War Day by Day

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1940, Page 6

War Day by Day

Comment on the News London Given Respite Action Closer in East

It is good news indeed to learn that a method has been found of providing a measure of relief for bomb-blasted London. It is reassuring to learn that the population of the metropolis. has adopted a cheerful attitude which had been absent after the first four nights of terror but there are other no less important considerations. The alleviation of the strain of continuous fire-fighting will enable the civil defence authorities to proceed with less hindrance to the re-establishment o! essential services. With water mains cut and consequent disruption of sewage' services it could not be long, in a densely populated area. before disease allied itself to Hitler's barbarians. Reasons for "Holes in the Road" That Londoners have now an increasing opportunity for indulging in their penchant for gathering around "a hole in the road," has been commented on by American journalists. Visitors to the capital are invariably struck with the frequency with which a few trestles and scaffolding poles are dragged along to screen some excavation or other in London's busiest streets. The reason for the disturbances to traffic is, of course, that the streets are underlain with networks of telephone lines, power lines and gas, water and sewage mains, • which inevitably call for occasional repair. The maze of telephone lines which exists under the streets will be plain when it is stated that there are 256 telephone exchanges in London which serve 940,000 subscribers. 'Electricity and gas utilities are provided by private companies. In Greater London the gas companies work no less than 12,000 miles of mains. The London County Council maintains 400 miles of sewers. East End Terrorists' Target. It would be paying an unmerited tribute to the accuracy of the Nazi bombaimers to suggest that the damage to London hospitals and schools was due to other than mere chance in the broadcast attack on all types of structures. Of the types of bombs the Huns are using the incendiaries and high-percussions are particularly effective in destroying oldstyle brick buildings. Since more than 1300 schools and 75 hospitals are controlled by the London County Council alone, it would be indeed remarkable if they were all to escape damage. The fact that Buckingham Palace was damaged tends to emphasise rather than otherwise the indiscriminate nature of the Nazi attack. It is not suggested, of course, that the Nazis have any of the scruples the Kaiser was reputed to hold. Royalty at war against him was still Royalty in the eyes of Wilhelm, and he was said to have ordered that his Zeppelin commanders scrupulously avoid the British Royal residences. Hitler's treatment of other Royal ties removes any suspici5n of similar sentiments from him, but all the same it is a fact that bombing around Buckingham Palace would serve his terrorist aims far less than attacks elsewhere on the capital. For one thing, in the West end of London are acres of parks. Hyde Park (564 acres), Green Park (53 acres), St. James' Park (93 acres) and Kensington Gardens (275 acres). Another point is that the streets in the west are wider, and the residential squares are built around large gardens. Around the docks is where the terrorist can wreak his worst damage. Stepney, for instance, with more than 200,000 people living in 1766 acres, or Poplar with 140,00(1 people in its four drab square miles. Italy Aimtng at Big Prize. Air and sea actions apart, the Mediterranean and Eastern fronts have witnessed only small desultory clashes of recent weeks. It seems, however, that the state of quiescence which has existed on the land is rapidly drawing to a close. With the cooler weather arriving the junior partner in the Axis combination will be called upon to play his part in the gamble. Mussolini's objective is hardly less important than that of Hitler. Egypt is a grand prize— if he can win it. The economic stake is much higher than is generally realised. Egypt and the Sudan in 1938 produced up to 5,500.000 hundredweight of high-grade cotton. This is more than the combined imports of Germany and Italy. which in the previous year totalled 4,100,000 hundredweight. But cotton fibre is almost of less importance than cotton seeds, which furnish that vegetable oil for dairy, industrial and personal uses which is the chief lack of Axis-controlled Europe. Then there is manganese ore, which is vital for steel production. But more important is the stake in petroleum. If Italy could obtain the oil supplies from Iraq and Iran she would solve a pressing Axis problem. However, even the optimistic Fascist hierarchy can hardly visualise obtaining control of more than the pipelines. Control of the wells would be a very different matter. What the Italians would aim at, however, would be to gain an access to facilitate a free flow of oil to them from the Russian oil pipe-line at Batum, on the Black Sea. Unrest in French North Africa. With such tremendously important issues at stake, it is not to be expected that the Italian effort will be other than a very solid one It will not be easy to roll up. The present di«positions leave Alexandria as the crux of the situation from Britain's viewpoint. This base, with its deep dredged channcl.for warships of the largest tonnage, is a debt Britain owes to that long-sight«d admiral, Lord Fisher. But when the Mediterranean does flare up. it is highly unlikely that the fighting will remain for long confined to the present belligerrmts, and the course of events will probably provide the Royal Navy with offier bases than Alexandria. The French North African colonies may ye play a part in unsettling the Axis plans in the Mediterranean. French troops in Morocco are said to be showing signs of unrest, and the pressure Italy is putting on the Vichy Government to order the disarmament of the troops in French North Africa is an indication that the Fascist generals are not happy about the positior* on the western frontier of Libya. The enormously rich colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have suffered from the British blockade. 'They just cannot get their products of grain, phosphates, olive oil and metals out to the ma'-kets. The Italian navy is unabie to helo them materially, hence the likelihood of internal unrest spreading unless the situation is promptly relieved.