GERMAN EVASION OF BLOCKADE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 185, 2 May 1940, Page 10

GERMAN EVASION OF BLOCKADE

Supplies From U.S.A. Via Vladivostok BRITISH MINISTER’S DISCLOSURE (British Ollieial Wireless.) ' RUGBY. April 30. "Economic warfare is essentially an offensive weapon, and, to be effective, it must be used with the same resolution and thoroughness as any other arm,” said the Minister of Economic Warfare, Mr. R. Cross, in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce, which was specially broadcast to the United States. "By waging economic warfare to the utmost, we believe that we shall shorten the war by many months,” he said. "We certainly claim that we have already made Germany feel its pressure, but economic warfare does not produce quick results. Germany has an immensely powerful economic machine, which has been organized for years to meet the very struggle in which she is now involved. The Germans are a redoubtable enemy and have shown their usual industry and skill in devising ways of evading the blockade. We are constantly at work to defeat this evasion.” Mr. Cross admitted that there were leaks and mentioned the Vladivostok route. Many consignments had reached Vladivostok by curious and suspicious routes, be said. The United States had been Hie source of much of the raw materials going there, and, he said, we wonder sometimes how far it is generally realized in your country that important supplies of key war materials have reached Germany in this way. Mention of this - dangerous route via Vladivostok shows that the problems with which we have to deal in economic warfare are world-wide.” British Imports. ' Referring to the necessity for Britain to cut down the imports of goods not necessary for war purposes from America and othdr neutrals, Mr. Cross said that it was surprising that British purchases of American foodstuffs had been maintained at so high a level. In normal years before the war Britain bought some £20,000,000 worth of such goods annually, while the latest estimate' of similar purchases during the first year of war was about £l(>.0<>0,000. This fact, said Mr. Cross, was a demonstration of Britain's desire not to divert trade from ils normal channels more than was absolutely necessary. Thanks lo the co-operation of American shipowners, delays to ships at British contraband bases, about which there were earlier certain complaints, were now greatly reduced. Of 10 American vessels which passed innards through Gibraltar since March 30 eight were clean'd on tilt 1 day they arrived, and two were cleared the next. day. The navicert system had also been working, well. More than -1800 applications for navicerts had been dealt with since December and nearly 300 fully navicerted ships, which need not enter control bases, had been cleared at sen within the past few months. Regarding Germany’s efforts to evade the Allied blockade, Mr. Cross said in the House of Commons that he was not satisfied with the position of aerial traffic to' and from Germany, specialiv over routes loading from Spain and Portugal, and connecting with the Pan-American and transatlantic routes to the United States. The possibilities of preventing contraband being thus imported into Germany wore being examined. He disclosed that parcels of food from overseas which had been intercepted and shown to be destined for Germany already run into many thousands. Such parcels are seized.