WAR IN GERMANY

Grey River Argus, 31 January 1946, Page 5

WAR IN GERMANY

FOR FOOD AND FUEL Complaints Against Allies ” LONDON, Jan. 29 An Associated Press correspondent at Hamburg states: Armed German gangs wearing British battle areas fought a pitched battle witn British troops guarding food supplies at Wilnelmsberg goods yard on the Hamburg outskirts. One who is believed to have been the leader of the gang wrns killed. The correspondent says this is only one incident in the war for fo(7d and fuel which black market gangs, backed by hordes of hungry and corn German civilans, are waging. One hundred' tons of fuel are stolen weekly despite the stringent precautions. Nine persons who ignored police commands to halt had been shot in the past week. Hamburg’s Naafi operated hotel had insufficient reserves of food, to prepare ( haversack rations for senior officers going out on duty into the country. Heating was cut off in the building because of lack of coal. A British officer stated that although goodsyards thefts were big it did not explain such remarkable Naafi shortage. Hamburg radio reported’ the arrest of 168 persons in a surprise black market raid in Brennerstarasse and Hamburg.

At Berlin the American Commander, General McNarney, recommended urgent inter-governmental action to take a quarter million Stateless displaced persons off American hands? Nearly 600,000 of the grand total of 900,000 displaced persons in the Anglo-American-French zones at the end of 1945, were Poles, many of whom were disinclined’ to return to Poland as thev were assured of adequate care and food in camps for displaced persons. Germans are becoming more outspoken in criticism of Allied policies, but behaviour thus far this winter was better than expected, said the American, General McNarney, m his monthly report. He believed the ability of the authorities to maintain basic food rations at an adequate minimum level was at least in part, responsible for continued' absence or unrest. Moreover, exceptionally mild weather enabled the authorities to check the epidemic. The Germans, after five months’ occupation were making progress in grasping ideals of democracy.

A Reuter correspondent at Berlin stated: The occupation Powers In Germany unanimously decided to make big rises in the general level of taxation to prevent inflation and make Germans pay for the war. The general level of taxation will be raised 50 to 60 per cent, in all four zones. Death duties will be increased 300 per cent., turnover tax 50 per cent., taxes on spirits as much as 1000 per cent., and' property tax 60 per cent. Income tax wll be brought to a level higher than the peak British wartime tax. Other measures contemplated are drastic control of all expenditure, a new loan policy, iron control of prices, wages and rations and possibly capital.