1939-11-24 — Page 4

Friday,

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

November 24, 1939.

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1940

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'Dark Victory

GEORGE ENT • HUMPHREY BOGART

GERALDINE FITZGERALD RONALD REAGAN. HENRY TRAVENS CORA WITHERSPOON: Birodal by EDMUND COULDING • Presented by 'WABNER BROS.

Guessing Competition Psixos Presented by the Theatre and Suiter Photographic Service,

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Friday, November 29, 1939 Wyndham St., Hongkong Telophone: 26016

"

THE prafx "Special to the Telegraph" is used by the "Hongkong Telegraph" to indicate nows which la sirictly copyright under the provisions of the Telecommual- cations Urajnance, 1938. Buch nows AS bear the Indiestión "U is received in Hongkong on the date of publication by the United Press Associations, who re- serve all rights and forbid republication, either wholly or in part without previous arrangement,

Economic Strategy

Though many of the conditions und weapons of war have been trang- formed since Britain and Germany lost came

the grapple, there is one fundamental factor at least which has not changed; and that is thei economic factor. It is that which determines in the long run the cap-} neity of a nation to maintain and exert effectively its aimed strength. It is to the national potential fuel is to the engine; and realising this fact, the Germáns -made it one of their first carea to strike at our economic structure. They resumed at once their sub- marine. campaign against British shipping-the, campaign which was frustrated only just in lime the end

05

of

af

the last war. When that failed-as falled it un

THE GENTLE ART OF PROFITEERING

What the

nation wants

to know

T

HERE has

now de- veloped in the public mind-and it is essen- tial in the national interest that 1 should be frankly stated—a growing beŋ. wilderment as to the course of the war.

There is bewilderment and there -is considerable uneasiness--an un- 'easiness of which it is essential the Government should be made nware.

That uneasiness does nát meàn” any slackening in the resolution of the British people. On the contrary, it prises out of an anxiety as to whether the Government is doing all that is possible effectively to implement that resolution.

tion?

It is based on three things:. ordinary person to be the

First, on what appears to the slow start" of the war and especially the comparative alightness of our effort on

the Western front so far.

doubtedly-has--they-resorted-to-the-what is the bials of this pubile un- barbarism of sowing the seas with easiness and how for has it justifica- uncharted mines. Their calculation is that if the supplies from oversens, which are Britain's life-blood, can be Interrupted successfully enough Bri- tain shall be forced to submission by sheer inanition. Britain shall, as it Secondly, on our failure to give ade were, have sustained a declalve body- quate aid to Poland and as a conse blow. The national machine will be 'quence the virtual collapse of the war brought to a standstill, and then the two fronts, with all its strate-

gical advantages, people who man it will be faced with privations approaching even to im- minent starvation. That is the de- sign which it is the exacting task of the Royal Navy to defent, at the same time that it deliveran counter- blow at the economic foundations of Germany by cutting off her external supplies. That Is not the least vital,try and concen.it:

And thirdly, on the accumulating eridence of lack of co-ordinated plan- ning at home in dealing with the lens vital problem of the organised problems of supplies, and with the no transition of industry from peace to

War.

matters cannot be concealed, and It The public uneasiness In these would be no service to the nation to

On the contrary, one of the great enables frank discussion of such matters, and thus provides a constant spur to the executive authority and a constant safeguard against weakness of purpose onefficiency in that authority,

war-time.

This is particularly necessary in

How far is this mille concern about the speed and nature of our war eKort justifod?

Probably, so far as the final bpáis for uneasiness, hardly at all.

if the less spectacular, element in strengths of democracy is that st this struggle. It is comparable to the contest in the Roman arena of the gladiator with the sword and the gladiator with the net and trident,

The tack of the Navy in this matter is not only exacting as a naval operation; it also needs, in order to be effective, to conform to a strategy elaborated not by the Admiralty but by a chosen body of experts in the economic, financial and industrial spheres. This body must know the vulnerable places in the enemy's It is, neverthelem, natural that there economy and how best to reach them, should be such a feeling among people and must also know where to go united-as this nation" is united-18 warily and where to lean with all the boller that då intolerable, domina- the weight available. That is the tion of the life of Europe by recurring responsibility of the Ministry of aggression, can be ended only by the Economic Warfare, Its staff has been defeat of Hitlerism: A mallon, more- drawn in part from the Civil Service which went into war as a last resort over, which above all desired peace and and in part from the leaders of only because it was made clear that commerce and industry most familiar the integrity of no country was safe, with the main channels of Interna- and no reliance upon negotiated settle tional trade.

