IN CASE OF WAR

Grey River Argus, 27 May 1938, Page 12

IN CASE OF WAR

Emergency Stores

AUSTRALIAN RESERVES,

SYDNEY, May 12.

Australia is closely following Britain’s policy of accumulating reserves of supplies to meet an emergency. While Britain is storing up foodstuita Australia is building up stocks ot materials not procurable here, but necessary for defence. The plans are being kept secret, out the Minister of Defence, Mr H V. Thorpy, revealed that the Federal Government is negotiating with oil companies for the building up large supplies of petrol, fuel oil, a/Kt rubricating oil. The maint&nance of petrol stores presents difficulties. Petrol tends to deteriorate if stored for more than about two years. The plan being evolved will provide that, although the stores will always be large, there will oe no long accumulation of individual consignments. The stores will be used as the ordinary source of the Commonwealth’s peace-time supplies, and fuel withdrawn from time to time will be replaced immediately by fresh supplies. MATERIALS FOR MUNITIONS. Other materials of which stocks will be provided will be various forms of non-ferrous metal sheets, bars and tubes used in the manufacture of munitions, and aluminiums and other fight metals not at present manufactured in Australia. It will be necessary, also, to provide supplies of the Key chemical suostance uped in the manufacture of explosives. These include nitrates and the lowgrade cotton used'‘for modern propellants. Chemical reserves will be established to; permit of the production ot flares anti possibly of gases.

By forking through ordinary wheat-buying channels and remaining m the background, the Bi’itish Government ’ was able to buy immense quantities of Australian wheat for its emergency stocks. It was ableflo keep .its secret so well as to prevent the sky-rocketing of prices. Many meh in Sydney’s big wheat firms worked ior the British Government during the past months.

There were rumours that the real ■buyer wias the British Government but the - Orders came through in the usual way through the big English importers aiid flour-millers, and nothing leaked out to confirm the rumours. BRITAIN’S INTENSIVE WHEAT BUYING. leading wheat merenant said it was obvious now that the British Government was the cause of the recent intensive buying. During that period about 20 cargoes of Australian wheat were bought. The British Government ceased when wheat touched 6s lOd a cental, ana it was obvious that it would commence buying again when prices dropped to a low levql. ' Australian farmers benefited, not only by the sale of many cargoes, but by the steadying influence on wheal prices of the purchases. Another leading Sydney wheat man said the British Government did most of its buying through an English wheat-milling firmi