ENEMY FOOD

Hokitika Guardian, 13 September 1940, Page 5

ENEMY FOOD

POSITIONIN BELGIUM.

V- (United Press Association Per Electric? 1 Telegraph Copyright?? *

X LONDON, September i 11. Apart from pillaging food supplies in occupied countries, the Germans are resorting to various economic tricks. One of these has been applied to Belgian exporters, who are required to send goods to Germany, and, instead of . _ ! receiving. goods in exchange, are paid in credits on a Belgian bank. This, of course, is a short cut to inflation. Another is the imposition of an unfair rate of exchange, particularly in the case of France, where the exchange has been fixed at 20 francs to the mark, which is equal to 300 to the £. Occupied countries cannot import from outside, and must .therefore take /what Germany gives titem. Thus the -subsidies which were being paid to German exporters are now being very largely withdrawn. ' .

: German propaganda blames Britain for starving wonien and children and yet announces the introduction of rat-' ioning in- Belgium “to protect the civilian population from exploitation by the army of occupation.” This extraordinary claim was made in a broadcast- to the Near East, in which an eyewitness described his travels through Belgium. He said he had never had such delicious meals. The rationing had been introduced along the same lines

as those operating in Germany for,, some time to make it as easy as 1 possible for housewives to obtain supplies. A woman, broadcasting from the German-controlled Paris radio, could scarcely conceal the disgust in her voice at conditions there. She said that women were “fed up” of standing for hours in food queues to obtain a few miserable grains of coffee or a. paltry piece of soap. Much of the .trouble was due to disorganised communications and to heartless officials, who had ordered whole populations to move elsewhere and to leave cattle to die in the fields. The poor had to queue up for hours to get food, and her conclusion was that the shortage was due mostly to bad organisation, for which the Germans were responsible, and to lack of stocks.