ment of Internațional" problems pós- It is true that for a long time sible so long as Hitleriam sprawled Germany has been laying in large across Europe, N stocks of foodsluffs and raw materials; We were, on that Sunday morning but a protracted war would exhaust on which war was declared, keyed up these, and deprived of the means to

la a great and immediate effort. renew them, and the ability to enforce

Inovilably, the slow process at mod- a quick decision, the German war-

ern war, between great Powern pro- potential would decline in an increas-

vided an anti-climax to that moment. ingly sharp curve. There the effect organised and highly industrialised Modern war between powerful highly of son-power, sura it may be slow,

nations facing each other, on the will assert itself, as it did in the Western Front, behind' immensely Napoleonic Wars. That is how the strong fortifications, is bound to move gladiator. with the net and trident slowly. prevails over the gladiator with the sword; and it is good to know that the shapers of British strategy have so promptly and so, thoroughly pre- pared the most potent weapon in tho national armoury for its purpose. As long as the capacity to hold on ro- malas, the end is not in doubt;

No early and decláive action of such a front is by the nature of the oppos ing forces and the strength of the defensive position; of each, possible.

Ta mitempt it would be, madness. We do not want the lives of our young men thrown away this time on epic stiacke foredoomed to failure.

mbym FRANCIS WILLIAMS

Nor will this war be decided by milltary effort alone. Victory will re suit from the co-ordinated operation of political, economic and military force. The great strength of the allied forces lles not in man power-great though that is-nor weight of arms on land and in the air-heavy though it

ba.

But it lies in the combination of these with the framense economis ro- sources which we contrplwithaur ability both through naval blockade and by the exercise of our economic Influence to prevent the flow of easen- tin materials to Germany and with the immense political assets we possess in the international goodwill of neutral countries, who accept and ap prove the motives which have sent us to war.

The combined effect of these politi- cal, economis and military forces can not become operative for. considerable time.

A

It would be foolish to weaken in any way the long range advantage they give us by precipitate military action having no justification other than the possible tonic effect upon the public of the feeling that something was being done-a tonio which would be soon dissipated if an effort taken without proper preparation proved un. successful

The collapse of the Eastern front is a different matter.

"

Here, the fact that Britain and France did so little beforehand to asist Poland, either by material ald or military advice, to withstand the German attack, is a legitimate cause for concern, particularly if the fallture is the symptom of p" ant-front" mind on the part of the Government or the filitary authorities, which may lead to the missing of other opportunities in the future.

Yet, in distributing responsibility, the crushing effect of the unexpected Russian intervention cannot be mini--

mised.

Thst for thu, a rallying of Polish forces in positions more defensible than those from which they had re treated and retreated, it has to be remembered, without very heavy casualties would have been possible.

And at that stage Dritish and French assistance could have been made avail-- abis to stiffen the resistance.

The Russian intervention made that impossible. Yet, even taking that into account, wo silit await an adequato explanation of the failure to send sup- port to Poland earlier.

It is a grievous and tmglo failure, and one for which respondibility must, when the evidenco is available, be fixed.

*

It would seem, too-though here it is impossible to form a complete judg ment atnes all the factors which have to be taken into account cannot yet bo generally known-that we have so tar made insumclent use of the air arm, not for heavy fighung for which the time has not yet come, but for the surprise attack

Kid, the leaflet ralds over Germany We began well. The air raid in

had the right quality, of imaginative up. Why? dash. But we have not followed them

Bual enterprisbe have a dual value, They serve to hearton one's own people

LOST CHANCES IN CHINA

By CLARK LEE Tientsin, (By Mali).-The Union Jack, symbol of Great Britain's almost unchallenged predominance Far Eastern shipping for nearly a century, is being rapidly replaced on the sum of the effects of each indi-China's seas and rivers by the Rising vidual biow.

Sun of Japan's fast expanding mer chant fleet.

and help to undermine the morale of the enemy-who cannot tell where the next allack will come. Their cumulative effect is much greater than

Particularly is this the case when wo know that within Germany there is grave weakness, and where there are, as in the gallant "revolutionaries of Bolenila and Moravia, men and women who are enrolled with us in the battle for freedom,

. Their efforts would be enormously assisted if a Government, having to deal with internal revolt, had at tho. same time to withstand the psycho- logical check * upon the population, generally of a series of daring surprise raids upon scattered military objec tives,

tially immenso assistance which could We must be careful lest the poten- come from internal revolts within

Japanese shipping companies are cashing in handsomely on their navy's conquest of Chinese seaports and waterways. With hundreds" of miles of Inland rivers closed to all but Japanese vessels, ・ operations along the entire China 'coast oro being made so difficult for shipping that a complete Japanese monopoly appears to be only a question of time.

