New Tentacles

Announcements in London last week revealed the steady creep and clutch of the Allies' octopus-like attack on Germany's economic life. Most important new tentacle of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare, sparkplugged by lean, dapper Ronald Cross, is a trade agreement with Sweden. Coal and textiles ranked high among Sweden's imports from Germany, iron ore and timber were her chief exports to Germany. With coal production in the Saar reduced by France's cannon, and coal deliveries down the Rhine and out of Amsterdam blockaded, Sweden was glad to contract for British coal. With German manufacturers offering more & more ersatz materials, Sweden was glad to shift to British textiles. Britain was glad to buy Swedish timber (cellulose for explosives) and the high-grade hematite ore which Sweden used to barge to Germany from the Norwegian port of Narvik (now subject to the Allied blockade).

But more important than these exchanges, Sweden promised: 1) to use all her maritime imports for home consumption (except such as may be forwarded to Finland); 2) not to import more strategic raw materials (like copper and nickel) than she did before the war; 3) not to use more than specified amounts of for eign raw materials in manufactures for export (such as telephones). In return for these promises, Britain promised to expedite clearance of Swedish ships through Allied control ports, and offered naval convoy to Swedish trade ships (each Swedish owner to decide this point for himself).

On the diplomatic fire last week were similar Allied agreements with Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium. Pre-empted by Britain would be Norway's usual spring exports to Germany of whale oil and her ring. In Denmark's case, British control of the fodder imports needed for Danish dairy products has brought about a tacit under standing with Germany whereby, unless Britons can get their Danish breakfast bacon, Nazis shall go without Danish butter.

To Spain, to Yugoslavia, to Turkey reach other important tentacles of the Allied economic strangling plan. Starving Spain needs wheat. Great Britain, having cut Generalissimo Franco off from his German ore markets, will give him foreign exchange to feed his country from South America by buying Spanish copper, iron ore, mercury and lead. Yugoslavia now furnishes Germany with copper (from British-French-owned mines), Turkey might furnish chromium. The Allies will buy these countries' exports of these metals, also taking Yugoslavia's entire export prune crop, Turkey's entire surplus of figs, grapes and some tobacco, to sweeten the deals.

Last week winter stepped in to help the Allied blockade in the Balkans: the Danube froze and heavy snow slowed rail transport, stalling Germany's grain and oil imports from Rumania.

> Item-of-the-week on the economic front was an advertisement by the Admiralty Marshal of the British Contraband Control, offering for public sale "200 dozen baby's rubber pants," seized from the Danish freighter Helvig,

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