ARMAMENT CREDITS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 16, 19 July 1939, Page 4

ARMAMENT CREDITS

KEEN GOMPETItt6^-

BRITISH SUPPIiE&

GUARANTEED STATEs:£mst

LONDON, July 11

Requests already %ade td'B^a&.f pi' armament credits by-the four ;guaran-,! teed States—Poland, Turkey, Rumania,, and Greece—far exceed the £60,00(J,00» that the British Government'.lia^ allotted for the purpose."., r ". ." J>Poland alone has asked" for' arms worth more than £50,000,000. j.'iThis, in addition-, to the fact, ihat Britain's engineering industries are t alfeady : cpn-. gested, will mean a delicate ratiomng of the available creditsj and..armaments. '. ' •■:; •- ■ .- -, ■ The new plan means,, in. effect, -that Britain, will become ; the chief Supplier; of arms to countries with an ..aggregate population of more than ,7jO,OW),000 which have hitherto depended" largely, ori Germany, including:. Czedip-SJlby^. Ida, for armaments. In adtjitipnj, tfi? re-armament plan^ of' Britain . herself; and the Dominions are'far irOffi~c;o~nl- ■, plete. Consequently the new plan will create keen three-sided competition between the foreign States; to. which others may be added if the Peace Front gains : new adherents,- -Britain's metropolitan -forces, 'and ;the-do-minions. ■ :. v- ' l '.'....' " ,' ME. NASH'S CHANCES. ■.'.;■• 7 Well-informed obseryers believe -that' the New Zealand Minister of Finance, ■ Mr. Nash, will now have to fight ..hard for the. £6,000,000 that he is .seeking. Any export credit guarantees, granted other than on commercial,grqunds toEmpire countries must come from the;additional £60,000,000 now authorised,, but most of this has already been earmarked for Poland, and -other- nonaggression Powers. ?. '.:■:■■ ■;.-. There is ample evidence that-the Government's advisers do not consider that the outlying parts of the.Empire.are" gravely threatened, and consequently :l they are likely to suggest that the Do-7 minions' needs should be placed after, those of the guaranteed States. , This policy is likely to-be* supported.-by. th.c," contention' that . the. Pbminion^ .are. better able to manufacture. folr .their own needs than are the reliatively-Un-industrialised Poland, Rumania, Turkey, and Greece. .