ANOTHER NEUTRAL VICTIM?

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 May 1940, Page 4

ANOTHER NEUTRAL VICTIM?

ACCORDING to a cablegram from Washington published yesterday, “reliable private advices from Europe” state that Germany has made new demands on Sweden, including the right to transport troops across* that country to reinforce the Narvik garrison. Sweden, it was added, is considering the position and meantime is increasing her military preparations. It may be doubted whether a desire to reinforce the Narvik garrison has much to do with the likelihood of a German attack on Sweden. So long, in any case, as the British Navy maintains its command of the North Sea —a command Germany is hardly in a position to challenge—the question of shipping Swedish iron ore to the Reich by way of the Norwegian port could hardly arise even if the Allied forces which lately have been closing in on the German garrison were compelled to withdraw. Indeed, there have been recent reports that the German garrison has blown up tunnels and carried out other demolitions on the railway which links Narvik with the Swedish iron mines.

The motive of a German attack on Sweden, if it is made, presumably will be a desire to plunder the Scandinavian country of iron and other commodities by way of the Baltic, rather than to open an approach into northern Norway. During about five months in a normal year iron ore is shipped down the Baltic from the Swedish port of Lulea, on the Gulf of Bothnia and a. certain amount of ore is transported also by rail, through the length of Sweden. The total quantity thus transported is much less than was formerly shipped to Germany by way of Narvik. Since Sweden no doubt is quite willing to export as much iron ore as possible by -way of the Baltic. Germany has no very obvious motive for adding to her list of crimes the invasion of another neutral nation. It is in any ease definitely a question whether Russia would allow her to do so.

Pursuing its own predatory aims, the Soviet entered into a partnership with Germany in the partition of Poland. An immediate object, however, of the Soviet action in establishing military domination over the Baltic Slates and in seizing by conquest the strategic gateways to Finland evidently has been to establish safeguards against attack by Germany. It appeal's rather improbable that the Soviet dictatorship would allow the measure of com mam I it has thus obtained over the Baltic to be jeopardised by a German invasion of Sweden. If also seems unlikely that the Nazi dictatorship, in the present state of its military fortunes will go out of its way to invite Russian antagonism.