LEASE-LEND VALUE

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 May 1944, Page 5

LEASE-LEND VALUE

MR. ROOSEVELT’S REPORT

SUPPLIES FOR INVASION RUGBY, May 22. The United Nations’ Forces are now about to strike new and mightiei blows at Nazi-occupied Europe from offensive bases in the west, south and east, says Mr. Roosevelt, in a lettei to Congress, accompanying the fifteenth lend-lease report. He intimates also that new Soviet blows will be timed with advances elsewhere. The lend-lease aid, the report says, had reached 24,224,806,000 dollars (over six thousand million pounds) by i Aftis 1 letter, Mr. Roosevelt draws a striking picture of the forthcoming operations. He says: “Fighting men oi many nations have been banded together in combined operations. They are armed with the most powerful weapons that the combined resources and ingenuity of the United Nations can. produce. They are ready to bring to bear their strength to continue the crushing process against the Nazi and German war machine. Our American forces go into battle side by side with men of Britain, France, Norway, Roland, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands and our‘other allies. Warships flying many United Nations’ flags will escort the fleets. The R.A.F. will join with the United States Army Air Forces in blasting the paths for our troops and protecting them from air attacks.” J . ’, “The United Nations’ fighting partnership has been made far stronger by lend-lease and reverse lend-lease. Decisive battles are ahead, Mr. Roosevelt continued. “Now more than ever, it is vital, to our own American army, navy and air forces, as well as to the forces of other United Nations, that we continue to provide our fighting partners with the additional war supplies they need to supplement their own resources. Only by uniting our full strength, with the full strength of other free peoples of the world, have we moved from the defensive to the offensive, and from defeats to victories. By maintaining oui unity now, we shall certainly, achieve final" victory. By continuing our unity after the war, we can assure peace in which mankind can live, work and worship in peace, freedom and security.” IMPRESSIVE TOTALS “In the last three months of this year the United States provided the Allies with the record-breaking total of over 4000 million dollars worth ol lend-lease aid,” the report states “This consisted of planes, .tanks and other war supplies transferred and shinping, repair and other services rendered. About 97 per cent, of all lend-lease aid has gone to the British Commonwealth, the Soviet Union, and China.” In the first 60 days oi this year alone 2100 lend-lease planes, almost 2000 tanks, and over 60,000 other military motor vehicles were sent from the United States to the forces of other United Nations fighting the Germans and the Japanese. “Since the beginning of the lendlease programme in March, 1941. we have sent more than 30,000 planes, some 25,000 tanks, and over 800,000 other military motor vehicles to the forces of our Allies. Of these over 23,000 planes, over 23,000 tanks and almost 550,000 other motor vehicles went under lend-lease. The rest were paid for in cash by the Allies. Over half of all the lend-lease aid* consisted of fighting equipment, planes, tanks, guns, ships bombs, and other finished munitions.” Of reverse lend-lease, the report says: “The United States Forces ano. our merchant marine overseas are receiving great quantities of supplies and services as reverse lend-lease aid provided by the Allies without payment by the United States. By the first of this year aid provided to the United States by the nations of the British Commonwealth since 1/6/42 totalled over 2000 million dollars and the rate of aid in the war is approaching this amount per year. Just as our Allies benefit from the other 86 per cent, of our war expenditures, so we benefit from all their war expenditures, whether they are for reverse lend-lease and mutual aid or not. In the case of the Soviet Union and China, lor example, virtually all their resources are needed lor fighting the invaders on their own soil, and it is essential to the success of our military operations that their resources be so used.”

BRITAIN AS BASE. The report makes a point of emphasising that “all the experience and information we have available indicate that in proportion to their available resources our principal Allies are .putting into this war fully as much as we are, including our lend-lease aid. This is true in terms of the percentage of their manpower in uniform, —in terms of the percentage of gross national production each is devoting to war purposes, and in terms of their increased taxes and increased national indebtedness in relation to national income.”

There is a striking reference to Britain in the repo.rt. “Three years ago,” it says, “Britain stood alone between the United States and the tide of Axis aggression that had swept across Western Europe. Three years later, in the Spring of 1944, Britain has become the mightiest military base in the history of the world. From hundreds of airfields American, British and other Allied planes roar out by thousands day and night to pound the industrial Nazi defences and drive the German fighters from the skies. At sea the U-boat campaign has been virtually defeated. On the crowded British Isles is assembled a gigantic United Nations striking force of men and equipment ready to strike at the hour appointed for the invasion of Europe.” AUSTRALIA’S SHARE. (Rec. 12.55) SYDNEY, May 23. Australia- is spending 18 per cent, of its war expenditure on lend-lease compared with the United States 14 per cent., the Minister of External Affairs (Dr. Evatt) said. Australia had supplied 250,000 tons of food to the American forces in the South-west Pacific—9o per cent, of their needs. In addition, foodstuffs valued at £242.461,000 were shipped overseas in 1942-43. Of this 53 per cent, had been exported to Britain. In 1944 Australia must produce 26,000,000 garments for the Allied forces in the South-west Pacific, and British troops in India and the Middle East, and millions of blankets for India. Thus Australian civilians faced further shortages to that Australia could clothe and feed the Allied troops in the area and send other food to Britain.