GERMAN VERSIONS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20102, 23 November 1939, Page 5

GERMAN VERSIONS

LAYING OF MINES BOASTS —DISCLAIMERS BRITISH PRESS REPLY PATH OF REPRISALS ONLY COURSE OPEN (Eloc. Tol. Copyright—United Brass Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 11.50 a.m. RUGBY. Nov. 22, Open confessions in German broadcasts of the object of the illegal and indiscriminate laying of mines on trade routes have caused surprise in naval circles. The sinkings of neutral ships have been announced with apparent relish and have been repeated.

The conclusion is that it is unsafe for neutral shipping to approach the English coasts.

This admission that the mines were not laid with a military objective, or with the intention of sinking British merchant ships, but for the express purpose of sinking neutral ships in order to intimidate neutral shipping companies conflicts with the German statements made for internal consumption in Germany that neutral ships, particularly the Dutch liner Simon Bolivar, were sunk by British mines.

Complete confidence is expressed in naval quarters that the British Navy will, as in the past, find a speedy and effective reply to any form of warfare to which Germany may in her desperation resort.

Only Language Understood

“Reprisal is the only language the Nazis understand,” says The Times, which, in common with other newspapers, comments on the statement made in the House of Commons yesterday by the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, regarding the seizure of German exports. It is recalled that similar action was taken in 1915 after Germany wrongfully declared the waters surrounding Britain a “military area."

The present decision is generally regarded as the only possible reply to the inhumane German practice.

The Daily Telegraph says: “It was not only our right, but our duly.”

The News Chronicle, pointing out that the German object is to isolate Britain regardless of the cost to others, draws distinctions between the Nazi treatment of neutrals and the effect of the proposed action on them. It says the blockade and coun-ter-blockade “will inevitably cause much hardship to neutral countries, but our method, unlike that of the Nazis, will involve no loss of neutral ships, no sacrifice of lives and no frightfulness. Neutrals will suffer inconvenience at our hands but that is a price they must and should pay gladly for the removal from the world of the Nazi pestilence.”

Germany Bad Buyer

The Financial News says that the lack of foreign exchange makes Germany a bad buyer. "So long as the sea routes to England remain open to traffic, the trade of the Oslo States, the Scandinavian countries, Holland and Belgium will inevitably trend towards the Allies,” continues the Financial News. "Germany is short of all commodities. The Oslo States produce iron ore, timber, bacon and dairy produce. "If the indiscriminate submarine warfare were sufficiently intensified to render the North Sea impracticable for shipping, the Oslo States would have no outlet but Germany for their products. In those circumstances, Germany could make her own terms for payment. If the minelaying were to continue to be as effective as during the past week, it would represent a

real threat to the British food supplies. And if it eventually made the Oslo States become virtually dependent upon Germany for a market, the effectiveness of the blockade would be seriously weakened.”