WARSHIPS FOR BRAZIL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19886, 13 March 1939, Page 5

WARSHIPS FOR BRAZIL

AMERICAN SUGGESTION LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE (Reed. Mar. 13, 9 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Mar. 11. Senator Pittman, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has announced that he is asking Congress to authorise South American countries to build warships in the United States Government yards "at the lowest competitive prices." This, following the treaty will-. Brazil announced this week under which the United State;; will make advances of £24,000,000 in order to end the necessity for barter trade, emphasises the Government's determination to counter totalitarian infiltration. Since the United States declined to sell old warships to Brazil in 1936, Germany and Italy had carried out the bulk of tin- shipping construction for Latin America. It is reported that Brazil plans to strengthen her defences as well as her trade policy, in line with President Roosevelt's programme of cooperation with the western nemi: phcre. Mr. Roosevelt lias indicated that he favours the building of double locks for the Panama Canal at a cost £40.000,000,. instead of the proposed new canal through Nicaragua, costing £144,000,000. The new locks would extend for live miles along the existing locks and would allow the transit of 40,000-ton battleships, which the navy contemplates building.