| Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS B By Edward and C. C Wayne Attacks on U. U S. S Ships in in West Atlantic Termed Acts o of Piracy by President Orders Navy to Shoot Axis Raiders In n Waters Held e to Be e Out o of War Zone one EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE When NOTE When opinions are arf expressed In these columns theare the they are arC those of the new news analyst and not necessarily of this new newspaper paper Released bv by Western Newspaper Union 1 y J N 1 1 1 y w M S I w cai M 1 ro 1 Z Pi r When news was flashed that the U. U S. S freighter Steel Seafarer had been sunk in the Red Sea the war came home to more than one family in the U. U S. S Here Dere you see Mrs Rose McCade l in Jersey City and members of or her family eagerly listening to bulletins which finally told them that her husband Alexander McCade l and the rest of the crew of 35 had been rescued by passing ships INCIDENTS Piling Up Incident was piling on incident when President Roosevelt in a radio broadcast heard all over the world declared German attacks on American Ameri Ameri- can ships twice on U. U S. S warships as acts of oC piracy and ordered the U. U S. S navy to shoot first when sighting sighting sighting sight sight- ing any of the Axis submarines or surface raiders in the western At At- lantic The President in vigorous fashion declared for the freedom of the seas and announced ships of any flag would be given protection when plying their peaceful trade in waters waters waters wa wa- wa- wa which the President maintained were not in the war zone The incidents incidents incidents inci inci- dents the President stated were plainly calculated by Hitler as part of his plan to control the seas as aswell aswell aswell well as land areas by a series of aggressions The President vigorously vigorously vigorously vigor vigor- assailed obstructionists who would lull the nation with any false thought that with the British navy gone we could possibly be a match against the Axis navies To the Greer affair was added the sinking of the Sessna a former Danish ship and the Steel Seafarer an American vessel the latter carrying lend lease-lend aid to the British British British Brit Brit- ish Middle East command All but three of the crew aboard the Sessna were drowned and the vessel it was said carried no war materials whatever solely food and other supplies for the Danish government of Iceland The sinking sinkIng sinking sink- sink Ing took place prior to the Greer affair and was only announced following following following fol fol- fol- fol lowing the picking up of the sur sur- The Steel Seafarer was sunk in inthe inthe inthe the Red sea and all hands were saved but only by their own brisk action in difficult straits The vessel vessel vessel ves ves- sel according to survivors was sunk by a heavy-caliber heavy aerial bomb perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps an aerial torpedo The explosion which would be heard for 10 miles tore open the starboard plates of the ship amidships amidships amidships amid amid- ships and sent her to the bottom so Ise so swiftly that the captains captain's boat only left the side two minutes before before before be be- fore the doomed ship took her final plunge Members of the crew said it was impossible that the boat could have been mistaken for British for the American flag was flying in the vessels vessel's vessels vessel's vessels vessel's ves ves- sels sel's floodlights and she was not in convoy traveling alone The import of the loss was considered considered considered con con- trifling being less than 2 per cent of the lend lease aid sent to the Middle East so far That would roughly place the amount of this aid at 50 shiploads It was a atypical atypical atypical typical general lend-lease lend cargo Two Americans were lost on the Sessna but in the Presidents President's recapitulation recapitulation recapitulation re re- capitulation of the events for which he intends to hold Nazi Germany strictly accountable he cited five owned American-owned ships sunk presumably presumably presumably pre pre- by German action and at least 65 American citizens who suffered suffered suffered suf suf- loss of life in the sinking of the American and other vessels Many felt that the recent three incidents coming so so close together might have been the result of an order order order or or- der from Hitler for an out all effort effort effort ef ef- ef- ef fort against the American lend lend- lease campaign as Hitler might be fearing the effect of an winter all-winter war with Russia In this ev event ent it was was felt he might be afra afraid r that tEat the U. U S. S would strengthen Britain's hand so much in the interim that a successful military military military mili mili- tary move against the British would be impossible for all time thus making vict victory ry for Germany well- well nigh hopeless 11 GERMANY GERl A Warning 1 After first stating positively that the Greer w was s the aggressor in the battle with a German submarine inthe in inthe inthe the waters off Iceland Germany is issued issued issued is- is sued finally a flat fiat t warning that tha t all ships of whatever nationality in her war zones were subject to attack without warning This was similar to the warning issued in the last war which brought about the sinking of the Lusitania and a definite American demand for entry into the war The state department in Washington Washing Washing- ton at the same time lifted its restrictions restrictions restrictions re re- re- re and said it would permit permit permit per per- mit American citizens journeying from Britain and the United States to travel on belligerent ships The Nazis said that there was no use talking about a general order to attack American ships They said the only general order as was to attack attack attack at at- tack all shipping They added that they considered President Roosevelt's dictum that the Red Sea constituted neutral waters waters waters wa wa- and that flag American ships could navigate there was premature premature