23.1.40 No. 1. FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE (MORNING-). The following official communique was issued this morning from French G.H.Q.: To the west of the Vosges the enemy suffered losses when a raid they had launched was repulsed. 23/1/40 No» 2 AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN. AIRCRAFT OVER HOLLAND. The Air Ministry announces It was officially stated yesterday evening in Holland that an aircraft of the Royal Air Force flew over South Holland during the afternoon and was fired on. Pull enquiries have been made which have established that the aircraft in question could not have been British. AIR AFFAIRS. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN 23/1/40 - No 3. R»A, F. "SIGNALS" AT WORK (Rot to be quoted as an Air Ministry announcement) "Signals" is one of the most important sections in any Command of the Royal Air Force, for it is essential that messages should always arrive„ To provide a service that never fails is a task which taxes the capacity of the officers responsible as much as any duty in the R.A.F. These officers are all regulars with flying experience* Messages sent telephone, wireless, are by teleprinter, despatch rider or pigeon* Each of the methods, of transmission entails a separate organisation* The whole of Great Britain is covered with a network of communications by these various means* The signal lines enable the forces of Fighter Command, charged with the air defence of this country, to come instantaneously into action when danger threatens* The network has been pieced together so skilfully, partly before the war and partly since the outbreak, that communication can never be interrupted at a point of importance. Countless telephone lines link up every R.A.F* station* This is one of the reasons why civilians sometimes experience delay in telephoning* Certain of the R*A.F. telephone lines are "Juntappable". Even if ''plugged in" on one of these secret lines, he would a spy hear only a confusing humming 0 Wireless is used in every possible way 0 Radio telephone enable instructions to be given to fighter pilots in the air and their reports to be received** If you .could listen in you might sometimes hear unconventional conversation between pilots in the air o The teleprinter machines are used for the rapid transmission of written messages or reports*, They are typewriters which the at the end of telephone line the print messages a as /words v/ords are typed at the transmitting station. Instantaneous reception of news is as necessary to the K,A„F, as to newspapers, for which the teleprinter was originally invented. Certain communications can only be sent by hand. For these despatch riders are used* A number of men are always bn duty v/ith their motor-cycles at every R,A O F o station. They scour town and countryside at all hours of the day and night on various errands. The other bearer of despatches by hand is the pigeon. Large numbers of birds have been recruited for service on board the reconnaissance aircraft of Coastal Command, On their long flights over the North Sea and Atlantic these craft often need to send ashore. It is not always advisable a message to use wireless. The pigeon is a reliable if slower substitute. Many of the King’s racing pigeons are serving aloft on this duty.. The signals officer is responsible for the transmission of messages by all these methods,, He has charge also of the cyphers department. He must see that there is no delay in the secret coded messages that are flashed to and fro day and night. Some of these officers describe their job as a ’’humdrum” one. Yet they are occasionally startled. One was talking to a squadron which was taking off on patrol a few days ago when he heard a voice say calmly: "I am about to hit the fence' 1 The signals officer replied; "Did you say you were about to hit the fence?" The answer came back immediately; "I did, I have now hit the fence* 11 The young Canadian pilot’s engine had”cut”soon after he had taken-off, hut quite coolly he had put the aircraft down again, though he was outside the area covered hy the aerodrome. He then clambered out by the wrecked fence and rushing back to 9 the flying fie I’d, took off in another aircraft and caught up with his squadron. He wasn’t going to miss any of the fun, he said afterwards. AIR MINISTRY, 23/1/40, -No. 4. SINKINGS DUE TO ENEMY ACTION. Sinkings due to enemy action from 15th January to midnight Sunday/Monday 21st January, 1940* The losses have this week "been compiled up to Sunday/Monday midnight instead of Saturday/Sunday as hitherto in order to agree with the method used by the Ministry of Shipping, it has been necessary, therefore, to include 8 days in the figures now given. No* Tonnage, British 4 23,843* Allied Neutral 11 35,245 15 59*088 British Sinkings:- Tonnage* 16th January Tanker INVERDARGLE 9,456, 17th " S/S CAIRNROSS 5,494, 7,807 c " 20th Tanker CARONI RIVER 21st " S/S PERRYHILL 1,086, 23*843* Neutral Sinkings Tonnage, 14th January FAGERHEIM Norwegian 1 ,590. I.sth " ARENDSKERK Dutch 7,906, 16th " JOSEPHINE CHARLOTTE Belgian* 3,310. 1,140* " 17th ENID Norwegian 3,313, " 17th ASTERIA Greek, 18th " PLANDRIA Swedish, 1,157. 18th ,f PAJALA Swedish* 6,873, 18th " CANADIAN REEPER Danish, 1,831. 21st " EKATONTARCOS DRACOULIS Greek. 5 ,329. 21st " TEKLA 0 Danish. 1,468. ._j.y3.28. " 21st MIRANDA* Norwegian, German Shippi The ALBERT JANUS 1 ,598 tons intercepted by a French warship off Finisterre on 15th January scuttled herself. The AUGUST THYSSEN 2,342 tons is reported to have struck a Swedish mine off Stockholm and sunk, The PHAEDRA 61 9 tons was captured by a British warship and brought into a S.E. coast port. Convoys:- Up to 17th January th.e number-of British., Allied and Neutral ships escorted in British Convoys was 6,872 with a loss of only 14 vessels, the percentage loss remaining stationary at one in 500. NAVAL AFFAIRS. 23/1 AO. - No. 5 THE "GRAP SPEE'S" PRISONERS The inhuman German treatment of the British merchant naval prisoners on board the "Altmark", which acted as tender and supply ship to the "Admiral Graf Spee", has already been made public. We have heard of the overcrowding, the lack of water for drinking and washing, and the verminous condition of the mattresses and bedding used by the captives. The conditions, indeed, were reminiscent of a German concentration camp for political offenders, and in direct contrast to the treatment of his prisoners by Captain Langsdorff, of the "Admiral Graf Spee". In recent interviews with British masters and wireless operators who were incarcerated on board the "Graf Spee", it has been noticeable that the German boarding parties invariably seized sextants, chronometers, binoculars or telescopes, and even type- writers. One captain who tried to keep his presentation sextant was informed it was confiscated for the Reich. He was given a receipt for it, as well as for his ship. As for the sextant, he was told - "Mr. Churchill will pay for it". All the British prisoners agreed that the "Graf Spee's" crew were abnormally young. Most of them were aged between 17 and 22, with a small sprinkling of older men. Some of the younger men had never been afloat before, and had been sent off after a few months’ training on shore. They were inexperienced and unhandy about a ship. "They weren’t seamen," said one of the British merchant naval captains. "They didn’t know the first thing about it. I watched them closely whenever I was on deck. If they could do a thing wrongly, they did it". The entire crew firmly believed that their ship was invin- cible. She had nothing to fear. Most of the British Navy was alreadjr sunk, and everyone knew that the "Hood", "Renown” and "Repulse” were out of action, along with the "Ark Royal". Mr. Churchill’s speeches were all bluff, and the Germans could not /be be beaten. As for Britain, the German wireless had told them weeks before that the British east coast ports were so blocked with mines that traffic had ceased to run. The turn of the west coast ports would come next, and already the crews of British merchant ships in the Argentine were in a state of mutiny and refusing to go to seaj The food served to the prisoners on board the "Graf Spee" was exactly the same as that given to the crew. It was very bad indeed; insufficient, as said some of the captives, to enable men to do a full day’s work. The composed of "goodness knew sausage, what", could only be swallowed after hard mastication. The crust of the black bread was so like indiarubber that chewing made little impression on it. For the rest, there was fruit soup with the strange admixture of floating lumps of fat pork; very indifferent and bitter-tasting coffee; and so-called ''synthetic fish" in tins. Impregnated with salt, dyed bright red and preserved in olive oil, it was said to be some very coarse sea fish, or perhaps pike or perch. Anyhow, it was nauseating to eat "like trying to chew the indiarubber sole of a shoe". Great was the mortification of the Germans when they discovered they had sunk a ship with a cargo of just over 8,000 tons largely made up of refrigerated meat, "butter and cheese. The master told the boarding officer that