ALLIES’ TASK IS TO WIN WAR

Southland Times, Issue 24114, 1 May 1940, Page 7

ALLIES’ TASK IS TO WIN WAR

GERMANY’S LOSS OF IMPORTS

(British Official Wireless) RUGBY, April 29.

Commenting on the “excellent and promising” tone of the speech by Mr R. S. Hudson, Minister of Shipping, on Saturday, The Manchester Guardian says that it was a speech of a man who means business. “Less and less do discussions matter about whether all the Germans are solidly behind Herr Hitler, or what we propose to do with Germans of all kinds after the war,” says the newspaper. “As Mr Hudson pointed out, our first affair, and the only one which matters at present, is to win, and win handsomely.” The situation, it is pointed out, may change, but at the moment Germany has lost 9,000,000 tons of imports from Allied countries and 10,000,000 tons from Scandinavia and can only count on getting 3,000,000 tons from other sources at a time when iron ore is of paramount importance. The paper examines the loss which Germany’s Scandinavian adventure inflicted upon herself in shipping. Norway’s mercantile fleet, of 2950 ships and 4,500,000 tons, is exceptionally large—the third largest in the worldwhile Denmark’s 800 ships represent 1,500,000 tons. A great part of the fleets of both nations were in foreign ports when the invasion began and cannot in any case return to their home ports, and, as is now known, most of them have passed into Allied control. The Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano remarks: “The Allies thus not only have been compensated for all the losses of their own mercantile marine, but actually have augmented the size of their merchant fleets.” Further points made are that while at the beginning of the war the trade of Demnark and Norway with the United States increased by 50 per cent, and presumably extra American goods were going to Germany, neither Denmark nor Norway can now give such service to Germany.

A British Official Wireless message says that 20 of the 31 captured German merchant vessels have been thoroughly overhauled and refitted and are in service for the Allies, carrying munitions or food. The refitting of the remainder is almost complete. Mr Hudson, in a speech on Saturday, referred to the unsatisfactory nature of the crew accommodation in more than half the captured ships and the necessity for extensive structural alterations. The German occupation of Denmark has had the effect of slightly reducing stocks of bacon and butter, according to an official of the Ministry of Food. There were, however, still considerable supplies and there was no immediate possibility of a revision of the scale of rationing.