PROGRESS BY ALLIES

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 3, 28 September 1939, Page 10

PROGRESS BY ALLIES

Economic War On Nazis

PRIME MINISTER’S REVIEW Gains By French Forces SUPREME COUNCIL AGREES ON PLANS (British Official Wircless.l RUGBY, September 26. "Never have our people been more united or more determined. They are resolved —and the simple fact'cannot be too often stressed — to rid themselves once and for all of the perpetual threat of German aggression of which Poland is the latest instance. We and I 1 rance entered the war to rid ourselves and the world of that menace, and our peoples are united as never before in the resolve to achieve that purpose.” . With this statement the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, concluded his latest review of the present situation, which he made in the House of Commons today.

“My first task today is to give a report to the House of the second meeting of the Supreme War Council on September 22—this time in England, ’ the Prime Minister stated. “It was a great pleasure to be able to welcome M. Daladier and his colleagues to our shores. The Council met in the morning and again in the afternoon. Agreement On Plans. -1 am glad to be able to inform the House that we found ourselves in complete agreement with the French representatives on the course to be followed to meet the developments since meeting on September 12 and to give effect to the Allied plans. “Agreement was also reached on procedure for co-ordinating and perfecting arrangements to be made by the two Governments oh the question of munitions and supplies. “Since my last statement on September 20 the effects of the action of the Soviet. Government on the position in Poland have become clearer. The Soviet forces have everywhere rapidly advanced, and on September 23 a German-Soviet, communique was published in Moscow, according to which the German and Soviet Governments had established a line of demarcation between the Gorman and Soviet armies running roughly north and south from East Prussia through Warsaw to junction with the Hungarian-Slovak frontier.

“It will be noticed that this line brines the Soviet forces up to the suburbs of Warsaw, leaving the greater part of Galicia and of the Polish oil wells in Soviet control. The communiques issued by the Red army do not. however, suggest that the Soviet troops have as yet occupied ail the territory allotted to them under this arrangement, amounting to more than half the total area of the Polish Republic. World Moved by Heroism. “The Poles have not abandoned the struggle. The world is moved by the heroism of the defenders of Warsaw and the Hela Peninsula.” After a reference to the cowardly assassination of the Rumanian Prime Minister and brief reference to progress in the air and on the Western Front, where "the French leave continued to make progress in certain localities and have succeeded, notwithstanding the increasingly energetic German reaction, in maintaining all their gains intact,” and to the Dominions, whose war preparations, he said, continued with gathering momentum, Mr. Chamberlain turned to the work of the Ministry of Economic Warfare, to which Ire devoted a large part of his statement. Whereas in the last, war the Ministry of Blockade was not. set up till 1916, he said, the new Ministry had been under organization for the past two years. The object was to disorganize Germany’s economic structure and cripple her power to prolong hostilities. “A word of earning against overoptimism is necessary,” said Mr. Chamberlain. “Germany already possesses stocks of varying size, of raw materials whith she requires to import, and quick results cannot therefore be expected. But our command of the sea means that from the day war broke out Germany was cut off from many of her sources of supply. Effect of the Blockade. “The figures for the first three weeks of the war show that we have seized about 256,000 tons of goods, as to which there was evidence that they were contraband consigned to Germany. These include some 62,000 tons of petroleum products, 65,000 tons of iron ore, and 37,000 tons of manganese ore. “German propaganda meanwhile has been active, alleging that our contraband will have no effect on Germany as she is self-sufficient, but will on t'he other hand completely strangle neutral trade.

“I do not know which of these statements is further from the truth. The fact is that we made plain at the beginning of the war that we were anxious to take account of the bona fide trading needs of neutral countries and that the British Government would gladly consider any suggestions neutral Governments might put forward for this purpose. Friendly dis missions are now taking place with a number of Governments, and Britain holies in certain cases to come to arrangements with them, which will still further simplify the procedure for contraband control.

“The facts speak for themselves, and neutral opinion will, I am sure make its own comparison between Britain's clearly-declared policy on the one hand and on the other the thinly-veiled menaces of Germany toward neutrals, menaces which in the past few days have been translated into action by the sinking of three neutral ships under circumstances constituting a clear breach of international law. Callous Nazi Policy. “Much play is made in German propaganda of the inclusion of foodstuffs in the category of conditional contraband, and it is represented that we are thereby conducting an illegal inhumane blockade. But in this respect a naval blockade is in no way different from a land siege, and no one has ever suggested that a besieging commander should allow free rations to a besieged town. “In any case, the German Government should be the last to make such

an accusation at a time when German submarines are attacking all shipping coming to these islands with complete and callous disregard for humanity and the rules of submarine warfare, to ’ which Germany had solemnly agreed.” The Prime Minister spoke at length, of the industrial organization of the nation for war and the part employers and labour, as partners with the Ministry of Supply, could play. He stated that; the Dominion air strength was now being made ready for use overseas, and, supplies of finished munitions, raw materials, and foodstuffs from the Dominions were being made available in ever-increasing volume.