While British ships lle idle, Japa hese ship yards are turning out small vessel for the China trade at | the' rate of 80,000 tons a month. Germany is dissipated through lack of present one-fourth of Great Britain's British shipping Arms, which re- supporting activities by our own forces.

$2,000,000,000 gold Investment in what is at the moment the most China, are so hampered by, restric public concern is the absence of any serious of all the factors making for.ht

RIK one-sided they can no longer lations that maintain" regular ated planning on the home front. evidence of really effective co-ordin schedules, Revenue from passengers and freight has fallen sharply with Japanese companies getting the busl ness which formerly went to the Bel- tish.

The criticism made by Mr. Arthur "Greenwood ̃of the weaknesses at the Ministry of Supply, provide grounds for the gravest public disquiet.

*

20 Per Cent Drop Noted The British shipping" business in Thead weaknesses and comparablo

Shanghai, for example, declined 20 weakness in other sectors of industrial tember, 1939, while Japanese ship- per cent, during the month of Sep- and economie control are symptomatic ping gained by exactly of a deep-seated failure on the part of.

the same

It may well be that this falture comes from causes so congenital that it will not be remedied so long as tho present men remain in control.

The nation may before long have to ask itself whether they are the kind of people who are likely to prova capable of organising a national effort which necessarily involves n planning of economic resources and a central control of great industries altogether allen to their political philosophy and their thought

members of the Government to under- amount. In other ports, British ships stand the nature and scope of the Hondled but ū fraction of the problem which faces us.

volume of even a year ago. While the European war has taken some China Uritish ships away from the servico, and thus contributed to this decline, British officials state the loss is mostly the result of Japanese restrictions. ant commercial ports. tells the story. A brief survey of China's import-

Tientsin is closed to 'all ocean going ships as a result of silting of Hai river. The trip of 35 miles from the Taku Bar, at the mouth of the Taku to Tientsin. takes three days for passengers on British ships, · In- cluding a 48-hour walk in quarantine and one night on a river launch. Meanwhile, Japanese ships maintain three day schedules between Tientsin and Shanghai via Dairen Aftor, a series of menacing anti-British de- monsirations, the British pilots' as- cociation operating on the Hal river- was sold to Japanese, Lighters cargoes from Tientain's blockaded British concessions- are sometimes fired -- at in :: the -- rivar, ↑ Japanese blame "Chinose irregulars!! for these attacks,

Finally, failure in the vital task of bringing our case before the world persista. It comes not only from an ineficiency in the censorship and news departments of the Ministry of Infor mation, so great that neutral countries which are crying out for British news are forced through lack of it to fill their papers with German propaganda, but from a deeper cause,

There appears yet to be no agres ment upon the principles which should govern our propaganda. « Yet the whole of propaganda .experience de- monstrates that a successful campaign must be based on the putting over of a number of Ideas which need to be expressed over and over again.

* *

Until these ideas are agreed and are made the basis of all propaganda work, offart must be dissipated.

That is happening now.

It is the more tragle because the Ideas for which we fight, the motives which inspire sur arms, are suah, pro- perly expressed, as not only to steel the resolution of cur own people, but to win the sympathy and support of all' men and women of goodwill throughout the world.

Fox Bites Man

And Dies

SAN JOSE Science now knowe what happens to a fox when it bite

- Foar Retaliation- Chefoo, long famous for its linen exports, is no longer a profitablo port of call for British ships. Japanese controlled lighternge companies re- fuse to upload British vessels, until loaded and unloaded. No British all Japanese ships in the harbour are

ships can get export cargo,

At Tsingtao, no British ships are Chinese shippers, bere and elsewhere. allowed within, the inner horbour.

refused to send cargo by British vessels, stating that they four reta- llation by the Japaneso, against, their business

"Shanghal is still open to ships of all nations, but through Japanese control of the customs, and currency manipulation,, customs duties have been sharply increased. The Whang- poo river, which was formerly dredg od åt regular intervals by the Chinese government, is fast filling with allt. Unless the river is dredged within a

a policeman. Polica Captain Charles year or so, experts report, stich big-

some medicine to his pet fox when Empress of Japan will not be able A. Hertell was attempting to give President Coolidge and the Canadian transpatine Minors as the American

it bit his hand. Just as a measure of 10 reach Shanghai. Suling of the Yungtas Bar, at the mouth of the procaution, Hortall underwent Pas- Whanapbo, already requires large

PLEASE Turn To Page 9**

teur treatment, but the fox djed,

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