1941-05-19 — Page 39

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THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 19, 1941.

CHINA MAIL

--WINDSOR HOUSE

SHIPS TO WIN THE WAR

President Roosevelt's order to the Maritime Commission to assemble a pool of 2,000,000 tons of existing shipping to speed the flow of vital war materials to Britain re- cognises that the most critical battle of the war is the battle of the Atlantic.

The programme, as the President said, falls into two parts. One is the transfer of ships to Bri- tish registry for use in the combat zone. The other the reallocation of ships in such a way as to obtain maxim u m efficiency from their use. Presumably the transfer i of ships for use in the Atlantic service will make use of the foreign vessels now in American ports, including the sixty-nine Danish, Italian and Ger- man ships recently seized, as well as French

and other ships that have taken refuge. The balance of the 2,000.000 tons is to be obtained by withdrawing vessels from

intercoastal routes, using

DARDANELLES.