FROM THE HIGH SEAS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 37, 8 April 1942, Page 8

FROM THE HIGH SEAS

RUSSIANS MARCH ON LEATHER CAPTURED FROM BLOCKADE! RUNNERS Great Britain lias sent on to Russia cargoes of South American hides captured by: the British Navy from German and Italian blockade runners. In the five months before Jajian ■went to war more than 2000 tons of these hides were seized on the high seas. The Axis can ill afford toi go without them. In 1939 Germany bought from the Argentine 13,000 metric tons of wet-salted types alone and it was these that the British Navy captured—best wet-salted frigorifico with a few dry Americanos. Deprived of these imports, Germany is believed to be finding difficulty in maintaining the boot and equipment leather made from them. Sole leather is in fact a prime munition of war and the hides seized by Britain and sent on to Russia are the best possible raw material for the tanning of Army boot sole leather. The Argentine, with a production of 7,500,000 cattle hides a year, is one of the world's chief sources of supply of hides much valued by the British tanners who are providing the sole leather for the 3,000,000 pairs of boots now on their way to the Russian Army.