1940-02-19 — Page 4

THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 19, 1940

Hitler's War On World: Neutrals May Organise Own Convoys FACTS OF

ITALIAN LEGION

Paris, To-day.

A legion of ten thousand ita. Ilans living in France and head- ed by Camillo Marabini, Presi. dent of the Garibaldeans who fought in the Argonne during the. Great War, is leaving for Fin- land shortly, according statement by Signor Marabini to "Intransigeant." the newspaper -Reuter.

to

*

"THE ORDER OF PEACE"

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

SHANGHAI, YESTERDAY. CREATION OF "THE ORDER OF THE PEACE," TO BE BESTOWED UPON THE MOST MERITORIOUS CHINESE

CITI- AND FOREIGN

THE BE ONE OF ZENS, WILL

OF FIRST STEPS

THE WANG CHING-WEI REGIME, RELIABLE LOCAL SOURCES STATE. organisation The inner

of this Order will be patterned along the lines of the famous French Legion of Honour, created by Napoleon be- fore his European campaigns.

As in the French Order, digni- taries of "The, Order of the Peace" will comprise knights, officers, com- manders, grand officers and grand crosses.-Havas.

BIRDWOOD MESSAGE

London, Yesterday.

BURGERDIJK

THE RISING TIDE OF NEUTRAL feeling against wanton SINKING

German attacks on shipping is prominently reported in the Press which continues to comment on the subject.

*

Like

LONDON, YESTERDAY.

IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH THE DUTCH FREIGHTER BURGERDIJK WAS BUNK, BY A

DISCLOSED

NOW BEEN FULLY

The "Daily Telegraph," in a leading article headed "Hit-U-BOAT ON FEBRUARY 10 HAVE ler's War on the World," notes that "Norwegian, AND ARE COMPARED IN LONDON Swedish and Danish ship-owners have met and urged |NAVAL that their three Governments should act together CONNECTED and the foreign ministers have now conferred.

the

One suggsetion from the shipping industry, it is understood, was establishment of neutral convoys and this has found some favour in Hol- land.

The British convoy system is open to neutrals and whether they would prefer to be convoyed by a neutral alliance of warship's must be left to their own decision.

Another form of counter-action is being vigorously urged in Scandina- vin.

Trade with Britain and France, the argument, runs, is vital to the neutrals and if Germany seeks to destroy it, the neutrals can do trade with Germnay. Here is means of economic pressure which can be made decisive on the condi-

no

a

on that all the northern neutrals act together.

DRAGGING ALL DOWN iron Without the food and

ore

which Germany obtains from them, she would be malmed. The strategy of the destruction of neutral ship- ping is, indeed, a suicidal policy of despair. If the Northern States were deprived of the feeding stuffs on which their agricultural production depends, they would have little to send to Germany.

London, Yesterday. Field-Marshal Lord Birdwood has cabled a message of good wishes

from Freyberg, V.C. to Major-General

"The only gain to Hitler General Officer Commanding the starving them out is that he would New Zealanders in Egypt.-British | drag more down in his ruin.”—Brit-

ish Wireless. Wireless.

OFF THE RECORD

REED 1847

"He's trying to improve his timing!"

Here's Luck

By Ed Reed

EWO BEER

Tel 30311

NORWEGIAN PROTEST

CIRCLES WITH THOSE WITH THE TOR- PEDOING OF THE BLIEDRECHT ON NOVEMBER 16.

Both were neutral ships bound for another neutral country, but while the crew of the Sliedrecht were left to their fate in open boats in a high sea 150 miles out in the Atlantic and took 7 days to reach land, the crew treated of the Burgerdijk were rather less callously, although they were forced to send out false S OS "collision ship sinking 15 miles south THE OSLO PAPER "DAGBLADET" | of Bishop's Rock." ON

LONDON, TO-DAY,

COMMENTS

The crew had spent only 14 hours SATURDAY, IRONICALLY ON THE GERMAN in an open boat in wintry sea, in- REPORT THAT THURSDAY, FEB- cluding one whole night, which by RUARY 15, WAS A "SUCCESSFUL" German standards is mercifuh

A MASTERPIECE AND SEA WARFARE DAY FOR PROTESTS AGAINST INQUIRIES INTO THE SINKING OF SHIPS BE- ING HELD IN CAMERA.

The journal referring to its publica- tion of a German official interpretation of sea warfare writes:" The German Radio broadcast yesterday parts of the article and presented it as though we had written it ourselves.

It was an

attempt to gull Germany and the neu- trals by the abuse of our paper."

A declaration made as recently as January 24 by the Deutschlandsender wireless station declared: "It is un- law in international questionable that ships belonging to neutral coun- tries are neutral themselves. Where- ever they are their neutrality must be respected.”

This is regarded here as a master- piece of cynicism following as it did two months after the torpedoing of "In future we cannot see our way the Sliedrecht and preceding by only to accept any explanation from that three weeks the destruction of the quarter and we shall judge every au- |

thoritative German notification from

the, experience we had with this arti- cle."

The same paper, in its editorial com- ment, describes the Altmark affair as [ "something which Berlin shrieks out to be a frightful breach of Norwegian 'neutrality" and sets against it the case of German trawlers' violation of Norwegian fisheries and the disappear- ance of Norwegian ships.-Reuter,

Burgerdijk.

The three reasons given by the U-boat captain for sinking the Bur gerdijk are regarded in London with as much be- particular scepticism cause the captain of the U-boat made no attempt to ascertain the accuracy of his statements as because the most important of two of them were un- doubtedly without any foundation.

THREE-POINTB----

First he said the ship had been rigzagging, second that the ship had sent out a wireless message saying

FRENCH GREETING TO that she had seen a submarine, and

THE ANZACS

Paris, Yesterday. French members of the Anglo-...... French parliamentary group to-day, welcomed with cordial sympathy Zealand and New the Australian troops who have arrived in the Near East.

The welcome gave assurance of

nations. friendship for the young across the Pacific who had come to

ideals Britain fight for the France are deferiding.-Reuter.

and

third they were bound for England and that the cargo would be dis- charged there.

In regard to the first, it is hardly surprising that any ship would do its utmost to attempt to avoid attack 'since so many neutral vessels have

been sunk.

The operator hotly denied 'they had sent any such message, and the ship's papers, which the U-boat captain refused to examine, would have shown the third to be absolute- ly untrue.-British Wireless.

JAPAN'S ANXIETY FOR EARLY PEACE

(SPECIAL TO “CHINA MAIL")

New York, To-day. THE RECENT PROCLAMATION in Japan addressed Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, is an indication Japan's desire to negotiate peace, the “New York Herald Tribune", asserted.

The paper explained this sudden change of attitude by the to exploit the "golden opportunity for trade in ment world's situation.

uld be taken 'na since Japan

Chiang, Ki

interesting