"DIRE DANGER"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23997, 21 June 1941, Page 11

"DIRE DANGER"

MOSCOW RADIO HINT

| PLOTS AMONG NEIGHBOURS

DEFENCE steps admitted .(Krrjl 8.11) p.m.) LONDON, ,T llnP Ihe -Moscow radio, hit hero silent about, reports of CJerman Russian tension, is now apparently preparing (he population for big developments. It has declared that frontier reports have indicated that, incidents, caused by traitors, may have occurred on the Uessarabian border.

I he .Moscow radio has also spoken of the Socialist fatherland's dire danger, due to plots between the Soviet's cunning neighbours.

Without being directly named, Tur'\c\ was attacked tor her change of ; trout in signing a so-called "triendshio | treaty," completely subjecting ih Bal- : kans to interests inimical to the doctrines of Socialism, and thus taking responsibility for further spreading the war. "Red Fleet Ready" I'lio announcer referred to the Soviet's preparations, especially in the Baltic, where, he said, the mighty Red Meet was ready lor any emergency. Barrage balloons have been put up m certain military districts in western Russia, as an important part of military exercises. I lie Daily Kxpress says the Moscow radio was heard announcing that more and more provinces, especially the I kraine, were carrying out civil defeio e practice, including anti-aircraft and searchlight tests. Ukranian troops had entered upon large-scale manoeuvres of alpine units. Measures in Rumania The Daily Mail says it is admitted in Bucharest, that the Rumanians have taken certain military measures, bur, are acting independently in so doing. The measures are not connected with political events, and must not be regarded as preparations for military steps against Russia. In Tokio, the reports of friction between Russia and Germany have alarmed the authorities sufficiently to cause them to ban for some time newspaper publication of them. Kven when the ban was lifted, only scant mention was made of the reports. According to the Tokio correspondent of the British United Press, it is strongly suggested that if Russian-Ger-man friction seriously developed Japan would favour Russia rather than Germany.

HUNGER IN EUROPE

OCCUPIED TERRITORIES ITALIANS "SICK OF WAR" ißccd. 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, June 20 The United States was going to help Britain with all her available means, said the secretary of the Dairymen's League Co-operative Association, at a meeting to-day. He added: "The war issue may finally be: Who can feed Europe's hungry people, the democracies or the dictatorships? The answer is the democracies." The secretary said he had received reliable information that the Italian people are sick of war and want peace. Germany was taking a good deal of food from Italy, in spite of Italy's poor food situation. The Italian diet was normally frugal and therefore severe rationing hit the poor people very hard. Unoccupied France was in a terfrble condition, and Belgium was even worse. AUSTRALIAN LOSSES GREECE AND CRETE FIGURES AT VARIANCE SYDNEY, Juno 20 Australian troops who failed to return from the campaigns in Greece and Crete totalled 5951, said the Minister of the Army, Mr. P. C. Spender, in the House of Representatives. The figures, he said, were at variance with those released some time ago, and he was unable to get an explanation. A cablegram from the International Red Cross stated that 9000 British, Australian and New Zealand troops were taken prisoner in Greece. A Cairo message states that a considerable portion of the German garrison in Crete has been evacuated owing to an outbreak of plague.

CONSCRIPTION ISSUE

DEBATES IN AUSTRALIA 10.to p.m.) CANBERRA, .Tuno 'JO Lively debates, reminiscent of the last war, are occurring in the House of Representatives on tho subject of conscription. The Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies, has already said he has no intention of introducing it, and has no mandate for it for overseas service. The Labour leader, Mr. J. Curtin, to-day reiterated that the Labour movement was irrevocably opposed to and would not accept conscription. He said those who were advocating it were disrupting the war effort. ALLIED CAUSE AIDED HELP GIVEN BY DUTCH LONDON, June 20 The help given tho Allied cause by the Dutch was referred to by the Netherlands Prime Minister, Mr. Gerbrandy, in a speech yesterday. The greater part of the Dutch Navy was brought to Britain, he said, and the largest cruiser, then lying half-finished ia the dockyards, was towed with tho workmen on board to a British harbour, where she has since been completed. Tho nation's gold had been saved, as well as the merchant fleet. Tho democratic cause, he added, had a splendid ally in tho resistance of subjugated peoples. The largest of the Dutch cruisers under construction in Holland when that country was invaded by the Germans last year has been completed. The warship was towed to Britain last vear with workmen on board.

Holland had two cruisers of 8350 tons, with a main armament of 10 •">.Qin. guns, under construction at the outbreak of war.