STRONG ACTION IN BRITAIN

Southland Times, Issue 24138, 29 May 1940, Page 7

STRONG ACTION IN BRITAIN

SHADOW FACTORIES IN SCHOOLS STORAGE OF FOOD IN MANY CENTRES (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received May 28, 6.30, p.m.) LONDON, May 28. Two new classes, representing 28 and 29-year-old men and the newlyturned 20-year-old men will register on June 15 and June 22 for military service. More than 600,000 men are involved, bringing the total registrations to 2,850,000. A series of sweeping new measures to prepare the home front for any emergency ahead range from the conversion of schools into shadow, factories for armaments to Lord Woolton’s food scheme, which is a revolution in the British system of food dispersal. Foodstuffs will be stored in a very large number of small centres, instead of keeping huge stores concentrated in the ports until needed. Congestion will be avoided and foodstuffs will not be exposed to the risk of enemy action. The scheme will enable the roads to be kept clear for the conveyance of troops and other military operations. • Outlining the plan to convert schools into factories, a Board of Education memorandum urges technical schools and colleges to assist the war effort by concentrating on the production of machine tools for use in the armament industry. The board is satisfied that the students are capable of making many parts required. General Sir Edmund Ironside, Com-mander-in-Chief of the Home Forces, warned the motor industry, repair shops and garages that their utmost services will be required to maintain military vehicles in the event of hostilities within Britain. Heavy military traffic has necessitated the cancellation of the telegraph service to the British Expeditionary Force. Parcels and packets cannot be sent. Only letters under two ounces can be accepted. MACHINE TOOLS FROM U.S.A With the object of obtaining the maximum possible deliveries of machine tools from the United States with the minimum possible upset of prices and delivery dates, the controller of these goods at the Ministry of Supply has made arrangements, coming into effect on June 17, by which purchases of all the new tools for British needs will be made by the British Supply Board in Canada and the United States. At the same time, orders in Britain must be sponsored by a Government department, public utility company or local authority. The Board of Trade announces that it has made an order adding raw cotton to the list of goods subject to import licensing. It is stated in well-informed circles that existing stocks of raw cotton in Brit-

ain are abnormally large and it is necessary urgently to conserve foreign exchange and save shipping space by reducing next season’s imports to a level in line with requirements. Since the outbreak of war imports, particularly from the United States, have been very heavy, nearly 1,900,000 bales being received from August to the middle of May—a figure very considerably in excess of that during the whole of any recent season. The programme of future imports will be discussed with the United States authorities.