premature prema ture and constituted a provocation provocation provocation tion to the Germans and Italians to attack such ships SPY 4 Thrills in Trials The expected thrills in the spy trials in New York in which 16 persons persons persons per per- sons are accused with having taken part in espionage on behalf behal of Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many against the United States panned out early in the case FBI witnesses revealed that the German spy system had been tricked for months The men G-men built a radio sta station tion on Long Island arrangements having been made through an informer entirely at the request of the Germans for a quick method of getting information For months the station operated kidding the Nazis with false information information information in in- formation about the army navy and air force However all the victories of wits were vere not on the American side For one witness testified that thinking to make his German masters happy he offered to steal plans of the secret American bombsight bombsight bombsight bomb- bomb sight and send them over His up higher told him You needn't worry yourself It already i is in our hands I STRIKE Halted by F. F D. D R. R The railroad strike which h had seemed imminent and which would have thrown the entire defense production production production pro pro- structure into a turmoil was wasat wasat wasat at least temporarily halted by President President President dent Roosevelt who personally set setup setup setup up a man five mediation board Fourteen operating non unions had voted to walk out September 11 and four days later the big five brotherhoods had decided to quit work Legally this put the strike in mothballs mothballs mothballs moth moth- balls for 60 days The Railway Labor Labor Labor La La- bor act stipulates t that at the Presidents President's Presidents President's Presidents President's dents dent's board has 30 days in which to examine the evidence and another another another an an- other 30 days in which to make its report During this day 60 period the workers are under obligation not to leave their job jobs I SPITZBERGEN A Coup Though censorship hid from the public many of the details the British invasion of Spitzbergen group of islands close to the Arctic circle undoubtedly was a coup of considerable industrial and military importance It gave the British another base threatening occupied German-occupied Norway Norway Norway Nor Nor- way also important coal mines and more important still willing workers workers workers work work- ers to go to England and aid in the operation of British mines It also freed several French officers officers officers of of- and men who had escaped there after the fall of France When the British warships hove into the Spitzbergen harbor these French came out in their small boats and some of them were seen to kiss the war painted side of the big transport One grizzled captain former commander of a tank battalion said For 14 months we were dead men Britain and Canada have given given given en us new life All planned to get back to various fields where they could join loin the Free French forces of The military import of the far north was made obvious in the British commentary on the pation Iceland Greenland Spitzbergen Spitzbergen Spitzbergen Spitz Spitz- bergen Vladivostok Siberian ports further north Petsamo these are the Arctic circle ports which Britain believes vitally im im- im- im Most of them are in British British British Brit Brit- ish hands The British have felt Celt the effect of the Nazi control of oC Narvik Norway Norway Norway Nor Nor- way of and other points of that nature and still did not apparently apparently apparently ap ap- ap- ap realize it when the first Nazi victories brought them under German control Now they realize that the Far North constitutes a flank against the enemy and the Spitzbergen adventure adventure adventure ture was in order to add one more strong point to the list already held Short sea routes exist up in those regions and may yet be used in inthe inthe inthe the plans for Russian British ican trade routes IVI MOVIES 0 VIES Pro-British Pro The long-awaited long probe of the movies and the radio as to whether they are carrying on war pro propaganda propaganda propaganda ganda brought sparks right from the start Senator Nye leading lending noninterventionist noninterventionist noninterventionist non inter appeared as the chief prosecuting witness and ran slap and headlong into Wendell Willkie who appeared as counsel for the film industry Nyc Nye proceeded to list a number of films as pro-British pro propaganda and then made the declaration that he had been informed that if Britain lost the war a number of American film companies would go Into bank bank- He painted a picture of these companies companies companies com com- desperately making pro Brit ish and war pro-war pictures endeavoring endeavor endeavor- ing to get the thc American people to take up the cudgels more vigorously vigorously vigorously vigor vigor- and thus to save their bacon But Willkie countered by calling Nyes Nye's statements wild and unsupported unsupported ported and scored a telling blow against the witness when he charged him with fighting a rear rearguard rear guard action action action ac ac- ac- ac tion against the foreign policy of the administration which the senate senate sen sen- ate on more than one occasion has overwhelmingly supported Thus the former Republican presidential presidential presidential nominee in a few adroit words aligned the cause of the film industry with that of the adminis adminis- tra tion LENINGRAD Battle The Nazis admittedly on the outskirts outskirts outskirts out out- skirts of Leningrad and officially opening its siege followed their customary customary customary cus cus- tomary of making general sweeping claims and then being forced to contradict themselves day by day They announced that Leningrad was completely cut off ofT by land from the rest of Russia on September 8 and two days later had to admit that this was a premature claim |
