MIE CHINA E EST BEANIENIERS, 180
GERMAN PRESSURE ON NORTHERN COUNTRIES Wants To Share In "Defensive Alliance!"
LATEST R.A.F. CASUALTY.
SWEDEN INCLINED TO FIGHT SHY OF FINNISH PROPOSAL LIST
Stockholm, To-day..
A REFERENCE TO THE PROPOSED defensive alliance be- tween Norway, Sweden and Finland was made by M. Gunther, Swedish Foreign Minister, in a speech on Saturday night.
It was an extremely complicated matter, he said, and re- quired intensive study. That study had been begun so far as Sweden was concerned.
PAINFUL
He declared that the Swedish Government was fully convinced that if the Allied troops had gone through Sweden, Sweden would have been
PICTURE OF dragged into war. Germany could
FİNLAND TO-DAY
not be unaffected by the establishment of British and French troops in the North.
As far back as January 29, M. Gun- ther said, Moscow had said in a note that Russia, in principle, was not op- posed to a settlement with the Fin-
Helsinki, To-day.. nish Government, but the latter must The Finns are making put forward proposals to form a basis
for negotiations. Reuter. herculean efforts to complete the evacuation of the surren- dered areas within the short time at their disposal.
To enable the work to proceed as smoothly as possible, people through out the country have ceased travelling unless it is absolutely essential
Travelling on the daily train be- tween Helsinki and Turku aero- drome, Reuter's correspondent stood In a corridor packed tight with hot- .low-ayed soldiers and weary girl
members of the Lottà Svard.
En route, hordes attempted to board' the train from shattered remains of local stations, not one of which had been spared by Soviet bombs,
A leading insurance expert estimates that the damage done by air raids on Finlands* cities was £10,000,000.
Life is gradually returning to nor- mal in most areas in the country and the schools will be re-opened by April.
-Reuter.
NO FINNISH TROOPS DISCHARGED
(8PECIAL TO “CHINA. MAIL")
Oslo, To-day. According to reports from Helsinki no demobilization orders for the Fin- nish Army have followed the peace treaty with Russia, the ratification of which was signed on Saturday night by M. Ryti.
Troop training is still going on and the older classes are building fortif- cation works along the new. frontier. Workers called up into the war fac- tories will continue at these posts for another three months—-—_Havas.
TURKEY CALLS UP
FOR TRAINING
To-da the calling-u
classes
Falt area were
Seeking To Exploit Anxieties
Stockholm, To-day A period of diplomatic and political activity unprecedented in the north ern countries has now begun,
emerge
The following points clearly; 'firstly that Germany and Russia' are seeking to exploit the anxieties if the northern countries to entend their hold on them; secondly the rights and wrongs of the Soviet-Finnish settlement is proving so controversial that that the internal political situation of -some-northern countries is likely to
be affected.
It is widely believed here that Ger- many hopes to participate in the de- fensive alliance which Finland pro- posed to Norway and Sweden and the arrival of two Nazi officials at Stock- holm over the week-end was certain- ly connected with the present poli- tical situation.
GERMAN HOPES
Moreover Germany is redoubling propaganda efforts to persuade the northern countries that Britain and France will make a battlefield of Scandinavia.
Germany hopes to persuade them that their salvation lies in entrusting themselves to German protection.
The Scandinavian attitude to the German approaches may be expressed in the phrase "Preserve us from our friends.
Russia's efforts to extend her in- fluence are less amiably regarded Reuter.
Baltic States Confer
To-day.
A communique issued at the close of the conference of Baltic Foreign Ministers sta that any initiative alming at "the establishment of a just and lastin
would be sup- ported by Latvia, Esthonia - and Lithuania by all the means in their power.
The com tion at the
In other branches of the lution of kir As the astillery, cavalry their writ amunications--have already for closer.
|
:
London, To-day.
An Air Ministry casualty llat contains 59 names, including Bis- ter A. 8. Katley among eight who have died on active service, ·
NAZI THREATS ON TRADE
Amsterdam, To-day. The Nazis appear to have launched a cam-
Sister Katley is the fourth paign, to
woman attached to the Air Force to die on active service, The other three were aircraft women.
Apart from two officers wound- ed and one missing, all the other' casualtica were officers and men killed or died of wounds or III- ness.Router. „
SWEDISH AID TO FINLAND
Stockholm, To-day.
Dust Britain from the Scandinavian markets.
Using the trade agreements which Britain has just concluded with Nor- way and Denmark as the pretext, the German Government, says the Berlin correspondent of the "Niuwe Rotterdamsche Courant," has been making urgent representations to the Scandinavian on the requirements of "true neutrality.".
The correspondent says that these countries were told that Germany, In any case, is able to take more raw materiale and foodstuffs from them than Britain.
Although the British agreements are scoffed at in Berlin as "compensa-
Sweden is helping Finlandtion for the failure of British diplo
macy over Finland," it is argued that the surrendered Britain is endeavouring by these evacuate areas by sending hundreds of means to gain control of Scandinavian coastal waters, and it is declared that buses and lorries to trans-should the northern countries permit port the evacuees.
British warships to exercise such con- trol they would be guilty of a breach In answer to a radio appeal, pri- of their neutrality as serious as if vate citizens and transport companies they had stopped exchanging goods have presented their cars and lorries with Germany at the instigation and buses for registration by the Swe-Britain. Reuter.
|dish Automobile Association,
Only large vehicles are being sent at the moment. Some are being trans- ferred by special ships from Stock- holm, while others are going north to cross the ice to Vasa, the Finnish port half-way up the Gulf of Bothnia,
A number of bus services in Swe- den have been suspended and the vehi- cles thus released are being sent to Finland. They will immediately be gin the evacuation of Hangoe and the frontier zones.
The Red Army is to "take up resi- dence" of the areas surrendered next Friday-Reuter.
6,000 REFUGEES ARRIVE IN SWEDEN
Stockholm, To-day. About 6,000 Finnish children and their mothers have arrived in Swe- den by train from Northern Finland, They will remain in Sweden until the evacuation of the surrendered has been completed.-Reuter.
areas
THE BETTER BUTTER RATION:
London, Yesterday. The Ministry of Food announces that the ration allowance of butter will be raised from four to eight : ounces per week as from March 25.
This increase has been possible owing to the favourable supply
situation now obtaining.
Catering establishments will also be permitted to serve double the former ration o of butter with meals which they serve---British Wireless.
THE KEYNES PLAN
of
London, March 1. Sir Theordore Chambers, senior vice-chairman of the National Sav- Ings Committee, speaking at an In- dustrial Co-Partnership Association luncheon in London yesterday, said Mr. J. M. Keynes's scheme for deferred pay was very attractive and most in- teresting, and it had done an im- mense amount of good that Mr. Keynes should ventilate his ideas, but if they could get the same effect by a volun- tary system it would be infinitely bet- ter for the country.
He rather feared an attempt to im- pose this by compulsion. The ma- chinery would be extremely compli-- cated, delicate, and difficult, and it would involve an almost universal means test because it was quite clear that if a levy was made on the In- dividual wage they must take into ac- count the particular circumstances of each person. Every single case would be entirely different. He believed that in the end less money would be raised than if they all put their backs into it.
The savings movement's plan was to get people to form themselves into groups of savers. Already there were over 53,000 groups or clubs in the country, and of these 13,000 had been formed since November, 13 weeks ago. Many of the clubs ran into tens of thousands of members and be esti mated that there must be between | ́6,000,000 and 7,000,000 savers in the
Count Through thèse clubs
total of savings bonds
201,662
ADMIRAL YONAI BEGS and
THE QUESTION: