WANTON HORROR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24411, 24 September 1940, Page 7

WANTON HORROR

A SUPREME INSTANCE DAY OF RECKONING AHEAD BRITISH PRESS COMMENT LONDON, Sept. 22. (Received Sept. 23, at 11.30 p.m.) Child victims on the evacuation ship in several cases represented entire families. Mr Shakespeare, informing the bereaved, said: “The Children’s Overseas Reception Scheme wishes me to convey its deep sympathy in your bereavement. You courageously decided to send your children to the. dominions, believing that this course was better than continuous raids. I, as a parent, realise the anguish this letter must cause you and the great sadness brought to your home. I assure you I deeply share your grief.” Mr Shakespeare, in a statement, said: “ I am full of horror and indignation that any German submarine captain could have torpedoed a ship over 600 miles from land in a tempestuous sea. The conditions were such, that there was little chance for the passengers, whether; adults or children. This deed will shock the world and is another example of the barbarous methods of warfare associated with Nazi Germany; . It is comparable only with their present brutal indiscriminate bombing of women and children in London.” The Daily Mail says: “Even amid the carnage Hitler is trying to cause among London’s women and chil-

dren the story of the sinking of the evacuation liner stands out as a supreme instance of wanton horror. Nothing has given the world a more vivid or more awful example of the sort of warfare Hitler wages Let the details never be forgotten until the day of reckoning arrives. We must ask. with parents, whether the Government is absolutely satisfied with the arrangements for the transport of children. Are the ships convoyed far enough to sea. Many thousand have already crossed the Atlantic safely but more must be done to prevent a repetition of this tragedy."