NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 63, 14 March 1940, Page 12

NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

NEUTRAL SHIPPING

ATTITUDE OF NAZIS

PRINCIPLES & PERFORMANCE

The attitude of the Nazis towards ljeutral shipping, ■ defined in the memorandum to neutrals just published, has, of course, been made fairly clear - by the acts of U-boat commanders. The Nazi reply to inquiries by the neutral shipowners said that ships would be sunk if they accepted enemy convoy, if they were without ordinary, lights or nationality marks, if they used their radio to give military information, or if they refused to stop when called upoi. Indiscriminate Sinkings. These things have been used to excuse attacks in which no attempt was made to get a vessel to stop, and, it has been complained afterwards that she did not heave-to in answer to a non-existent signal, or one which her captain did not see. In the middle of last month, moreover, Scandinavian newspapers reported that Hitler had issued a new order for indiscriminate sinkings. This order was reported to cover all vessels which "came under BiAtish control," which would include ships diverted to British examination ports, and ships in British waters which might conceivably touch at a British port, even though they were not bound for one, as well as any ship which sailed a zig-zag course. In practice, the German attacks almost never include the powerful neutrals, but only those smaller countries near Nazi forces ./hich are readily to be intimidated. Germans Dismissed. Details of the purge carried out by Turkey last month show that the seizure of the Krupp shipyards was followed by an extensive deportation of Germans in the country. In the War and Naval Ministries 100 Germans lost their jobs, the swift action being attributed to a widespread plot to create sabotage and terrorism in Turkey. The ousted Germans, who were technicians, were given 48 hours in which to leave the country. An authoritative statement said that it was impossible, after the discovery of the existence of a network of Nazi agents ready to commence a reign of terror, that the men should remain at their posts. Thirty Germans in the Krupp works were supervising the completion of two submarines for the Turkish Navy. The Turks declared that they were acting within their rights and the meekness of the Nazis in the face of their action was notable. A Berlin report said that the German Press had ignored the Turkish purge and that official quarters declared that Germany would make no protest, as the discharged technicians were under private contracts. Relations between the two Governments, therefore, would not be affected. Defences in the Caucasus. At the same time advice was received that Russia was pushing ahead with the construction of defences in the Caucasus, along the Turkish frontier. These defences are described as intended to defend the oilfields, which are close to the border, against attack by Britain and France. Several hundred thousand workers are reported to have been ordered to the spot by the Russians for the purpose of building the defence lines and the military roads leading to them. Included in the information reaching Turkey about the matter was the fact that Dr. Fritz Todt, the man who supervised the German roading programme and who was transferred by Hitler to organise the rapid construction of the Siegfried Line two years ago, is now aiding the Russians in this work. Soviet Consular authorities in Turkey also have issued a warning that minefields have now been laid off Russia's Black Sea ports and mariners have been told that it is necessary to have Russian pilots in Russian waters. Quick Deliveries. The way in which American aeroplanes are now being turned out for the Allies may be gathered from one or two statements which have recently been published by American newspapers. According to, the Associated Press, the new orders which Britain has lodged with the Lockheed Aircraft Co. for Hudson planes, and a newer type still, are being filled at the rate of-20 machines a week. The Glenn Martin plant at Middle River, Baltimore, Maryland, has sold 385 planes to France recently and is now turning out three a day on a five-day week. It works 24 hours a day except on Saturdays and Sundays. An engine shortage, however, reduced the output to two planes a day last month. The aircraft being built for France at this plant are the deadly 167-F bomber, a 300-mile-jin-hour machine with a wing spread of only 61 feet, but motors as powerful as the largest in use by American domestic air lines. The work is being done in what is known as Hangar No. 3, a building which was specially erected in eleven months. A significant thing is that the French have decided they do not want the Martin ships test-flown any more. The machines are-assembled, tested on the ground, and shipped. In France the bomb-sights, racks, and guns are installed. Aid for German Families. A gigantic experiment being carried out by the Nazis is an attempt to provide the families of men mobilised with almost the same income as they enjoyed before the war began. No official figures about the strength of the German Army are available, but it is assumed that it is hear 4,000,000 men. A large number of these men are married, most of them earn small, or at all events medium-sized, incomes, Their families are said to be drawing State support amounting to about 80 per cent, of their peace-time incomes. The Nazis call this "social justice in war time." In the World War, they say, the workers employed at home drew comparatively high wages while the soldiers in the front lines received only meagre pay, hardly enough to buy their beer and tobacco. Their families were given small doles from the State. On the other hand, a civil servant who joined the army as an officer not only received his full salary as an official, but also got an officers' pay. Special War Pay. Today every soldier in the German forces, no matter what his rank, will receive special "war pay." The private will get about £2 10s a month, which is regarded as pocket money. The maximum will be about £13 a month. The families of workers will receive