U.S.A. AFFAIRS

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 January 1944, Page 3

U.S.A. AFFAIRS

LEND-LEASE MACHINERY.

RUGBY, January 7. Dependence of the United Nations on the United States for the machinery concerned has' been virtually complete, according to the latest United States lend-lease report., ipe United States shipped to Britain in the past two and a half years two per cent, of the United States Production of such machinery, with the help of which £.000,000 acres were brought into farm production. Whereas before the war the British imported two pounds of food for every pound th'ey raised, now they raise two for every one imported. Bombers take off from long, level fields which four years ago were among the best farms. The new acreage had to be created from marshes and hammered out of the rough soil of the hills in the western counties. These' marginal lands could not be drained, cleared, and converted for food production without the heavy type of farm power available only in America. United States troops in Australia and New Zealand are being fed almost entirely locally, under lend-lease, which would have been virtually impossible without United States farm machinery. The United States sent over 1,000,000 dollars of machinery to India, to assist the country to meet the critical food shortages. Smaller amounts had been sent to North Africa and the Middle East. North Africa is now producing food not only for its own population, but for the armed forces and Southern Italy. Hundreds of thousands of "tons of shipping space have been saved by increases in food production achieved by the eoumries of the Middle East. PETROL SUPPLIES RUGBY, January 7. Mr. Roosevelt’s latest lend-lease report answers the complaint that petrol has been drawn too heavily from the United States, with a statement that this year a much larger part of the oil needed in the Mediterranean will come from sources under British control. He gives a pledge that after the war all nations will have fair and equal access to oil supplies. The report states that the United States was actually exporting a smaller quantity of petroleum products than before the war. “We are using for our own war industry and armed forces about eighty-eight per cent, of the oil we produce. The additional production of crude petroleum in the United States since the outbreak, and the curtailment of our non-essential civilian demands have been caused not by lend-lease but the demands of our war industries and armed forces.” Mr. Roosevelt added that production in the Middle .East already surpassed pre-war production," and greatly exceeded that of two years ago, when the whole area was threatened by the danger of falling under Nazi control. CHEMICALS TRUST WASHINGTON, Jan. 7. Regarding the Cartel suit, the U.S.A. Department of Justice has also alleged that the German I.G. Farben Industrie has been a member of the alleged conspiracy since 1926. and that parties have, at all times since, continued to abide by the provisions of this agreement, except to the extent that its operations have been interrupted by the present war. LORD McGOWAN’S DENIAL LONDON, January 7. • Lord McGowan issued an additional statement on the American antitrust suit. He said that since making the statement (cabled yesterday), his attention was drawn to statements made by the United State Assistant Attorney-General, Mr Wendell Berge. “While I have not yet a complete report, Mr. Berge clearly states that in his view the activities of Imperial Industries and Du Pont frustrated the Allied war effort, and involved collaboration with the enemy. I cannot wait to obtain more exact information before denying utterly and totally any suggestion that any action of ours during the war and indeed before the war was of any other character than designed to assist both the British and Allied Governments by every means in our power. We lent freely our ablest^ colleagues, staff and workers, including thousands of key men to all the Government departments and factories, who asked for them. We placed our research patents, processes, and our knowledge, technical and commercial, for the purposes of war unreservedly at the disposal of the Government, and through them to America and Russia. Our war effort has been freely recognised and appreciated by Ministries of all the three services and supply departments, other Ministers and their departments. I wish therefore on behalf of myself. Lord Melchett. my colleagues aiid 120,000 men and women working at our factories, and the 15,000 of our employees serving in. the armed forces to issue a flat denial to these iniquitous charges, and make it clear that we are prepared to meet them fully and in detail at the proper time and place.”

U.S.A. NAVAL STRENGTH

RUGBY, January 6

“The United States Navy has oo aircraft-carriers and is now the greatest sea and air Power in tne world,” said the Secretary to the Navy (Mr. Forrestal), in Washington. “We have completed six 27,000ton carriers of the Essex type, nine light 10,000-ton carriers of the converted cruiser type, and 50 escort carriers. In 1943 1,600,000 tons of combatant ships were completed—almost double the tonnage completed in 1942.”