Cross in 1916, and was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. In 1919 he joined the Gas Light and Coke Company, and was its general manager from 1929 to 1942.1 * Vandalism in Dunedin Reserves The statement that an expenditure of £3OO a year was required to make good the damage caused by vandals to appliances in children’s playgrounds was made by the acting-chairman of the reserves , committee (Cr. D. C. Jolly) at a meeting of the City Council when he condemned the action of persons who had pulled out tree ferns the day after they had been planted in the Town belt. Cr. Jolly said that the committee took a serious view of the matter. It would be possible to save some, but not all, o. the trees, which had been presented to the council by the Dunedin Amenities Society. The Mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) said that it was difficult to understand the mentality of anyone who would cause such wilful damage. Billiards Championships.—The final game of 1000 up for the Canterbury Provincial Billiards Championship was played between T. Elkis (Lyttelton Railway) and L. Kent (A.A.C.). Elkis won by 164 points. Results of the matches in the Junior Championship are as follows: Young beat Phillpot, Greenslade beat Norrie, Hewiiison beat McCaffery, Gibbons beat Archer, Webb beat Barter, Sharp, beat Innes, Cormack beat Nairn,. Simons beat Johns, Wilkie beat Rivers, McGregor beat Jones, Young beat Greenslade, Gibbons beat Hewinson, Webb beat Sharp, Cormack beat Simons, McGregor beat Wilkie.