Maas Contradicted By Senator Bloom

Northern Advocate, 6 March 1943, Page 4

Maas Contradicted By Senator Bloom

(10.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, March 5. The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (Senator Bloom) said that Representative Maas was inaccurate when he stated that New Zealand had constructed 105 airfields and had debited the cost to the United States. Senator Bloom said that only six new airfields had been constructed in New Zealand since September, 1939, and only 12 had been enlarged. The figure of 105 is the number already existing in New Zealand in September, 1939, all built with New Zealand’s own funds, not Lend-Lease.

Although some airfields were made available to the American forces, no charge was made for them in . any way. Senator Bloom added that New Zealand construction of airfields for the American forces in certain Pacific islands outside New Zealand territories was done with New Zealand funds under reverse Lend-Lease, not involving cash payment.

N.Z.’s Worthy Contribution

New Zealand’s casualties to the end of October were 20,331, equivalent to proportionately 1,600,000 Americans. Her armed forces equalled an American army of 13,000.000, in addition to a Home Guard equivalent to 8,000,000. New Zealand troops fought in Greece, Crete, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Her airmen operated in the Solomons, in Europe, and in England. New Zealand's taxation was very high. Civilians stinted themselves of a number of foodstuffs in order to supply the Americans. All this was done without grumbling. New Zealand, in 1942, supplied America with half as much mutton on reverse Lend -Lease asAmerican LendLeased to all other countries, and altogether made, for her size, one of the greatest contributions to the tvvar effort.