Behind the Headlines FURTHER HUGE DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

Northern Advocate, 15 July 1939, Page 1 (Supplement)

Behind the Headlines

FURTHER HUGE DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

In common with other countries,

great and small, Holland is devoting herself to extensive additions to her defences and the total expenditure for 1939 under this heading is in excess of £40,000,000. Under a system partly voluntarily and partly compulsory, every citizen between 19 and 40 is liable to service. Much of the money has been expended in equipment for her standing army of 500,000 men and additions to her navy, but a considerable sum is being spent on frontier protection. In this connection a unique form of certification has been evolved, hundreds of midget fortresses being constructed over a wide ribbon of frontier territory with the idea that invaders, while able to destroy many, would not greatly affect the efficiency of the remainder, in contrast to what would happen if the defences were contained in only a few large fortresses. On the sea frontages the famous Dutch dyke system has been extended and in addition to value in the event of war have the value of peacetime uses.

Rumania, which many observers consider to be the danger centre at the present time, has spent £3,000,000 in four months on the fortifications of the Hungarian frontier, while in that time a further £38,000,000 has been spent on war materials, an outlay of £2 for every inhabitant. The Rumanian frontier defences, which circle the entire territory were commenced in 1937, and when inaugurated were described as a “fence of stone and steel.” Since 1936 the Rumanian army has been modernised and increased , from the 180,000 men then in uniform.

RUSSIA’S FOREIGN POLICY In the background of the AngloRussian negotiations is the Soviet’s foreign policy, formulated recently by M. Stalin as follows: “(1) We stand for peace and the strengthening of' business relations with all countries. That is our position; and we shall adhere to this position; as long as these countries maintain like relations with the Soviet Union, and as long as they make no attempt to trespass on the interests of our country; (2) We stand for peaceful, close and friendly relations with all the neighbouring countries which have common frontiers with the U.S.S.R. That is our position; and we shall adhere to this position as long as these countries maintain like relations with the Soviet Union, and as lon’g as they make no attempt to trespass, directly or indirectly, on the integrity and inviolability of the frontiers of the Soviet State; (3) We stand for the support af nations which

are the victims of aggression and are fighting for the independence of their country; (4) We are not afraid of the threats of aggressors, and arc ready to deal a double blow for every blow delivered by instigators of war who attempt to violate the Soviet borders. Such is the foreign policy of the Soviet Union. In its foreign policy the Soviet - Union relies upon the good sense of the countries which for one reaSpn or another have no interest in _ the violation of peace. The tasks of the party in the sphere of foreign policy are: (1) To continue -the policy of peace and of strengthening business relations with all countries; (2) To be cautious and not allow our country to be drawn into conflicts by warmongers who are accustomed to have others pull the chestnuts out of the fme for them.” . i .

LONDON’S GUILDHALL The Guildhall of the City of London, where the King was welcomed by the Lord Mayor and a distinguished gathering of commoners after his return, last week from his visit to Canada and the United States, is one of the most interesting old buildings of the metropolis, and perhaps the most historic from a strictly civic point of ■view. It is difficult for a stranger to find the Guildhall unless he is accompanied by a competent guide. The average guide book is of little use, for the hall is half-hidden amid a nest of other larger buildings, and one might pass the entrance to its courtyard a dozen times without realising that this was the famous* meeting place of the City Corporation and the scene of innumerable splendid joanquets. At one time the London County Council met at the Guildhall, but in recent decades the Corporation has retained it more or less exclusively. The interior of the hall is lofty, and rich with aged oaken beams, and carved panels. The atmosphere is more Reminiscent of a church than .of a business and banqueting hall, for there are stained glass windows, the lighting is dim, and the place is quiet and hallowed with tradition. Two huge and grotesque carved heads, like the figureheads of ships, gaze down from the shadowed walls. These are Gog and M|gog, replicas of two effigies destroyed in the Great Fire. The history and origin of the originals is not known with certainty, but they were believed to represent a race of giants that lived in ancient' England. The Gog and Magog of to; day look silently down uponithe modern giants—the magnates of Condon City—as they enjoy the fare of the famous Guilhall kitchens and pay homage to kingly visitors to their commercial realm. ' ’ , ■' /r