his cargo was wool. So it was, in the upper parts of the two holds which the Germans took time to examine. While sinking merchant the ’’Graf ships Spee’s" crew were cock-a-hoop and joyous. During the action with the "Ajax”, "Achilles" and "Exeter", however, when their ship was being hit, their demeanour was utterly different. Watching the ammunition parties through a small hole in the bulkhead of their prison, the British saw the Germans in a state of demoralization. Unnerved at the sight of men killed and wounded, many of the "Graf Spee’s" crew were physically and horribly sick. /The The enemy, particularly Captain Langsdorff who saw some of his prisoners before they landed at Montevideo, were loud in their praises for the manoeuvring and bravery of the three British ships during the action. They were amazed when the ’’Exeter”, having been badly hit and with most of her armament put out of action, returned and continued the fight with only one serviceable gun. It is always unwise to despise one’s energy; but if, as has been said, the ’’Admiral Graf Spee” had a picked crew, then the standard of the Nazi Navy cannot compare with that of the German Navy of 1914-18. NAVAL AFFAIRS 23rd January , _.1940. No. 6 __ MINISTRY AGRICULTURE WEEKLY NEWS SERVICE NO, OF 20. SUGAR BEET The hoot Cro> That Brings in Cash. Whatever may have been the peace time criticisms of sugar beet growing in this country, it is a crop for ’which we may be thankful in time cf war. The 1939 crop gave us 500,000 tons of sugar or one-third of our wartime requirements, and released the cargo space of more than a hundred ships for carrying other goo ds. This year we must grow even more of it and an increased acreage of 50,000, or about 17 per cent, is aimed at. This will bring our sugar acreage up to 390,000, It is a great opportunity for the home farmer to give practical proof of the value of the nation’s investment in home sugar production. it is an "approved crop" so far as the £2 per acre ploughing grant is concerned. But it is also an attractive crop from the grower’s point of view. There is a guaranteed market at a guaranteed price and payment comes within a month of delivery at the factory. This year there has been a substantial increase in the guaranteed price. In an average year it will be equivalent to an extra 4/lld. per ton of beet for a normal crop. Furthermore, the government has given an undertaking that if costs of production rise above those on which the new contract was based, the price will be adjusted accordingly. There are few branches of farming where the buyer takes such a fatherly interest in the grower. The factories maintain field, staffs of 'practical men to visit growers who their help; they give assistance in such matters as seed, manuring and cultivations and they advance credit up to £5 per acre of beet with a limit of £2OO. The factories produce lime as a by-product and growers can obtain this in liberal quantities at less than the cost of cartage. More Beet Means More Feeding Stuffs, Another by-product is sugar beet pulp, well-known to most farmers satisfactory food for dairy cattle and as a very other stock. Every grower of beet has the first call on 1% cwt, of this pulp for every ton of beet delivered to the factory and the new contract safeguards them against any rise in the price of this feeding stuff, of which some 350,000 tons were produced last year. But pulp is not the only feeding stuff that sugar beet provides. The weight of the tops and leaves is almost the the beet and feeding value equal to weight of their is* much higher than many One of tops suppose. acre supplemented by a grass run will keep from 90 to 100 ewes for a week and theoretically 25 lb. of fresh, clean tops have the same feeding value as 40 lb. of mangolds. In practice, 25 acres of tops are considered equivalent to 15 acres of turnips. The tops are on the ground and so cost nothing for cartage or spreading. If a large acreage Is grown, those not immediately required can be very simply made into silage. If no stock are kept, the tops make an excellent green manure when ploughed in c Easing Labour Difficulties, An important consideration to farmers extending their beet acreage is whether sufficient labour will be forthcoming to harvest the extra beet. During the past season the quantity of casual labour available for beet lifting has been somewhat below the normal owing to a number of circumstances. of these should be reduced the Many during present year and while it will be realised that it is impossible to give hard and fast guarantees in the uncertain conditions of war-time, farmers may depend on it that every effort will be made to ensure that adequate labour is available from one source or another to enable the increased acreage asked for to be harvested. 5 LAND GIRLS WHO MADE GOOD. How Women’s Land Army Won a Nation’s Praise. The past week or two have shorn a marked increase of demand for the services of the Women’s Land Army. Some 3,000 of its members now have permanent jobs. Demand is expected to increase greatly in the Spring and there are signs that the more far-sighted farmers are anticipating this and getting fixed up now. ’’The farmers feared that the Land Girls might be as great pests on the land as the weeds; they honestly did not t believe they could do the work; they did not trust them to endure its monotony; they were chilvarously reluctant to ask them to do the many dirty hut necessary jobs on the farm. The women offered themselves for enlistment with high ideals and glowing hopes* Then came- disillusionment. The attitude of agriculturists was critical or indifferent; the demand for women’s labour was uncertain and fluctuating. They began to ask themselves, Was their help really wanted? The sifting process was drastic. Those who remained were of the right stamp. For them the opportunity came at last and the tide turned permanently in their favour.” Such is the account given by the Lord Ernie, Minister of Agriculture in the last war, of the Women’s Land Army of that day. All hut the last sentence might have been taken from a newspaper of yesterday. The sequel is perhaps even more interesting. For Lord Ernie continues the report which is to he found in his great hook: The Land and its People. He relates how the Land Army came into its own after the call- up of men in 1938 and how 16,000 were eventually working on the land. A year earlier, any reference to Land Girls was greeted with grunts silence at farmers ! three or meetings; months, later there interjections for their were or against employment. Then came an interval when the subject was received with slight applause and finally a period of confidence, when any reference to the work of women on the land was received with cheers. "The Land Army"? says Lord Ernie, "had won". What they were doing. To-day, it is generally Believed? we have Become more accustomed to the idea of women working Beside men. On golf links and tennis court and in other forms of exercise many a mere male is shamed By their muscular prowess. Yet it would seem that some have forgotten this when it comes to work on the farm* As long ago as August 19X8 returns relating to 12*657 women show them in following joBs: 5,734 milkers, 293 tractor drivers (and tractors were much fewer and harder to drive in those days) 3 3,971 ‘field workers; 645 carters; 260 ploughmen; 34 thatchers and 2l shepherds* EXPORT OF FEEDINGSTUFFS A Rumour Exploded* There have been rumours to the effect that wheat offals are being exported to Denmark, and in view of the shortage of feedingstuffs this has caused understandable concern. The rumours have now been officially denied by Major Lloyd George who has stated in the House of Commons that no- licences for the export of wheat offals to Denmark are being issued. MORE FEEDING STUFFS. Concessions Not Restricted to Accredited Breeders. The Minister of Agriculture was asked in the House of Commons on 18th January whether preference in the matter of the supplies of feedingstuffs was given to members of the accredited poultry breeding scheme while reputable breeders who are not members of the scheme do not receive this favourable treatment* In his reply Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith said that the request made to the Chairman of the County Feeding stuffs Committees cf the Ministry of Food was that they should do all that was practicable to ensure supplies of feed for foundation poultry breeding stock and in this connection their attention was drawn to the Accredited scheme, since members participating in that scheme are the only poultry breeders of whom the Ministry have definite and comprehensive records as possessing sound breeding stock. But a material improvement in the supplies position has taken place > and every effort is being made by the Government to ensure equitable distribution of the available supplies throughout the country. In particular, arrangements are being made which will enable special consideration to be given to cases where acute shortage might result in the reduction cf foundation breeding stock, and these arrangements will apply generally to breeders of sound foundation poultry stock