NEUTRALS MAY ARM SHIPS

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21057, 8 March 1940, Page 4

NEUTRALS MAY ARM SHIPS

If Holland and other neutral countries arm their merchant ships against the attacks of German submarines and aircraft, Germany may pay dearly for the ruthlessness with which she has preyed upon the ships of all nations. Holland is reported to be considering mounting guns on her ships in view of the German admission that she has begun a new form of attack on neutral ships suspected of carrying contraband. In the past, in spite of German denials, it is obvious that Nazi submarines and aeroplanes have attacked all ships indiscriminately without waiting to discover whether they carry contraband or not. According to the new plan the commander of a flying-boat must signal the ship to stop. He will then alight on the water and send a boat to the ship. If contraband is found aboard, the crew must be ordered to leave and the ship will then be sunk. In theory the procedure sounds simple enough, but in practice in war conditions it is extremely unlikely that these alleged instructions will be followed. The German commander in such circumstances would be exposing himself to grave risk with the British Air Force as active as it is. And not all the German air raiders are flying-boats capable of alighting on the water. It is more likely that the raiders will continue to ignore the alleged instructions from Berlin and continue to bomb and machine-gun all ships as they have been doing in the past few weeks. In the course of their replies to the numerous protests from neutral countries as the result of murderous attacks on shipping the Nazis quote the code of ethics apparently laid down but consistently ignored. Thus if a neutral ship which should be exempt from attack is sunk, it is due to the failure of the master of that ship to observe the rules. The truth of the matter is that Germany is at a grave disadvantage on the sea and will resort to any form of trickery or ruthlessness to gain her ends. The new methods in contraband control will soon be put to the test, and if Germany fails to observe the rules she will have only herself to blame if the neutral nations arm their ships against her.