ORDERED BY HITLER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 December 1939, Page 6

ORDERED BY HITLER

SCUTTLING OF GRAF SPEE AFTER MANY HOURS OF ARGUMENT PRESS TIRADES AGAINST BRITAIN. MR WINSTON CHURCHILL AS "BLACKMAILER.” P.V Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received This Day. 11.45 a.m.) LONDON. December 13. Reuter’s Amsterdam correspondent says Herr Hitler ordered the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee only after m'tiy hours of argument with naval chiefs and technical experts, who insisted that the Grat Spee must not fail into British hands, ?s the pocket-bat-tieships have an unusually high proportion of specially designed instruments and apparatus. A number of new secrets were added this summer. The Berlin Press proclaims that the Graf Spse’s end is the beginning of new blows against England. “The blackmailer Churchill.” it is, declared, "will learn that he did a disservice to England by bringing pressure to bear on Uruguay to send out the Graf Spee before she was navigable. Uruguay’s action was unfriendly in crassly breaking international law under intimidation from Britain. »

BREACH OF LAW ALLEGED AGAINST URUGUAY. SHARP GERMAN PROTEST. (Received This Day, 11.15 a.m.) BERLIN. December 18. The High Command confirms that Hitler himself ordered the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee and says the Uruguayan Government did not allow sufficient time to make the ship seaworthy. The leader and supreme commander of the armed forces therefore ordered the captain 1o blow up and destroy the battleship outside territorial waters. The Berlin Radio announces that the Government has handed a sharp protest to Uruguay against a flagrant breach of international law in failing to allow the Graf Spee adequate time for repairs.” PORTENT OF DEFEAT GRAF SPEE'S INGLORIOUS END. DEDUCTION MADE IN FRANCE. (Received This Day. 11.45 a.m.) PARIS. December 18. A spokesman, on behalf of the Navy, said! “Germany knows she will lose. Otherwise she would have allowed the Graf Spee to be interned and would have claimed her after the war. The slight damage she inflicted and her inglorious end absolutely endorse the British and French policy not to build similar ships.” SEAMEN ARRESTED CHARGED WITH BLOWING UP BATTLESHIP. ACTION EY URUGUAYAN POLICE. (Received This Dav. 11.45 a.m.) .MONTEVIDEO.' December 18. The Uruguayan harbour police arrested four of the Graf Spec's seamen aboard the Tacoma and charged them with blowing up the ship. The arrested seamen were in a launch when tile Graf Spee exploded. An earlier message stating that all the crew were transferred to an Argentinian gunboat is incorrect. Three hundred and fifty remained on the Tacoma.