GERMANY'S ACTIONS

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 13819, 29 March 1938, Page 5

GERMANY'S ACTIONS

OCCASION NERVOUSNESS Its RUMANIAN OIL COVETED. United Press Assn.—l3y Electric Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, Alarch 27. The Times Bucharest correspondent reports that some Rumanian newspapers are nervous regarding Germany’s intention to> create a Danube war flotilla which will be incorporated in the German Navy, combined with plans for the linking-up of the Rhine and the Danube by a canal. The newspaper Curentui emphasises the groundlessness of the suggestion that Germany need fear the Danube countries and adds: “Accordingly, Germany’s objectives must be Rumanian oil and the mouth of the Danube, which Rumania controls.

The Press generally advocates immediate defensive measures, as the annexation of Austria, they say, has annihilated Danubian collective security.

lh© Times Copenhagen corresixmdent says that, following the Austrian coup, the German minority has become very active in the district of Siesvig, which in the plebiscite following the Treaty of Versailles voted for incorporation in Denmark.

The Daily Telegraph’s Istanbul correspondent states that reports from Berlin say that Herr von Papen. German Ambassador t» Vienna, will be. appointed Ambassador to Turkey. This is regarded as an indication that Germany is giving an impetus to her policy of political expansion in. the Balkans, but it is believed that Turkey is too proud of her independence tc become the tool of any Power The Daily Telegraph’s Amsterdam correspondent says the Government has decreed an enlargement of the army by 25 battalions or 7000 men. It is intended to reinforce the eastern frontier, which is permanently manned by 70,000 men equipped with anti-tank guns and an.ti-airci af batteries to withstand a first attack, so enabling mobilisation of the entire army. The frontier also is guarded by 42 forts built in 1936. The enlargement of the Dutch army is regarded as the fulfilment of the moral obligation to be prepared for all emergencies. The Times Geneva correspondent says that 87 deputies have petitioned the Swiss Government urging the inforcement of the defences, especially with anti-aircraft and anti-tank apparatus.