and will not be limited to accredited breeders. MAINTAINING OUR POULTRY STOCKS Co-operation Between General Farmers and Speedalists The feeding stuffs position has made it necessary to look more than ever to the general farmer for maintaining the poultry stock of.the country, for he is not so dependent upon imported feeding stuffs. But he can help in this emergency not only by keeping birds himself but by making arrangements with neighbouring specialist poultry farmers to provide land on which their stock can run. This is an obvious national economy, but also it should be of mutual benefit to the two classes of producers. For poultry are great improvers of grassland, especially if it has fallen hack into rather poor condition, and Mr. Thomas Turney, the successful Midlands agriculturist, has shown how poultry on the general farm, up to 50 birds per acre, can obtain from the pastures and stubble nearly 30 per cent, of their total - requirements. FIRST WEEK OF LIVESTOCK CONTROL. Fewer Animals Offered After Heavy Marketings. The first week of full livestock marketing control seems to have passed off smoothly, but with very marked reductions in the numbers of stock marketed. This was expected* Marketings before control came in were abnormally heavy and farmers had not got into the new ways of giving 12 days notice, sending to a selected centre and so on. Perhaps some of the more cautious were also waiting to see how their neighbours’ cattle fared under the grading test before sending in their own. In anticipation of such happenings, large supplies of imported meat are available in case of any temporary slackening in home-killed supplies. 23rd JANUARY, 1940. ’ ' —— iVi «* jJ . O • MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE ANNOUNCEMENT. SEED GRAIN FOR SPRING SOWING. Farmers should now make close estimates of the quantities of seed wheat, seed oats and seed barley they will require for spring sowing. Having reserved for this purpose as much as possible of their own grain which is suitable for seed, they should place orders at once with their usual merchants for the balance, and take delivery as soon as this can be arranged. Both the National Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants and the Agricultural Seed Trade Association have given undertakings to Ministers that they will use their good offices generally to ensure a free flow and an adequate supply of seed oats at a reasonable price and, in particular, that they will co- operate with the agricultural departments and the National Farmers’ Unions of England and Wales and of Scotland in taking steps to relieve the situation in any area where prices are found to be disproportionately high. To enable prompt action to be taken where necessary, farmers in England and Wales are asked to notify the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Supplies 111 Division, (Dept. E.A.), King’s Buildings, Smith Square, London, S.W.I. in the event of their being unable to obtain supplies, stating the name and address of their usual merchant from whom they have tried to obtain the seed, and particulars of the order, i.e. date, quantities, description, etc. of seed wheat, seed oats or seed barley. The Ministry will then take the matter up with the appropriate trade association. The restriction, placed by the G-eneral Licence made under the Home-Grown Wheat (Control) Order, 1959, on the quantity of home-grown mi 11able wheat which an approved buyer may sell for seed has been withdrawn. THE FOLLOWING IS ISSUED TO THE 23.1,40 - No. 8. PRESS BY NAVAL AFFAIRS FOR SUCH USE AS THEY MAY wish TO MAKE OF IT. GERMAN U-BOATS SINK MORE NEUTRALS. More neutral ships have been sunk by U-boats. On January 21st one Greek steamer and one Danish ship were sunk without warning by German submarines, and in neither case did the submarine make any attempt to save the lives of the crews of these neutral shins. The Greek ship was the EKATONTARCOS DRACOULIS. She was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine in the Atlantic. Twelve men of her crew were nicked up by the Italian ship NINO PADRE, but one of the lifeboats of the EKATONTARCOS DRACOULIS, with several men in it, is still missing. The Danish steamer which was torpedoed without warning the TEKLA. Eight of the the EKLA rescued by r, was crew of were the Norwegian steamer IRIS. There is not the slightest doubt that the TEKLA was sunk by a torpedo from a U-boat, for one of the survivors of the ship has stated that he clearly saw the track of a torpedo just before the explosion occurred. It is now known that three other neutral ships, which were sunk some time ago, were the victims of ’'the coldly-considered, deliberately aimed, torpedo" of German submarines. These ships were: the Finnish MERCATOR sunk on December 2nd, the Swedish LARS MAGNUS TROZELLI sunk on January Ist, and the Swedish SVARTON sunk on January 3rd. For as long as was possible those outside Germany tried to believe that these ships had been lost through other causes, but irrefutable evidence now proves them to have been deliberately sunk by German U-boats, After the way in which German submarines have sunk neutral shinning in the past few days, there can be no surprise at the news that these three shins were also sunk U-boats. What have been surprise that by might any nation should to such methods of warfare has already stoop given place to world-wide horror and indignation - not by any means untinged with, comtempt for a ntion and a navy which can perpetrate such deliberate crimes. Today the whole world outside Germany is echoing, with less restraint, the sentiments of the Dutch newspaper Het Vaderland, when it wrote of the sinking of the ARENDSKERK: " After the torpedoing of the SLIEDRECHT this is one of the most impertinent acts of German submarines. It is not real warfare and cannot contribute to the fame of any navy.” Only in Germany are therepeople dead to decency. The Berlin correspondent of the Dutch newspaper Het Handelshlad has reported that the Nazis were astonished at the indignation aroused in the Dutch press at the sinking of the ARENDSKERK* Fortunately for civilisation world-wide condemnation is a moral force which must always triumph. That is the lesson which the Nazis must he taught * NAVAL AFFAIR 23*1*40 . - No* 9* NEWS-REEL CENSORSHIP: A DENIAL. The statement that news-reels are now being sent to the Ministry of Information for censorship is wholly untrue* The Ministry is discussing with the news-reel compansies how it * can help them to obtain better pictures of the nation’s war effort and wider overseas distribution. In order to render co-operation more effective the companies concerned have agreed voluntarily, and as a matter of courtesy, to send copies of news reels to the Ministry on the definite understanding that censorship is no part of the scheme.* MINISTRY OF INFORMATION PRESS NOTICE. Chambers of Commerce are co-operating and may usefully continue to co-operate with the Ministry of Supply in placing- contracts, especially with smaller manufacturers, Colonel J.J. Llewellin, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Supply, stated at a meeting of industrial members of the St. Pancras Chamber of Commerce at the St.- Pancras Town Hall to-day. Mr. Robert Trill, Chairman of the Chamber, described how as far back as September 9th. last year, the Chamber circularised its members with a view to placing at the disposal of Government Departments schedules of plant, machinery and labour available for war orders. The Chamber at once, Mr. Trill said, received the very greatest assistance from the Ministry of Supply. Officers of the Ministry examined the schedules, sent inquiries and blue prints to members, placed orders directly with several fir.is and, in addition, grouped other firms as sub-contractors round a main contractor who was enabled, by this means, to undertake work for the Ministry. Early in October the Chamber called together a number of firms in the light metal industry. They had formed a group, with their own committee, and, as a group were in a position to under- take work which the firms could not have undertaken individually. The group was well received by the Ministry of Supply. Hr. A. Swinnerton-Beet, Secretary of the Chamber, stated that further detailed, statistical records had been prepared indicating industrial capacity which it was hoped might be used in the national effort as need arose. Explaining the attitude of the Ministry, Colonel Llewellin said that assistance from established, well-recognised bodies such as Chambers of Commerce had proved valuable and the Ministry hoped would be continued. ’’The wrong people for manufacturers to go to,” Colonel Llewellin said, "are those who represent that they have some means, usually not specified, of influencing the placing of orders* These gentlemen demand either a percentage of the value of any order received or a subscription to a mushroom organisation much in excess of the subscriptions ashed by legitimate trade associations# Manufacturers would be most unwise to have any dealings with persons of this sort.” The right people for them to go to were either the Ministry!s Area Officers or the