POISON GAS LIE

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 November 1939, Page 7

POISON GAS LIE

' REPEATED BY GERMANY FURTHER BRITISH REPLY [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIBELESS] (Recd. November 1, 12.10 p.m.) RUGBY, .October 31. The War Office announces that, despite its statement issued on October 20, in which the German allegations that Britain had supplied poison gas to Poland were categorically denied for a third time, Germany, continues, to circulate in neutral countries, by pamphlet and wireless, repetitions and elaborations of the same baseless charge.

Since October 20 the Polish Government has also issued a categorical denial that poison gas was ever supplied in any form by Britain to Poland, and a Swiss doctor, who examined German soldiers alleged to be victims of British poison gas in Poland, has declared, in an interview on October 23 that he “found no evidence indicating in what circumstances the poisoning has occurred,” and that he had, at the time, “feared his statement would be misused for anti-British propaganda.” , \ The justification put forward by Germany for repeating its charges is that what it calls a “laconic answer” is no sufficient rebuttal of what it claims to be “a charge proved by circumstantial evidence.” This so-cal-led circumstantial evidence consists of the following assertions: (1) That large dumps of mustard gas mines were found at, or near, Oxhoeft, in the vicinity of Gdynia, and were stored among war material supplied by Britain. (2) That Polish dockers admit having unloaded at night, shortly before the war, all the material found in these dumps. (3) That mustard gas mines and shells, discovered near various towns in Poland, were accounted for on delivery forms, showing they had been distributed from the dump at Oxhoeft mentioned above. 1

Thus, the sole connection between Britain and the only poison gas alleged to have been found anywhere in Poland is that this gas came from the Oxhoeft dump, and that this dump had been filled from British ships. The following is therefore, a further reply to this charge. It is still nectssarily laconic, but none the less complete. The Board of Trade, through its system of export licenses for raw materials, maintains the strictest control and complete records, and every possible source of supply shows that nothing of the kind, at any time has been sent to Poland.