OCR Text |
Show 'NORWAY COMING' I FM. TERMS Press and People Begin to Take America Seriously-When Seriously-When Refused Licences. CHRISTIANIA, Norway, Jan. 31. (Correspondence of the Associated Press.) How to come to an agreement agree-ment with America for the resumption of the Import of supplies is tho main topic for discussion by the Norwegian press and people. In the beginning the government did not seem to take the American question seriously. But after the failure of the commission in Washington to obtain export licenses, the cabinet members realized the gravity of the situation. Ono by ono the members of the Norwegian delegation dele-gation to Washington returnod until only Dr. Nansen remained. The newspapers, excopt tho official cabinet organ, are becoming impatient. They ask why Denmark has obtained export licenses for different food stuffs, and say Sweden has had greater success suc-cess than Norway. So far Germany has had great advantages from the trade agreements with Norway. Trade With Germany. By the agreement with Great Britain Brit-ain of August, 1916, Norway could send 15 per cent of her- fish to Germany. But beside this Germany bought enormous enor-mous quantities of canned fish, so that, it is said, the total export amounted to more than 30 per cent It was asserted assert-ed at a session of the Storthing that tho total export of fish to Germany from August, 191-1, to August, 1917, was 160,000 tonB. Before the war the average aver-age export to Germany was 78,000 tons, or about 22 por cent of the whole ox-port ox-port of fish from tho country. On the other hand the Germans have not been able to keep their contract to furnish fishing tackle and motor oil as compensation com-pensation for the fish. Papers See German Imposition. ' One leading paper asks how long Norway Is to continue supplying favors to Germany while the Germans sink Norwegian ships and kill Norwegian sailors. And, It inquired, what does Norway get in return for the material for manufacturing guns, projectiles and ammunition which she is supplying supply-ing to Germany. The Shipping Gazette said editorially editorial-ly recently that the Norwegian foreign minister is exerting himself to Increase the export of raw materials for manufacturing manu-facturing munitions, and cited that as the reason why tho United States did not sond a Christmas ship to Norway, as to Donmark. Other papers, notably the Social Democraten challenged the foreign minister to deny the statement, state-ment, but he remained silent. Before the war Germany furnished Norway with considerable grain and flour but, although the fish export is more than doubled, Norway does not get any flour from Germany. The United States has been the chief provider pro-vider since the beginning of the war. Bofore the war, Norway obtained 197,-000 197,-000 tons of grain and flour from Germany Ger-many and 51,000 from tho United States. In 1915, she imported 3S2.000 tons from the United States and 87 tons from Germany, and after that year none from Germany." And Germany Ger-many has also stopped tho exportation to Norway of other very important commodities. |