secretaries of the Area Advisory Committees which were being set up throughout the country. Stores required were of two hinds: munition stores and clothing or general stores. Exhibitions of both hinds could be seen at various centres throughout the country. In they were at Savoy Hill House, London Savoy Hill, 17.0.2. and at the Royal Army Ordnance Depot, Greenford. A prospective producer should visit an exhibition, determine what he could offer to produce and then make an appointment with the Area Officer. If a manufacturer could produce a complete article he might be direct contract. Alternatively he might he able given a to combine with others to form a group to which direct orders could be given or he might be put into touch with main contractors to do sub-contracting v;ork. /It It might also happen that the Ministry would no'b- *he -able to find any work the prospective producer could do. -Even if he, did munition work in the last war he might not be able to do what was required to-day. In the last twenty years inventive genius had not stood still. Many articles then made of cast iron now required steel. Aluminium alloys and steel had now replaced wood for many purposes and there were few orders that could be given to woodworking firms* A large number of the goods required were difficult production jobs; the engineering limits were very fin., and the materials difficult to work. Orders must Toe given to people who could produce the articles efficiently and deliver them in good time. The whole of an important main store might have its delivery held up "by the failure of a small component to arrive in time or to fit when it did arrive. The Ministry of Supply was already making use of a large number of small firms and, subject to the considerations which had been mentioned, desired to discover and, if possible, to use the capacity of still more. The Ministry’s task was a tremendous one. All who could help to fulfil it were welcome. The meeting was opened by the Mayor of St. Pancras. Others present included Sir George Mitcheson, lI.P. for St. Pancras, S.W., and vice-president of the Chamber, Mr. T.W. Hawes, President of the Chamber, Mr. Harold West, vice-president, Mr. H.G. May, vice-chairman, Councillor S.A. Minter, hon, treasurer, and Councillord R.S. Fincham, J.P;, auditor. Ministry of Supply, Press Office, Adelphi., W. 6.2. 23rd January, 1940. 23/1/40 No, 11. STATEMENT BY CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER Tuesday, 23rd January, 1940. I propose, Sir, to ask the permission of the House to make a rather longer statement than is usual at the end of Questions, All Members are greatly interested in the subject of old age pensions, and it would be misleading to give a summary of the Government’s intentions without briefly giving some of the reasons which have weighed with us» The House will remember that when we last debated this question - on November Ist last - I indicated the Government’s intention to resume the investigation which had been promised by the Prime Minister on 27th July but had to be postponed on the outbreak of war, I promised to get in touch at once with representatives of employers and workers as the contributing parties under the contributory scheme and discuss with them the possibility of improvements* Those discussions have now taken place and the whole problem has been explored with a view to seeing what improvements are most needed and how the cost could be met* It was agreed at the outset of the discussions that they should be regarded as confidential and I am not in a position to indicate the views expressed by either party 0 The scheme Which I am about to outline is the Government’s own scheme, but in framing it we have paid close attention to the considerations urged upon us by the representatives of the two contributing parties* There are nearly 3 000,000 old age pensioners over the 9 age of 65 in this country* Most of them, of course, are drawing contributory pensions, "but included in the total are 550,000 who are over 70 and whose pension is subject to a test of means= It is natural, when considering the need for improving the pensions system, to concentrate on the case of the pensioner who has no additional resources other than public assistance* But investigation shows that this class of case, which certainly calls for our special consideration and with which I intend to deal, is exceptional. For instance, the latest available figures show that there are at least 375?000 pensioners earning wages in employ- ment - under war conditions the number must be growing* Some may well be earning salaries. Some are income-tax payers. Large numbers receive supplementary pensions under works' superannuation schemes. A large proportion, no doubt, live v/ith sons or daughters and share the roof and the family table. It is the minority family who have not these additional means of support whose case needs especially to be considered, and the Government propose to deal with the matter by supplementing pensions, where necessary, from central funds, rather than by a flat rate addition all round which, while it is really not needed in many cases, might well prove insufficient where help is most required. There is a further objection to adopting the method of flat rate addition which I must state plainly to the House• Although pensions under the 1925 Act are called "contributory", the greater part of the money needed to pay them is being provided, not by contributions from employer and workman, but by the general taxpayer. The State contribution to contributory pensions is at present no less than GO% of the whole; in addition, the State, of course, pays the whole of the non-contributory pensions,, I have seen no scheme for increasing, by means of a flat rate addition, the scale of old age pensions which would not involve heavy further burdens on public funds, which we ought not to incur in present circumstances without being satisfied of their necessity. If the existing contributory pension was to be'"brought up to a substantially higher figure - say by adding 5/~ a we-ek - by an increase of weekly contributions alone, the weekly contribution for men would have to be raised from lid. to l/9d. at once and to 2/1 d. in 5 years’ time, with corresponding increases in the case of women’s contributions. Without questioning the willingness, of both parties to industry to make some contribution towards an improvement in the existing scheme, an addition of this magnitude is plainly not practicable. Our latest information is that about 275?000 pensioners get additional relief from public assistance authori- ties and the annual cost of such relief is in the region of £si millions. We propose to take away from the local authorities their present liability to supplement old age pensions including the pensions of widows over 60 and to place this obligation upon central funds with some appropriate adjustment of finance under the Block Grant. It will be discharged by a Central Organisation analogous to the Unemployment Assistance Board under the supervision of the Minister of Health in England and Wales and of the Secretary for Scotland in Scotland. Further, we propose that the present % family needs test as administered by Public Assistance Committees, which has regard to the income of all liable relatives wherever they reside, should be the replaced by household needs test as now applied in the case of applicants for unemployment assistance. We should not be justified in relieving from all obligation sons and daughters who live in the same house as their aged parents and can make some reasonable contribution to their parents’ maintenance. This has been the practice in this country from time immemorial, and it is based sound social instincts. In on considering the need of Old Age Pensioner should an we not, however, take into account the of and resources sons daughters who do not live with their but have establishments parents of their own. The supplementary grant, when fixed, will in most cases not call for constant revision and will be really of the nature of a suoplementary pension. It will be paid through the Post Office is the at as practice present with the 10/- pensions. There are two other changes in the present system of contributory pensions which we see our way to introduce. The first has to do with the wife who is younger than her husband when the latter becomes entitled at the age of 65 to his pension of 10/-. The hardship in this case is accentuated where a couple has been in receipt of unemployment benefit or assistance before the husband was allowance for his wife 65, since he was previously receiving an as well as for himself but this ceases when he reaches the age of 6f>. We have therefore decided to recommend Parliament to lower the age for wives under the contributory scheme to 60, provided their husbands are 65 or over. This involves also considering the admission to pension at. 60 of women who are insured in their own right and we have decided to provide for these women also in our proposals. The cost of these two concessions is slightly over £8 millions a year at the present time, rising to £lO millions in f ten