PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20920, 27 September 1939, Page 7

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

OUTLINE BY MR CHAMBERLAIN

EFFECT OF GERMAN-SOVIET AGGRESSION

BRITAIN AND FRANCE IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT

(Official Wireless)

(Received Sept. 27, 10.30 a.m.)

RUGBY, Sept. 26

m the House of Commons, in a statement on the present position of the war, the Prime Minister, Mr Chamberlain, said:—

“My first task to-day is to give a report to the House of the second meeting of the Supreme War Council on September 22 —this time in England. It was a great pleasure to be able to welcome M. Daladier, French Prime Minister, and his colleagues to our shores. The council met in the morning and again in the afternoon.

“I am glad to be able to inform the House that we found ourselves in complete agreement with the French representatives on the course to be followed to meet the developments since the meeting on September 12 and to give effect to the allied plans. Agreement was also reached on the procedure for co-ordinating and perfecting the arrangements to be made by the two Governments on the question of munitions supplies.

“Since my last statement on September 20 the effects of the action of the Soviet Government on the position in Poland has become clearer. The Soviet forces have everywhere rapidly advanced, and on September 23 a German-Soviet communique was published in Moscow, according to w’hich the German and Soviet Governments had established a demarcation line between the German and Soviet armies running roughly north and south from East Prussia through Warsaw to the junction of the Hungarian-Slovak frontier. It will be noticed that this line brings the Soviet forces up to the suburbs of Warsaw, leaving the greater part of Galicia and of the Polish Oil Wells in Soviet control.”

Cowardly Assassination

“The communiques issued by the Red Army do not, however, suggest that the Soviet troops have as yet occupied all the territory allotted to them under this arrangement, which amounts to more than half the total area of the Polish Republic.” After reference to the cowardly assassination of the Prune Minister of Rumania, M. Calinescu, and brief references to the progress in the air and on the western front, where “the French have continued to make progress in certain localities and have succeeded, notwithstanding increasingly energetic German reaction, in maintaining all their gains intact,” and to the Dominions, whose war preparations, he said, continued with gathering momentum, Mr Chamberlain turned to the work of the Ministry of Economic Warfare, to which he devoted a large part of his statement.

Whereas, in the last war, the Ministry of Blockade was not set up until 1916, the new Ministry had been under organisation for the past two years.

The object was to disorganise Germany’s economic structure and cripple her power to prolong the hostilities.

Mr Chamberlain continued: “A word of warning against over-op-timism is necessary. Germany already possesses stocks of varying size of raw materials which she requires to import, and quick results cannot therefore be expected. British Command of Seas “But our command of the sea means that from the day that war broke out Germany was cut off from many of her sources of supply, and the figures for the first three weeks of the war show that we have seized about 256,000 tons of goods as to which there was evidence that they were contraband consigned to Germany. These include some 62,000 tons of petroleum products, 65,000 tons of iron ore, and 37,000 tons of manganese ore. “German propaganda meanwhile has been active, alleging that our contraband control will have no effect on Germany, as she is self-suf-ficient, but will on the other hand completely strangle neutral trade.” Far from the Truth “I do not know which of these statements is further from the truth. The fact is that we made it plain at the beginning of the war that we were anxious to take into account the bona fide trading needs of neutral countries and that the British Government would gladly consider any suggestions which the neutral Governments might put forward for this purpose. Friendly discussions are now taking place with a number of Governments and Britain hopes in certain cases to come to arrangements with them which will still further simplify the precedure regarding contraband control. The facts speak for themselves and neutral opinion will, I am sure, make its own comparison between Britain’s clearly-declared policy on the one hand and on the other the thinlyveiled menaces of Germany towards neutrals, menaces which in the past few days have been translated into action by the sinking of three neutral ships under circumstances constituting a clear breach of international law. Allegations of Inhumanity “Much play has been made in the German propaganda of the inclusion ot food stuffs in the category of conditional contraband, and it is represented that we thereby are conducting an illegal and inhumane blockade. But in this respect the naval blockade is in no way different from a land siege, and no one ever suggested that a besieging commander should allow free rations in i besieged town. "In any case, the German Government should be the last to nuke such an accusation at a time when German submarines

are attacking all shipping coming to these island, with complete and callous disregard of humanity and the rules of submarine warfare, to which Germany had solemnly agreed.” The Prime Minister spoke at length of the industrial organisation of the nation for war and the part which employers and labour, as partners with the Ministry of Supply, could play. British People Determined He concluded: “Never has our people been more united or more determined. They are resolved—and the simple fact cannot too often be stressed—to rid themselves once and for all of the perpetual threat of German aggression, of which Poland is the latest instance.

“We and France entered the war to rid ourselves and the world of that menace, and our peoples are united as never before in the resolve to achieve that purpose.” Help from Dominions “The Dominion air strength is now being made ready for use. Supplies of finished munitions and raw materials and foodstuffs from the Dominions are being made available in an ever-increasing volume.” Struggle Not Abandoned Mr Chamberlain said the Poles have not abandoned the struggle. The world was moved by the heroism of the defenders of Warsaw and Hel Peninsula.