ANSWER CRITICS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24083, 30 September 1941, Page 7

ANSWER CRITICS

CHURCHILL TO SPEAK "SUBSTANTIAL SCALE" TRANSFER OF EQUIPMENT LONDON, Sept. 28 London newspapers forecast that the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, in a prepared statement on aid to Russia which he will make in the House of Commons when it reassembles shortly, will make revelations that will surprise the public. He is expected to indicate that as much equipment has already been sent to Russia as the transport available could carry, and that naval and air assistance has been on a more substantial scale than is generally realised. The public is eagerly awaiting Mr. Churchill's statement. Since the Soviet reverses on the Eastern Front the question has became the current theme of popular discussion in newspapers, on the platform, and by the man in the street, because there is a widespread realisation that Britain's and the Empire's fates are inextricably interwoven with the trend of the Russo-Gcrman conflict. Intense Public Interest Since the huge-scale mechanised losses on the Eastern Front have driven home to the British public the importance of the machine in modern war. the most intense interest has developed both in the degree that these methods are being applied to the British Army and the extent to which our Allies are boinc; aided. Some quarters have expressed doubts whether high-placed officials have fully appreciated the popular anxiety that the most supreme effort should be made to meet the German mechanised might, which has led to a widespread desire that information should be released so that people can judge for themselves whether the Government is satisfactorily interpreting the nation's wishes. Satislactory Answer Forecast

The fact that Mr. Churchill is making a prepared statement to the House ot Commons indicates the importance the Government attaches to the public reaction to a question which is now beginning to overshadow most war news. Government leaders realise that they have to answer the questions being asked throughout the nation: "Have we boosted production to the ultimate level? Is production sufficient to counter German war output?" The political correspondents of the Sunday newspapers forecast that Mr, Churchill will be able to give a satisfactory answer. They unanimously say that the aid to Russia he is likely to reveal will be found very surprising.

ROLE OF BELLIGERENT ASSUMPTION BY AMERICA VIEW OF COLONEL KNOX WASHINGTON, Sept. 2!) The United States might become at any moment a belligerent, depending on "the will of our avowed enemies," said Colonel W. F. Knox, Secretary for the Navy, writing in the Foreign Commerce Weekly. He added that it was imperative to take every necessary measure to preserve foreign commerce and the lives of merchant seamen from destruction by commerce raiders. Colonel Knox called for the repeal of the Neutrality Act and the protection of the country's three chief ocean trade routes, which are listed as the North Atlantic route to Europe, the sea lanes southward to both coasts of South America and those across the Pacific to Australia, the East Indies and China.