years time. We propose to meet this cost in the immediate future by appropriate additions to contributions (namely twopence per week in respect of men and threepence per v/eek in respect of women) though as the years pass the change will involve an added burden on the Exchequer unless the whole contributory basis of the scheme is revised. The above proposals will reouire legislation which will be introduced by my Rt. Hon. Priend the Minister of Health. The Bill is being prepared and will be presented to the House without undue delay. We hope to obtain a Second Reading as soon as possible and to make substantial progress with the measure before the Raster Adjournment. To sum up, the plan I have outlined will in effect establish supplementary pensions payable through the Post Office for those who from the absence of other need it will from resources, them; remove local authorities the burden to which they have drawn frequently attention, of providing relief for old age pensioners by supplementary assistance; it will place this obligation upon central funds under more acceptable conditions; and it will enlarge the benefits of the contributory scheme so as to include within it wives and insured women over 60. These are the general intentions of the Government and I hope the House will await the Bill for more precise details. Not for Publication or 23/1/40 - No. 12. Broadcasting before the Morning Press of Wednes- day, 24th January, 1940. MINISTRY Of INFORMATION DIRECTOR Of BROADCASTING RELATIONS APPOINTED The Ministry of Information announce that, after consultation with the B.B.C. , the Minister has decided to appoint Mr. R. E. L. Wellington, at present Assistant Controller of Programmes of the B.B.C., as Director of Broadcasting Relations in the Ministry. Mr. Wellington will take up his new appointment immediately. 23/1/40 - No. 13. JAPANESE IN CANADA HELP THE ALLIES. "It is our greatest desire, as loyal subjects of the Crown, to render what service we can”. So, reports the "News Herald” of Vancouver, B.C,, wrote the representative of the Japanese Colony in the Bear Creek district when he recently forwarded a generous contribution towards national defence. Many of the Colony served with the Canadian forces in the last war. EMPIRE AFFAIRS 23/1/40 - No .1 ADMIRALTY STATEMENT. The Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that, as the result of lI.M. trawler VALDORA being overdue, the following personnel are missing, presumed drowned:- POTTERTON, Albert Temporary Skipper, R.N.R. HARRIS, Ben First Engineman LEA, John Thomas. Fireman and trimmer. McCALL, Arthur Holland. Third hand. PICKETT, Douglas Deckhand POTTERTQN, Roland. Fireman and trimmer. RUMBELOW, Dick Second hand SMITH, Osborne Second Engineman SWABY, Thomas. Deckhand WELDON, Tom. Cook. NOT to be quoted as coming 23/1/40 - No. 15#. officially from War Office, Major General the Duke of Windsor visited the War Office this afternoon in his capacity as Liaison Officer with the French Army, and had an interview with General Sir Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff. 23/1/40. - No* 16 LINEN SUBSTITUTES. EXPERIMENTS BY NORTHERN IRELAND MANUFACTURERS. Following restrictions on the manufacture of linen goods for the home market with a view to special development of exports to the United States, Northern Ireland manufacturers are experimenting in the production of substitute materials composed largely of rayon and cotton. Furnishing fabrics and cloths of various kinds are among the articles which it is hoped to manufacture in that way. It is reported that one leading Northern Ireland factory has introduced a new "suiting" comprising cotton, rayon and hemp which has a finish approaching that of linen. The Linen Trade Circular states: "Large orders have been placed here recently for four leaf cotton canvas and similar goods for the Government, and Ulster weavers are now converting some of their looms for this special purpose" Dr. W. H. Gibson, Director of Research of the Linen Industry Research Association, will shortly retire for His research after having held the post 13 years. has been of into flax growing-and manufacturing processes value to the linen industry throughout the world. permanent EMPIRE AFFAIRS 23/1/40 No, 17, MID-WEEK SHOPPING, Shop early in the week and so lighten the burden which rationing has unavoidably placed on the retailer. The Ministry of Food invites all who can to buy their rationed foods during the first half of the week. The rush hour shopping on Friday and Saturday will then he made easier for the shop assistants, and also for those shoppers who have to wait for pay day at the end of the week before making their purchases,, MINISTRY OF FOOD. 23/1/40 - No. 18 ”THE VOICE OF THE NAZI” - (3) ’All Things to 411 Men' by W. A. SINCLAIR Tuesday, January 23rd, 1940, 9.15 - 9.30 p.m. To he repeated on Friday, January 26th, 1940 at 10.0 a.m. AS THIS SCRIPT IS ISSUED IN ADVANCE IT SHOULD BE CHECKED AGAINST THE ACTUAL BROADCAST. NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL AFTER 9-30 p.m. on 26/1/40. Many people are asking what ought to be done about enemy propaganda in this country. Our Government could, of course, descend to the Nazi level, and deal with the matter by always'saying the opposite of what the enemy says, and saying it all day long, and very much louder; or even by prohibiting listening to foreign broadcasts altogether. That is what is done in Germany; but in our country, characteristically the responsibility for dealing with the matter is left to us. This means that two things are required from each one of us. The first of these is common sense. As to that, every man must provide his own. Neither the Government nor anybody else can provide him with that. But common sense by itself isn't enough. The second thing that is required isn't yet as widespread as common sense, but every man can get it, if he takes the trouble. This second thing is: an understanding of what Nazi propaganda is, and how it works. This is because of the outstanding difference between propaganda, on the one hand, and all the other Nazi weapons, such as bombs and shells and so forth, on the other. If you get hit by a Nazi bomb, then it doesn't make any difference whether you understand the mechanism of the bomb, or not# You have been hit, and killed or injured, and that's that. The bomb has the same effect on you, whether you understand how it works or not. But in the case of propaganda, it makes all the difference whether you understand how it works or not. If you do understand it, and see why it is done, and how it is done, then it will have no effect on you. You will not be misled by it, and taken advantage of,. Nazi propaganda, unlike a Nazi "bomb, is not dangerous in itself. It is dangerous only to those who don* t know what it is. Just as a card-sharper Is not dangerous in himself. He is dangerous only to those who don*t know that he is a card-sharper. It helps a good deal, I think, if we can look at the Nazi propaganda system as a whole; that is, if we can watch it working over a period of years, and not just at the present moment only; and if we can watch it working all over the world, and not just in one country only. As regards its working over a period of years, we can see "better what is happening if we think of a simple illustration. We all know the children’s story of the boy who cried "Wolf" when there wasn’t any wolf. At first he made his family come running to help him. But after he had played this trick several times now/ times, nobody believed him any more, and then,: when he cried for help in real earnest, nobody paid any attention, and that was the end of him 0 With Herr Hitler and his Government, that has happened already, far treaties and promises concerned this as as are o By time there is nobody left who would think of relying on a Nazi promise c In that regard, the children*s story has come true© But that is not all c We must not forget the first part of the In the the story Q beginning, boy was believed c There was a time in which his little schemes did work* There was a time in which his lies did make people do what he wanted them to do. In the life of a boy who is a deliberate liar, that period before he is found out and disbelieved, is quite short o In the life of a government which is a deliberate liar, the period before it is found out and disbelieved, may be very much longer D As far as propaganda talks and *news bulletins*, so- called, are concerned, the Nazi Government is only passing through that period, and has not reached the end of it yet There are c still many people in this and other countries who do not yet under- stand Nazi propaganda, and it will remain a danger to them until they do c Now let us look at the Nazi propaganda system working all over the world o We tend to think mainly of the Nazi broadcasts in English, for they are in our language, and we are the people they are meant to mislead* But we must remember that propaganda in English is only a comparatively small part of the Nazis* total output, and not necessarily the most important part They are c sending out steady streams of propaganda, of every kind, by wireless, by