NO HESS GUESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23968, 19 May 1941, Page 8

NO HESS GUESS

FRANK MINISTER

"THUG AND GANGSTER"

HARD FACTS FOR PUBLIC (Rccd. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 17 The Home Secretary, Mr. Herbert Morrison, speaking at Hackney, said : "I have no Hess guess. Instead, I will give a few hard facts. Hess, Hitler's right-hand man. is like the rest of them, a brutal thug whose hands, like his master's, are stained with some of the worst political crimes of modern times. "This gangster is now in onr hands, and he is going to stay in our hands. It does not matter what kind of an animal he is, whether he is Rat No. I or a Trojan horse, or just over here in i tho vain hope of finding innocents to j play with. The main thing is that he is | caged. "There is just one more fact to add j to this: Whatever his reason for coming : here, the German people, to put it j mildly, have been very much shaken by the whole episode. They have to choose between two or three different explanations. all of them equally unpalatable. Meanwhile, we have had the edifying sight of Goebbels spending the last few days revolving rapidly on his axis—• chasing his own tail.'' Former Ambassador's View "Hess has become convinced in the j last two years that Nazism is on the | wrong track, and is being used to serve j the private ends of thorough-going ; scoundrels such as Himniler, Ribbentrop, I/ey and the general party bosses who are acting solely for themselves," said Sir Novile Henderson, former British Ambassador to Germany, in a statement. "Hess is an absolutely fanatical sup- ! porter of the Nazi system," Sir Nevile j went on. "He is honest and sincere, I but, because of the impression his j flight has created in Germany, it is ini- | possible that he came to Britain on a secret mission. "I knew Hess very well when I was in Germany, and regarded him as Hitler's adopted son. Both were equally devoted to each other. Hess has accelerated Germany's war effort, and they will try to force the issue before tho winter." Earlier Peace Effort It has been revealed that the letter from Hess, which the Duke of Hamilton immediately handed to the authorities, contained a suggestion for a meeting on neutral territory to discuss peace. Reports are current in Berlin that. Professor Karl Haushofer, leading exponent of the lebensranni ("living space") theory, has been arrested. German officials would neither confirm nor deny the report, but stated that it would not be surprising if the whole firm (meaning, apparently, Hess' associates) were being rounded up. Hess, who was Haushofer's favourite pupil, was the means of bringing Hitler and Haushofer together. The remains of Hess' aeroplane will not be exhibited in London, circum- j stances making its showing impracticable. A German broadcast stated that the machine was a long-range reconnaissance typo not yet in service with the Luftwaffe. BRITAIN'S FITNESS MEDICAL MEN BAFFLED INQUIRY BY AMERICANS LONDON, May 10 The Cnited States is sending to Britain a committee of American medical men to try to find out why the people came through the winter's ordeal with better health than in the years of peace, says a British official wireless message. ' Medical men generally are completely baffled by the nation's fitness. They feared that after the nights of crowding in air raid shelters and exposure to all weathers when on air raid precautions and fire-watching duties epidemic.' might swemi the country. In actual fact, there have been fewer cases of scarlet fever, diphtheria, pneumonia, typhoid fever, and only half the number ot deaths from influenza. Whooping cough and meningitis alone have been rather more prevalent than usual. Britain's own doctors offer various explanations, among them the dispersal of the densely populated areas, the improved svstem of health supervision, the spread of education in preventive measures, and the attendance of fewer people a* the cinemas and in otliei public pi; res. All. however, are agreed that the bus} and hazardous life led by 10,000,000 people leaves them neither time nor inclination to brood over minor ailments. DELIVERY BY AIR MACHINES FROM AMERICA SYSTEM WORKING WELL MONTREAL. May 10 American-built aircraft are being flown to Britain in increasing numbers without loss in the transatlantic ferry service. . The system of returning pilots by aeroplane instead of .by sea was recently initiated and is functioning on a fiveday round trip schedule, according to an announcement by ihe British Ministry for Aircraft Production. RUSSIAN CARGO SEIZED PROTEST TO AMERICA (Itml. 10.30 p.m.) -WASHINGTON, May 18 The Soviet Ambassador, M. Oumanskv, has protested to the Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, against the seizure at San Francisco of a Russian cargo of wool and leather from the Swedish vessel Columbia. It is understood the cargo, which came from Uruguay, was seized under the export licensing regulations applying to foreign goods moving through tho United States. LONDON WATER WARNING LONDON, May 10 The Water Board has issued a warning that it may be impossible to guarantee the purity of London's water after air raids. The population is advised to store a few days' emergency supply in stoppered bottles.