Is Russia Sabotaging the Nazis ?

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 121, 23 May 1940, Page 8

Is Russia Sabotaging the Nazis ?

ALL SORTS OF TROUBLE Is Russia sabotaging Germany? Eugen Kovacs, a special correspondent of the New York Times, declares that she is. In an article telephoned from Orasheni, on the Russo-Rumanian frontier, he said Orasheni ought to be tho wide open gate through which Rumanian products should—with the help of the Russians —pour into Germany. But the Russians are seeing to it that as little food and wood as possible go through. Russia sabotages the Germans : and the Germans do not trust the Rus-

According to this correspondent, the British Ambassador to Moscow was told by the Soviet Vice-Commissar for Foreign Affairs, M. Potemkin, that the •ielp of Germany would get from Russia vvas much smaller than either Britain or Germany thought. Iu Orasheni Mr. kovacs claims to have seen how true •1. Potemkin’s remark was.

j This frontier town is the starting | point of a railway which runs to Berlin i after passing 190 miles of Russian-held i territory. In addition it is the only line ! on Russian territory which has a gauge I 1 of normal width. In the Russo-German railway agreement of last September it was expressly stipulated that the I normal gauge should remain on this j line, over which five trains of 60 cars leach arc supposed to travel daily, full in one direction, empty in tho other. Killing the Traffic

Yet since the lino was opened for this I traffic only COO-odd cars had passed 'each way through Orasheni, instead of ] 18,000! It could be ascertained, said ;the writer, that the Russians were deliberately impeding traffic and that {they had given the Germans all sorts of j trouble right from the start. They asked that the freight be paid in dollars and then they kept the loaded cars; the trains were plundered and long negotiations took place about them.

Tho Russians sent back transit merchandise bound for Scandinavia. This was causing the Germans much unpleasantness. The Germans had been exporting various goods from Rumania, such as feathers for Oslo. The Germans bought tho feathers in Rumania for marks and sold them in Oslo for gold dollars. Later they were obliged to send all these consignments to Stettin and forward them from there. Finally they killed the traffic by the slow forwarding of the transports. The procedure of traffic handling at Orasheni is described thus:—

The Rumanian officials telephone to the Russians at 8 o’clock that there is a train ready to start. The Russians reply that they will be there at 10, whereupon a Rumanian policeman is sent to the frontier on the bridge to receive them.

They wait and wait, but there is no sign of the Russians. At last, at 1

o’clock, tho Russians’ locomotive witn a Russian staff makes its appearance. The reason for the delay is that the Russian raiiwaymen must have their lunch before they start, as they are not allowed by the Russians to bring monev into Rumania or to buy or accept any thing there—not oven a cigarette. Next tho identity documents are checked. Everything is done in silence. The Russians do not exchango a single word with their Rumanian colleagues. Then tho handing over of tho train begins. They wait till 4.30, for the Russians check everything unbelievably slowly and thoroughly. Then the tram slowly moves out, but as it is dark by 5 o’clock no other train comes along with empty cars. “Fake Traffic” Tho proof that this is sabotage is tho fact that in normal times 400 to 500 cars used to travel on this line to Poland and Northern Europe, whereas to-day the traffic is nothing but a fake traffic. Maize, oil cakes, apples, eggs, butter, meat and lumber aro tho chief goods that go over this line. Not a single tank car has passed over it, for the Germans are afraid that tho oil will bo kept in Russia. The Germans lock up the cars as best they can to prevent their being plundered. So far tho Ger mans have sent over only German cars sinco if they sent Polish ones the Hus sians would simply keep them, saying that they had captured them after the occupation.

Summing up, the writer says it is obvious that the Russians are managing tho line and not allowing the Germans to have anything to do with it. Also, a two-hour round was sufficient to convince him that the frontier was entirely in Russian hands.