pamphlets, by newspapers, by films, to every country in the world, twenty-four hours a day 0 The peoples of those various countries are all different. The Nazi propaganda Ministry, therefore, sitting in its Offices in Berlin, designs different propaganda talks, and different "news bulletins" to send out to each of the different countries it intends to work upon* For that reason, the propaganda sent out to each separate country, usually sounds all right when considered hy it- self, Because it has been specially made up to sound convincing to that particular people If for hear the 0 we, instance, only pro- paganda intended for our country, we may quite easily be taken in, and later made to look very foolish. But if we compare the propaganda sent to one country, with the propaganda sent to other countries, that gives the show away* Here is an instance from one of the Nazi propaganda talks meant for France* Their aim is to mislead the French into thinking that Germany really/ really wants to be at peace with France, and would be if it were not for the wicked British. Therefore the Nazis spend a lot of time trying to explain away those very prominent passages in Mein Kampf in which Hitler asserts his intention of attacking and utterly destroying France. Here is what was said in a broadcast in French on the 18th of last month. "French listeners, ... you are told that in this hook Hitler decided on the destruction of Prance. You. are too logical not to understand that Mein Kampf, being a human work, has its human side, in this case an echo of the popular anti-French feeling which prevailed in 1924 ...There are reasons for modifications of Mein Kampf which you can see for yourselves. ... You must see that policy towards Prance has changed, when you see that Hitler concluded an agreement with Russia. ... If in a few days, facing the British danger, the German State could make an alliance with must ideas exist in Russia, you see that no preconceived Hitler's mind, and that he directs German policy according to events and circumstances." If you had heard that talk, and that talk only, you would probably think it was frank, honest, and fairly convincing. But it turns out to be very different when we hear what was being said on other Nazi wireless stations at the same time. The Germans were being urged to give copies of Mein Kampf as presents to soldiers, and two days after that French talk, the Deutschlandsender station said this in German: "Not a word of this book has changed, just as Hitler has not changed. The new pocket edition makes it possible for every soldier to have the Fuehrer’s words at hand at all times". i When we turn to their so-called "News Bulletins", we find just the same kind of thing. Here is an example which is interesting because it has an ingenious additional twist in it. Last month* the Nazis were busily trying in every way to reduce the prestige of the British Navy, so on the 21st they sent out this "News" item "Indescribable scenes took place during the funeral service £>r the thirty-six sailors of the Graf Spee. The crews of several British ships anchored at Montevideo spat on the coffins of the German sailors as the funeral procession passed, and made indecent noises during the service. This indescribable cynicism, to call it nothing worse, reached its height, when, immediately after the service the British sailors threw the body of a dead dog on to the grave of the Germans". This item of "news" was sent out for Asia and the Par East at in the in half-past-nine morning; Dutch at midday; in Spanish at two in the afternoon; and in Arabic for the Near East and Middle East at half-past-four. The "news” was the same in each case, /except except that for some countries v/here cats are regarded as unclean, it was a dead cat. This so-called "news" was sent out to people who might possibly believe it. It was not included in the "News in English". Something quite different was sent out to people who would have known at once that the story could not be true. To them, at a quarter-to- seven the same evening, Hans Fritsche from the Deutschlandsender station flatly denied that any such news had been announced at all. And here comes the characteristic additional twist. He adopted a manner of injured innocence and righteous indignation. "The British wireless" he said, "goes so far as to assert that we tried to make propaganda beside the open graves of dead sailors, with allegations about dead dogs. No, No, gentlemen, the German people are a people of soldiers. They not only act in that manner, they also speak in that manner, and we are only too glad to leave abuse of this kind to you". If any of us had listened to that talk of his, by itself, we might quite easily have thought that there might be something in what he said. But we see through the sham when we know that the other German wireless stations had been sending out the story all that morning and afternoon. To put it briefly, a Nazi talk, or a Nazi "News Bulletin", is just as reliable as a Nazi promise. That is why we cannot treat German broadcasts in English as being a statement of the German case, which we could then compare with the British or French versions, in order, so to speak, to ''hear both sides". Those broadcasts in English are simply intended to weaken our resistance by saying anything at all that might upset and discourage us. A few more or less true items, and a few quite sound criticisms are usually mingled with the rest in each talk. These are inserted with calculated dishonesty, to lead and trap into us on, us believing the rest, just as a share-pusher or a three-card-trick man always lets his victims win a little to begin with, so that they will be led on, and properly swindled in the end. We have already reached the stage when anybody who let himself he taken in by a Nazi promise would be regarded just as an incurable mug. Wo are getting nearer to the stage when the same will be thought of anybody who lets himself be taken in by Nazi propaganda. BRITISH BROADCAST CORPORATION 25/1/40 - So. 1 TRIBUTE TO LOST TRINIDAD SEAMEN. Trinidad newspapers publish the names of twenty-six West Indian seamen lost in the tanker Inverdargale. All signed on and are believed to have been domiciled at Trinidad but their birth places include Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent, British Guiana, St.Lucia, Montserrat and Dominica, Recalling that Trinidad seamen volunteered for the Merchant Navy in the war zone when regular crews of foreign nationality declined to continue voyages, the Port of Spain Gazette says "These men lost their lives in backing up the effort of the British Government to conduct its sea-borne trade with as little dislocation as possible, the war notwithstanding. The Trinidad Guardian says "Their willingness to serve on the high seas in these troublous times, is evidence of their loyalty to his Majesty, the King, and what is more, their determination to enjoy the freedom they have for many years enjoyed under British rule„" EMPIRE AFFAIRS 23/1/40 - NO. 20. FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE. (EVENING) Paris, Tuesday, 23rd January, 1940, The following official communique v/as issued this evening from French G.H.Q,:- NOTHING TO REPORT. 23/1/40 - No. 21. His Majesty’s Minister in Berne has been instructed to convey to the Swiss Government and to M. Motta’s family the profound sympathy of H.M. Government in the United Kingdom in the great loss sustained by the Swiss Confederation in M. Motta’s untimely death. Lord Halifax has also expressed the desire to he associated personally with this message in view of the close and cordial collaboration which has marked his own and his predecessor’s relations with M. Motta at Geneva and the respect in which he was always held by the representatives of H.M. Government. FROM FOREIGN OFFICE NEWS DEPARTMENT. 23/1/40 - N0.22, CANADIANS’ LOST TESTAMENTS. The mystery of a missing consignment of New Testaments given by the British and Foreign Bible Society of Canada to the First Division of the Canadian Active Service Force, before its departure for England, was solved yesterday. The Testaments - about 7*ooo of them - were found when members of'.the Seaforth Highlanders were opening crates which were believed to contain Army equipment. The consignment had been minced up en route with the Unit's baggage and stored away for later attention. The task of distribution of the Testaments through the divisional chaplains was begun promptly}, but it will take several days 0 Every man of the division will receive a copy of a Testament to carry in his knapsack. Each copy will bear the name of the officer or man and his unit, and the name of the chaplain presenting it. Another consignment of s*ooo Testaments is due to arrive at an early date. Empire Affairs. 