VAST CITIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 January 1942, Page 6

VAST CITIES

BUILT IN BRITISH RURAL AREAS WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT. • FEATURES OF WAR SITUATION. Vast cities in remote rural areas in Great Britain have been constructed in a little over a year, in spite of the worst building weather of a century, with miles of roads and railways, workers’ hostels, concert halls and restaurants, says an official statement. A typical example is one where nearly 900 separate buildings are spread over an area of about three square miles. No less than 74 miles of drainage were provided to deal with surface water, and six miles of sewers had to be laid down for the process sections alone. Every building has to be kept at an eycn temperature, in winter and summer alike, and this involved linking each to a centrallycontrolled steam-heating system, feeding 40 miles of mains. The water and gas mains are ninety miles long, ana there are 170 miles of electric and telephone cables. The General Post Office laid 430 miles of telephone lines, with 227 operational points. One of the bright features of this factory is the installation of a centrallyoperated broadcast system, which, with' its 20 miles of cable and 59 loud-speak-er points, enabled the army of operatives to' “work to music.” This will' be used to maintain contact with every section in the event of an air attack. An analysis in the “Economist” shows that the accumulation of sterling funds by Empire countries has gathered steady momentum during the past year. Reasons for this acceelration are the inevitable curtailment of British exports to Empire countries, and the gradual reduction of the most readily-marketable holdings to longer-term Empire securities the repatriation of which has provided the main check on the expansion •of these sterling assets. Allowing for capital movements, such as the repatriation of South African equities, there has also been a reverse action through the purchase of United Kingdom securities by Empire countries. There is a large increase in exports from Canada to this country. Canadian trade figures show in a striking way how Hitler is losing the Battle of the Atlantic. In the first eleven months of 1941, exports of Canadian goods to the United Kingdom reached the enormous total of 609,800,000 dollars, compared with 298,000,000 dollars in the corresponding period of 1939.

Mr Mackinnon. Minister of Trade and Commerce, comments: “Thus, during the time of total war, when every shipment of goods that is sent to the United Kingdom involves a risk of life and limb, we have more than doubled our exports.” Similarly, British exports to Canada have shown a big increase. In the first ten months of 1941, Great Britain sent goods amounting to 113,000,000 dollars’ worth, compared with 92.000,000 dollars in the same period in 1939. A summary of the report of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce shows that the aviation industry of the United States during 1941 built more than 1,500,000,000 dollars’ worth of warplanes, engines and propellers. The production in 1941 was nearly triple that of 1940. Appropriations totalling about 13,000,000,000 dollars have been approved to ensure a continuous flow of planes and equipment. The report of William Witherow, president of the National Association of

Manufacturers, found that in certain essential war materials American industrial production in 1941 was as great or greater than the production of the Axis countries. The report referred specifically to machine tools, steel, petroleum products, electric power, automobiles and trucks, aeroplanes and aluminium.

AXIS AND OCCUPIED COUNTRIES. Owing to shortage of electrical power Italian factories are to close for one day in each week. A Rome broadcast announced: "Owing to the exceptionally small rainfall during the last few months there has been a serious falling off in the available electricity supply, especially in the north. In order to meet the situation a system of control of the use of electric energy has been introduced. The Minister for Corporations has therefore decreed that in all factor-

ies where electric energy is used, working time must be reduced one day per week. This weekly day’s suspension of work must be established within seven days of publication of the decree.” A complete prohibition of the sale of alcohol was imposed in Germany from January 1, says the Berlin correspondent of the “Social Demokraten.” Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of alcohol must take stock of their goods. Only industrial alcohol will be produced in the new year. Many factories will have to close, and the remaining 700 to 900 firms will have to cut down production. In future most of the alcohol will be distributed in bombed towns.