CHECKING SUPPLIES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20547, 6 May 1941, Page 7

CHECKING SUPPLIES

BLOCKADE OF GERMANY INCREASING PRESSURE BRITISH RULE AT SEA (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 9 a.m. RUGBY, May 5. The importance and efficiency of the ■British blockade were stressed by the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Economic Warfare, Mr. J. Wilmot, in a speech at Birmingham yesterday. Because Herr Hitler was temporarily master of most of Europe, Mr. Wilmot said, some people imagined that he now had access to vast unlimited supplies which would enable him to carry on the war 'indefinitely. “They either forget the blockade or attempt to argue that it no longer counts,” said Mr. Wilmot. “Let me disillusioh them. Herr Hitler controls the western seaboard of Europe from Narvik to Biarritz, but from the point of view of supplies it avails him nothing, for no German ship dare sail on the surface of the Atlantic to bring him goods from the Americas. Grudging Return of Spoils “If the conquered countries are to be of use to him, Herr Hitler must feed them, organise their industries and adapt their transport systems. This means sending valuable stocks of food, raw materials and machinery which Germany can ill afford to spare. “Immediately on occupation the Germans looted everything of value in the conquered countries and so made up many deficiencies. Now they grudgingly have to return some of the spoils. The conquered country is a liability as well as an asset.

“More and more the Germans are going to feel the pinch, but whatever shortages there may be in Germany they will not be felt by the army first. It is the civilians who have to bear the brunt of want and it may well be that under the strain they may break, as they did in 1918, irrespective of the victories of German arms. That is why the blockade must be maintained.”