23/1/40 - No« 23». CANADIANS PARADE. Aldershot Parade Ground was astir today for the first time with the strains of martial music from the brass bands of the Ist Canadian Division, Apart from the ordinary routine exercises, the Canucks were given practice in ceremonial drill which they may be called upon to perform at an early date. Also officers and men of every unit appeared in full battle dress for the first time. Hitherto numbers of officers had been wearing their old style of uniform, pending delivery of dress decreed by the modern mechanized army. As a result of the sudden transformation it was difficult to distinguish officers from men. General McNaughton and his group of staff officers watched some of the units march past. Later General McNaughton lunched at Government House as the guest of Lieutenant General Broad G-OoCo, Aldershot Command. There he met his old friend, Field Marshal Lord Milne, and a party representing the committee of the Dominion Soldiers’ Club. The second group of French journalists visited the camp today. They made a special call upon the 22nd Battalion which has become the most visited unite Journalists also saw the Toronto Scottish and Second Field Regiment R,CoA O going through stiff drill, and had tea with the officers. The Frenchmen saw at first hand the men’s reaction to the arrival of the mail from home, which proved to be the second heaviest mail from Canada, comprising 118 bags of Christmas parcels and 41 bags of letters and newspapers® Among the letters, one addressed "Sir" Andrew McNaughton, despite the new title, reached the G®o*Co without further identification, Empire Affairs. FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW DAILY SURVEY OF WORLD COMMENT ON THE WAR COMPILED FROM TELEGRAPHIC REPORTS RECEIVED BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION \ tr 6 No. 23rd.. January. , 1940 U.S.A: EFFECT OF BRITISH ARMS ORDERS. What the United States is losing on the roundabouts she is * gaining on the swings*. T This is the keynote of comment which appears in to-day s NEW YORK TIMES referring to the fact that although Britain has reduced her tobacco imports from America she has placed large orders for armaments. "We cannot havu it both ways," states this paper, "We cannot expect the British to make immense war purchases in this country - the figure of a billion dollars has been mentioned as a possible total - and at the same time demand that Britain should keep up her peace-time imports unimpaired* war orders are not as big as some of our manufacturers expected, but they have been a fair size all the same," "In these circumstances a protest by us would stand on shaky ground." Some criticism of the British censorship of mail is contained 1 in to-day s New York Press, and the strength of the American protest is emphasized by several Washington correspondents. "The aide-memoire was the sharpest delivered by this Government to Britain since the outbreak of war," stated one correspondent. "In fact in this peremptory demand for correction it was more than a protest." United States sympathy for Finland. The general attitude taken in the Provincial Press was one of sympathy for Finland. "The more assistance we render Finland in the form of supplies that would enable her to win the battle for her existence the less our ultimate defence costs are likely to be," stated the WASHINGTON POST. "The time has come to consider aid to Finland not merely as an exercise of generosity but as something very real," An outspoken view was taken by the MONTANA STANDARD which stated: "Like Belgium in the World War, Finland has the complete sympathy of America, If there is a possibility of assisting her in the titanic struggle without ourselves participating in the war it is the will of the American people that it shall be done," "Is Signor Mussolini "beginning to side with the Western Powers?" was the question asked "by the TIMES, which stated: PROTHURON "The European line-up against the dictatorships and the totalitarian Governments is beginning to take definite form. Strangely enough the first Continental Dictator Mussolini - - is being forced to take sides with the Democracies." That the United States should revise her foreign policy was the opinion of the WASHINGTON SUNDAY STAR. FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page 2 23/1/40. ”Our present foreign policy takes no account of the distinction between right and wrong,” affirmed this paper. ’’Continued adherence to such a policy can have no other effect than to weaken the forces which stand for order and decency in the world, and strengthen and encourage the nations which know no other law but that of force.” The Nazi action in moving large sections of the Polish population was the subject of a scathing attack in the BOSTON POST. ’’The v/ or Id has anything like this before,” it was never seen stated. ’’This perversion of man’s genius for organizing, utter employed on a mammoth scale, is an evil beyond reckoning. It is an enormity that must render speechless those who hold tenaciously to the shreds of their belief that Nazism had a sound core.” Pacifism is losing ground in the United States, according to the NEW YORK HERALD*TRIBUNE* Referring to the statement issued by members of Protestant churches in America, the paper stated yesterday: ’’This appeal is refreshing confirmation of the fact that soft-minded Pacifism is on the de cline in the United States* When persons of divergent views unite in a plea for discriminate moral judgements between the various belligerents, it is apparent that the country is beginning to realise that more is at stake than legal questions of neutrality and sympathy for of the one or other group belligerents.” GERMANY': GERMAN VIEW OF FIRST LORD’S SPEECH. Mr* Churchill’s speech was not featured extensively in the West German papers on Sunday and Monday, but the WESTFALISCHE LANDESZEITUNG stated: ’’With silly lies about aggressive German intentions Churchill tried to frighten the neutrals and lure them into an alliance against the German danger* He unscrupulously recommended them to make their ships sail in the British convoy* ’’Obviously he sees in the common sacrifices, which would result, the best basis for the desired political solidarity* The whole purpose of British policy is to achieve the guardianship of all small nations, and the sacrificing of the neutrals in the fight against the young Powers of Europe who want to break the hegemony of the old plutocracies and build up a new Europe*” The NATIONAL ZEITUNG in its Saturday's- edition complained that Mr. Churchill had forced neutral shipping into war zones under the sphere of British protection* The paper declared that British public opinion was dissatisfied and was urging the navy to adopt the ’’German spirit of attack* ” Comparing the British and German navies the paper stated: ' . "Overwhelming numbers represent only one of the factors of naval strategic More important than numbers is the correct strategic ex- ploitation of the available elements. 3 23/1/40 FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page ITALY: MR. CHURCHILL CRITICISED. Adverse comment Mr. Churchill’s in last on speech was published night's Italian Press. The LAVORO FASCISTA in Berlin "German a dispatch stated: news- papers consider the speech to restore British as an attempt confid- ence, alarmed by the successes of the German Navy." The MESSAGGERO in Berlin a message citing the official DIPLOMATISCHE KQRRESPONDENZ affirmed: "Churchill’s invitation to the neutrals only be regarded of embarrassment ." 1 can as a sign Referring to Lord Halifax’s speech, the GAZETTA DEL POPOLO reported from London: "Halifax has at last dropped the mask and openly confessed that Britain's aim is not to safeguard the small nations but to defend her own cause." In a London message, the REGIME FASCISTA declared: "Churchill also put the cards on the table*" BELGIUM: FIRST LORD’S STATEMENTS RESENTED. Resentment at Mr. Churchill’s speech was expressed in the Belgian Press on Sunday when the First Lord’s broadcast and Lord Halifax’s speech were given considerable prominence* "Belgium has never had need of foreign advice, however friendly, to remind her of her duty," stated the NATION* BELGE* "In 1870 Germany and Prance respected her territory and Belgium remained neutral. In 1914 she was attacked by Germany, defended herself, and fought without outside influence. In 1939 she is not attacked, but remains neutral., and armed, Belgium’s entry into the war would have no other tangible result than to extend the devastation and make * her soil a European battlefield." The XXme SIECEE was even more blunt and stated: "Winston Churchill is a dangerous erator. Every time he serves the cause of German Propaganda*" The PAYS REEL referred somewhat sarcastically to the sympathy expressed to the neutrals for maritime losses and added: "We would be thankful to Mr. Churchill for thinking of our troubles with such very solicitude if he were not warning us of much ‘greater ones. Belgians have sufficient common sense to know what they should dr without the advice of Mr. Churchill*" The PEUPLE emphasised that Mr. Churchill was not speaking for the Government and, referring to League obligations, added: "Has England herself always remained faithful to these obligations and has not her attitude precisely contributed to the tragic situation in Europe?" the broadcast "a tirade" the VOORUIT declared: Describing as "If the countries have lost confidence in Geneva, if they have small their The retired into a certain