GLEANINGS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 60, Issue 4231, 15 January 1940, Page 5

GLEANINGS

FROM HERE AND THERE. OIL IN WAR TIME. (By Ploughman.) In a most interesting article written by Mr Wentworth Day and published recently in the ‘London Daily Mail, the author stresses the importance of a steady and abundant supply of oil as a factor in final victory. No one needs to be told of the important part played by oil in modern warfare. When armies are so completely mechanised, when the air army is so important, when the oil-burning vessels of the navy must be so long on duty at sea, the significance of Mr Day’s contention can readily be appreciated. It has been said that in war-time Britain would need at least 4,000,000 gallons of oil for each and every day. A bomber could hardly travel much more than one mile to the gallon; and so for a two-hour patrol over the North Sea, covering, say, 300 miles, each of our larger types of planes would need about a ton of petrol. Even the peace-time consumption of oil in Great Britain for a single year reaches the staggering figure of about 12,000,000 tons; the peace-time consumption of oil by Germany has been put down at 7,000,000 tons a yeajr. In a period of twelve months the various oil wells of the world would produce about 280,000,000 metric tons and by far the most of it would be controlled by Britain, United States and Russia. As it is clear that almost the whole of Britain’s needs must be brought to her in tankers from overseas, the importance of the work done by the Royal Navy can be understood and appreciated. Britain owns just about one-quarter of the tanker fleet of the world and she gets her supplies mainly from the United States, from the West Indies and from Persia. Germany must rely upon what oil she can produce synthetically and upon what she can secure from other countries. Obviously, every ship going to Germany with a supply of oil will come under the special attention of the British fleet. Germany’s alternative sources of supply must be found in Russia and in Rumania. How much can Russia spare? It has been estimated that she produces more thaji 25,000,000 tons a year, and if the war with Finland grows in intensity, she will not have much to sell to Germany. What of Rumania? Her annual output would not exceed 8,000,000 tons per annum. How much of that could she spare for export? What is more important still is the answer to the question, How much of it could Germany afford to pay for? THE BETTER WAY. A few weeks after war broke out, the British Ministry of Supply succeeded in making advantageous arrangements whereby Great Britain acquired about 80 per cent, of the whole of the Canadian output of copper for the space of a year. Canada’s production of copper is very considerable indeed, and the quantity covered by the agreements referred to totals as much as four hundred and twenty million pounds. The really interesting feature of this transaction, however, is the way in which it was carried out. The British Government dealt direct with the representatives of the Canadian producers. Private enterprise was thus recognised and preserved and the more wasteful and restrictive methods of State or Bureaucratic interference and control were avoided. The Canadian Government did not find it necessary or advisable to commandeer the copper output on its own terms and then sell to Britain. It will be most interesting to see how the plan works out. IRELAND IN IT TOO. The modern political habit of increasing taxes and then increasing them still further has made its appearance in Eire. A few weeks ago the Minister of Finance asked the Dail to pass measures for a genera! raising of the level of taxation. It is simply a further example of a now familiar story. Government spending means more Government control, and more Government control involves the need for increased revenue. The reasons given by the Government of Eire for the proposals put forward by the Finance Minister are quite interesting. In the first place, the public revenue was falling; and, secondly, more money was needed to defray the cost of those measures which had been taken to preserve the national policy of neutrality. In New Zealand, oiir Minister of Finance tells us that we have to pay additional taxes because we are at war; in Eire the people are told that they must contribute more in order to keep out of the war. It is all so very amusing—except for those who nay. In Eire the standard rate of income tax is to go up from 5s 6d to 6s 6d in the £. Death duties are greatly increased. Sugar duty is raised by u'd a pound but the retail price of 4id a pound is not to be affected. Beer gets it too; the duty is raised by 12s on every standard barrel of 36 gallons, and it is said that the waterside workers throughout the Republic are still taking it—the beer, and not the extra duty—like the men they are! ! DEMOCRACY STILL WORKS IN GREAT BRITAIN. Someone said quite recently that, in a true Democracy, two conditions at least must co-exist. In the first place, the Government must recognise the right to free, fair and balanced criticism. Secondly, the Government must show that it is ready and willling to listen to such criticism and to redress the proved wrongs of minorities. Fortunately, Great Britain can show that her Government satisfies both conditions. When the war broke out, the usual volume of Emergency Regulations made their appearance. It was soon discovered that some of them went further than was deemed proper or necessary. Provision was made for the re-introduction of the curfew—presumably as a precaution in the case of air raids. Power was also given to restrict the free dis- ' semination of opinion. There was ' even a clause which enabled a Dei partment of State to order the arrest I of suspected persons and to keep ’ them in detention without trial for

an indefinite period. What happened? In Britain—unlike New Zealand— Parliament was kept in session for just that one great reason, namely, that Opposition parties should have a ready opportunity to criticise Government measures and to offer helpful suggestions. And so, at the end of October, the Prime Minister of Great Britain gave the Opposition a chance to debate the whole matter publicly in the House of Commons. The Regulations were vigorously criticised. Now notice what took place. The Minister in charge of the Emergency Regulations listened in a courteous and sympathetic manner to all that was said against the Regulations; he gave an assux-ance that certain necessary amendments would be made at once! and, better still, he proposed that consultations between; Party leaders should be held immediately in order that a set of Regula-' lations could be published which would have the support of all concerned. There we have it; Democracy can and will work, if we have tlxe men who want it to work. The right of air criticism is provided for and respected; the opportunity for the expression of that criticism is given; and, as a result of that criticism, the necessax-y amendments and improvements are mode and put into operation. Thus represenative government preserves both its dignity and its efficiency. THE SPEECH BEFORE THE BOMB On the Bth of November, Herr Hitler delivered at Munich tlxe famous speech which preceded by a few brief minutes the explosion of a bomb that did much damage to life and property. A few sentences from that speech are worthy of re-quota-tion. Some of the sentences have a very familiar ring and one is tempted to draw the conclusion that ever so many politicians must draw their orations from the same manual. “What destroyed Germany’s x'esistance in the last War?” asked Herr Hitler. Answering his own question, he exclaimed; “It was the lies of our enemies.” So Germany, too, was the victim of lies and misrepresentation. “Britain,” continued the Fuehrer, “has always fought to end the war of hex’ enemies, to overcome the resistance of the victims of her attack.” No doubt it is German martyrdom that led those “suffering” troops into Austria, into Czechoslovakia and into Poland. “I am tempted to say,” declared Hitler, “how much I would like to come to a reconciliation with the English if only we could trust the word of their leaders. There is war only because the British wanted war.” How many New Zealanders wanted it, I wonder; and have we any reason to believe that the British people wanted it any more than we did. If we wanted it so badly, it seems funny that we allowed Germany to start it! But here follows the gem of the whole speech: “Britain has stated that she is prepared for a three years’ war ... I gave orders to Field Marshal Goering that he should plan everything for a five years’ war . . . There can be only one victor in this war and that victor will be ourselves.” Six minutes aftei’ that, the bomb exploded; and. because of the efficient planning of the Nazi organisation, Herr Hitler was. at the moment of the explosion, well on his way to the railway station. Because of that well-timed bomb outrage, Herr Hess eould exclaim—- “ Providence has again protected our Fuehrer.” It was apparent, however, that the Nazi leaders considered that the protective influence of Providence would be the better for a little attention to planning and judicious timing on their part.