ECONOMIC WAR ON GERMANY

Southland Times, Issue 24115, 2 May 1940, Page 8

ECONOMIC WAR ON GERMANY

Quick Results Not Expected GOODS PASSING VLADIVOSTOCK ' (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, April 30. “Economic warfare is essentially an offensive weapon, and to be effective it must be used with the same resolution and thoroughness as any other arm,” said the Minister of Economic Warfare, Mr R. H. Cross, in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce, which was specially broadcast to the United States. “By waging economic warfare to the utmost, we believe, we shall shorten the war by many months,” he said. “We certainly claim that we have already made Germany feel its pressure, but economic warfare does not produce quick results. Germany has an immensely powerful economic machine which has been organized for years to meet the very struggle in which she is now involved. The Germans are a redoubtable enemy and have shown their usual industry and skill in devising ways of evading the blockade. We are constantly at work to defeat this evasion, but there are leaks, of which the Vladivostock route is one ” , , , j Many consignments had reached Vladivostock by curious and suspicious routes, he said. “The United States has been a source of much raw materials going there, and we wonder sometimes how far it is generally realized in your country that important supplies of key war materials have reached Germany in this way, he said. “Mention of this dangerous route via Vladivostock shows that the problems with which we have to deal, in economic warfare are world-wide. Referring to the necessity for Britain to cut down imports of goods not necessary for war purposes from America and other neutrals, Mr Cross said it was surprising that British purchases of American foodstuffs had been maintained at so high a level. In normal years before the war, Britain bought some £20,000,000 worth of such goods annually, and the latest estimate of similar purchases during the first year of war was about £16,000,000. This fact, Mr Cross said, was a demonstration of Britain’s desire not to divert trade from its normal channels more than was absolutely necessary. Thanks to the co-operation of American ship owners, delays to ships at British contraband bases, about which there were earlier certain complaints, were now greatly reduced. Of 10 American vessels which had passed inwards through Gibraltar since March 30, eight were cleared on the day they arrived and two were cleared the next The “navicert” system had also been working well. More than 4800 applications for “navicerts” had been dealt with since December 1 and nearly 300 fully “navicerted” ships, which need not enter control bases, had been cleared at sea within the past few months. “It is undeniable that there are leaks in the blockade, one being the route via Vladivostock, by which copper, rubber, tin and other materials were imported after the outbreak of the war in quantities, making it virtually certain that at least a good part was going to Germany,” repeated Mr Cross. “The United States has been the source of much of these key war materials.” Mr Cross said that he was not satisfied with the position of aerial traffic to and from Germany, especially over the routes leading from Spain, Portugal and connecting the Pan-Ameri-can and trans-Atlantic routes to the United States. The possibilities _ of preventing contraband being thus imported into Germany were being examined. Mr Cross disclosed that the parcels of food from overseas which had been intercepted and shown to be destined for Germany already ran into many thousands. Such parcels were seized and placed in prize.