solitude, they had reasons. is not the work of small neutral States." League bankruptcy FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page 23/1/40. HUNGARY: SOUTH EASTERN EUROPEAN PROBLEM. The allegation that Britain and France want an extension of the to South Eastern Europe has been made in the Hungarian Press. war The UJ MAGYARSAG stated yesterday that Germany in conjunction with Italy wished fof peace and added: ’’Britain and France, however, desire a war ih South East Europe#” The newspaper, q\i }tingthe Italian paper TRIBUNA continued: ’’Passages from the London and Paris papers quoted in the Italian Press also demonstrate more and more clearly an anti-Italian attitude of Britain and France concerning problems in South Eastern Europe.” Lord Halifax’s speech was given fair publicity in the Budapest Press, the PESTER LLOYD publishing an exhaustive abstract. Mr. Churchill’s speech was given front page prominence in the and the FUGGETLENSEG and the MAGYAR NEMZET asked': morning papers ’’Was Mr. Churchill’s speech an invitation to the neutrals?” The FUGGETLENSEG added: ’’Until international conditions change, Germany cannot possibly be conquered either by arms or by the blockade, whereas the Western Powers have many vulnerable points#" FRANCE: MR. CHURCHILL’S SPEECH WELCOMED. Mr. Churchill’s speech has been well received in the French Press. ”Mr. Winston Churchill’s appeal to the neutrals is a good reply to Hitlerian propaganda,” stated the PETIT JOURNAL yesterday. ”It is also a wise and necessary warning. It is vitally important for the neutrals to unite in resisting aggression from whichever quarter it comes, whether from Stalin or from Hitler. The First Lord of the British Admiralty was quite right to recall their responsibilities to the neutrals.” Referring to Lord Halifax’s speech the paper added that the British Foreign Minister made a clear distinction between Nazi Germany and Germany and added: ”In embarking on this war, the Allies never had any intention of destroying the German people. English and French statesmen have re-affirmed this.” The TEMPS said that Mr. Churchill put his finger on the spe-t in referring to the increasing difficulties of a neutral policy and the INTRANSIGENT hoped that his strong words would be taken to heart by the small countries, The EXCELSIOR declared that the time was at hand when might would be less strong than right, but the neutrals must not delay the victory of the Allies by complaisance towards the aggressor powers. FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page 3/1/40. URUGUAY : PRESS AGREEMENT WITH BRITAIN OVER NEUTRALITY ZONE, Spirited agreement with the British view of the Pan-American suggestion for a new neutral zone off the coasts of the Americas has been expressed in EL DIARIO, the newspaper with the largest circulation in Monte Video * After referring to the British disagreement with the principles adopted by the Panama Conference, the paper stated: "The plain truth is that one cannot but consider the British disagreement as logical and reasonable. As has already been observed, it would have been perfectly fair to fix a minimum limit for the purposes of neutrality, but not by the unilateral decision of the States of the Western hemisphere,; it should have been decided on only after interchange of views and agreement with other Governments - the British Government included ~ directly affected by the measure in question* ’’lndeed, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the decisions arrived at by the Panama Conference, with evident precipitation, had such far-reaching effects that it is clear that the delegates present exceeded themselves in laying down a juridical principle which embraces almost the third part of -che Atlantic Ocean* "As we see it, the British Government is perfectly justified in its objection, since obviously it is affected directly by any arrangement which in one way or another changes the status of the third part of the Ocean most used by International Navigation, ,f The measures proposed by the Panama Conference are without a doubt excessive and, in our view, should be rectified as far as possible in compatibility with the rights and interests of every State in this Continent o It must be kept in mind that, as London has rightly suggested, the maintenance of the extraordinary zone would virtually give carte blanche to the pirates, while proposed it would quite unjustly, to limit the action of those only serve , countries whose rule it is to respect strictly International Law H and other Nations' rights, 1 CHILE: CRITICISMS OF DIPLOMATS SPEECHES. PRESS. PUBLISHES Pair summaries of the speeches by Lord Halifax and length Mr* Churchill were given in Sunday's Chilean Press, Criticisms of the speeches were contained in Rome and Berlin dispatches to the newspapers yesterday* FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page 6 23/1/40, FINLAND: FINNISH VIEW OF MR.. CHURCHILL’S SPEECH. The Speech by Mr© Churchill has aroused some discussion in Finland and, referring to the First Lord’s invitation to the neutrals, the London correspondent of the HELSINGIN SANOMAT commented yesterday: ’’This is the first time that a member of H.M* Government has expressed such views. Scandinavian quarters in London considered that Mr© Churchill gave new wind to the sails of German propaganda and forgot the dangerous position of the Scandinavian States." The UUSI SUOMI stated that German oil estimates had failed, and the Reich would have to have recourse to supplies from other countries. The paper added that If the world production of 280 million tons Germany could get only a fraction while the other camp "was swimming in oil waves© "Whether the waves are sufficient to carry the Franco- British cause to victory is another matter©” The Moscow correspondent of this paper reported that the staff officers of the 44th Division had been ’’liquidated” as being responsible for its destruction© * SWITZERLAND: ALLIES CAUSE PREJUDICED? The view that Mr. Churchill’s speech would prejudice the Allies’ cause in neutral countries is given in to-day’s Swiss Press. The JOURNAL DE GENEVE states: "The effect of Churchill’s im- prudent speech cannot fail to be predjudicial to the Allies in all countries which, for readily-understandable reasons, have no desire to be dragged into Neutral States, and war© both great small, are consider themselves masters their accustomed to in own house, and dislike receiving advice from either side ." The opinion of the NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG was given in the words: "If Churchill’s intention is stiffen the neutrals’ to backs it is unlikely that they need any such lesson” c ’’Not merely the Scandinavian but also the Swiss neutrals are disturbed by the Churchill speech,” states the BASLER NACHRICHTEN. ’’Nowhere in neutral Europe does any State feel an obligation to parti- cipate in the present war©” HOLLAND: UNFAVOURABLE REACTION TO MR, CHURCHILL'S SPEECH. Mr. Churchill’s speech has met with on:.unfavourable reception in* Holland, one paper describing it as "unsympathetic”© HET HANDELSBLAD stated: ’’There is every reason for Mr. Churchill to mention the fater of the unfortunate neutrals, but he goes too far in telling them that it is their duty tojoin the Allies according to League principles© The great Powers neglected their League obligations whenever it suited them. It is too much to expect that the neutrals ’battlefields ©” * should lend their countries for Under the heading ’’Unsympathetic speech” DE MASSBODE wrote: "If.it is desired to win over the neutrals Churchill shonldt aeiut ainly not he let loose o Accusations about League obligations are completely unexpected from a British Minister©" The view of HET VADERLAND was given in the words: "We doubt * whether Mr. Churchill s speech rendered a service to Mr. Chamberlain’s Government-, " 7 FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW • Page 23/1/40 ITALY: UNFAVOURABLE RESPONSE TO MR. CHURCHILL’S SPEECH. The speech by the First Lord of the Admiralty continues to be discussed with indignation in today's Italian Press, and the POPOLO DI ROMA, reporta from Berne, that resentment is felt in Switzerland* The GAZETTA DEL POPOLO used the headlines ’’Pessimism and shivers of apprehension in London,.” and ’’Churchill speech creates most unfavourable impression*.” This paper also remarks:”It seems clear that Churchill’s remarks mean that Britain finds herself in considerable difficulties from which her own efforts are insufficient to extract her* The question is ’Are the neutrals prepared to fall into the spider’s web, woven for them by British Diplomacy’ ” DENMARK: ’’BRITAIN’S LACK OP METHOD.” The KRISTELIGT DAGBEAD, commenting on the speeches of Lord Halifax and Mr. Churchill, states today that they reveal the British lack of method* The Berlin correspondent'of the NATIONALTIDENDE declares: ’’Germans regard the Churchill speech as an official British attempt The two to enroll all the small neutrals in Europe against Germany* British for Germany confirmation that Ministerial speeches represent a efforts to extend the theatres England and Prance will continue their of war*”