Daily Post - 10.10.1941, Síða 2

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DAILY POST

DAILY POST
is published by
B Iaðahringurinn.
Editors: S. Benediktsson.
Sgt. J. I. McGhie.
Office: 12, Austurstræti, Tel.
3715, Reykjavík. Printed by
Alþýðuprentsmiðj an
Friday, Oct. 10, 1941
EverFthing at Stake
Tbo.se “amuchair strategists“
who but a short time ago were
talking of a winter .nespite and a
spring offensive hdve been sud-
denly and drastically refuted.
Hitier has begtm a great a'utumn
offensive. He is throwing into it
everything, in men, materials and
neserves, that he has got. His
aim is to break the power of the
main Ruissian annies and take
Moí.oow at any oost, in the h-ope
of finishing off the Eastefn war
befone the spring. There may of
oou-rse be many a siip betvieen
cu-p and ]ip- We know that the
Rtissian people will riise to the
situation as the Britísh people
did last autumn, and that their
armies will fight back as skilfully
and as grimly as they have
been doing ever since June.
In this s/ituatton theiie ane les-
sons -we cannot afford to ignore.
Hitler is again running dizzy
risks, denuding the wiest of
troops, using iup his reserves,
putting vicíory or di'sas-ter on
one throw. And that is not f-ool-
ish gambling'. Hitler has made it
part 'Of the scienœ of total war
and a sc'en'ce in whifch w<e must
oompete. And those wbo still talk
of muddling through and “slow
but sure" are endangering our
victory as muich as if they
equ-ipped the army with horses
and carts.
Let us have no illusiions about
the spring. If this gamble of
Hitler’ sutíoeeds, -wp shal 1 have
against u-s in the sprihg the
whole of Eunope’s armed for-oe;
a great army against a medium-
siwed one, as Mr. Churchill re-
minded us reœntly, And then,
as Mr. Ch-urchill has often
warned us, the spring offens-ive
w5ll niot be ours but Hitleris and
Britain wi!l be in greater danger
than even in the dark d'ays after
Dunkirk. This present offensive
is aimed at London as wpll as
at Mosooiw. Let us ask ourselves
urgently whether each one of us
and all of us are doing their ut-
most in this days critibal for
our oountry and at the sarne time
full of opportunity for the wreck-
ing of the enemy’s plans.
Letter to the Editor
wCargo Planes Will Use
Iceland as a Fuel Base”
■■■ .. —
In a reply to criticism By “A.L.M.” G. L. Nicholls (C.Q.M.S.) foresees Iceland s devel-
opment in a peaceful world. He declares that “planes from north European capitals wfll
be using Iceland as the first stop to America.
In his letier arising out of my
reoent article your oorrespondent
A. L- M. opens hts jetter hy
stating that my oonclusions were
too sweeping, and then prooeeds
to discuss the present and future
eoonomic future of Iseland. He
seems to overiook the fact that
my article dealt w-ith the past
and the present, and was an
endeavour to examine the posi-
tion after twelve months occupa-
ítilon. I did not atttempt to anti-
cipate the future, except in my
ooncluding paragraiph when I re-
ferred to the need for loeland “to
strengthen her national finanoes
in readiness for world reoon-
struction after the war.“
After making enquiries I found
that Ioelard was more prosperous
than she had even been, and I
see niothing in A. L. M’s letter
to cause me to retraict or qualify
this. Conclusion in any way. I
should bowever like to pass com-
ment on some of A. L- M’s soni-
clusions.
•
Tu the first place he gives the
impression that Ioelanders have
ruo oonfidenioe in their ourrency
and are spending it as quickly as
possible, either on a higher
standard of living or by invest-
ing in n-ewi busiuesses, whidi will
apparently fade eway with the
withdrawal of the Garrison.
This oonclusion^is not entirely
oorrect. When workers have been
unemployed for a qonsiderable
Iength of time the state of their
personal clothing and possessioivs
deteriorates, and re-employment
means that the individual is able
fío replace these articles an-d in
fact makes eveiy endeavour to
do so. This is what has happened
in Iloeland, but as supplies are
restricted in proportion to the
demand priqes have risen. I
pointed out that the Oost of living
had increased and 1 also indi-
cated that savings had increased
but, owdng to a printer’s error,
this was ra>t clear. Monthly de-
posits in the eleven largest Sav-
ings Banks (the workers’ banks)
♦
in April 1940 totailed 9,877,000
krónur. And by April 1941 had
risen to 15,661,000 krónur. The
Balance Sheet of the National
Bank indicates that thiis rise is
oontinuing. A nation which finds
it neoessary to convert its cur-
rency into goods or dispose of
currency d'oes not save. The fact
that Icelanders are saving, proves
that they have rnore Oonfidence
in their Do-untry’s duniency and
future, than your Oorresponden.t.
Investments in new- businesses,
particularjy of the souivenir and
catering variety, are I believe
due to the individual’s desire to
obtain a larger personal pro-
port’on of the present prosperity
and not to a lack of confiidenoe
in the currency. Even if the li-fe
of the industries .is not very 1-ong
the individuals will -gain on
balance. Although I do not think
these industries will entirely ðis-
appear after the war, their total
eclipse wouid, in the light of
other probable developments, be
only a short term difficulty for
the Ioelandie Govemment.
•
A. L- M. does not think that
the pnesent employment is pro-
duicáng anything which iwill be of
much vaiue after the war. I ad-
mit that Nissen huts and pill-
boxes have not munh pea-ce time
value, but I shall need a lot of
persuading to be oonvinced that
the aerodromes and roads which
have been oonstructed, and wh;ch
Icelanders oould not have oon»-
structed unaided, will be of no
peape time value. We oannot
take these away with uis, and in
my 'Opinion the acquisition of
these icapital improvements will
r-eoompense the lœlanders for the
delay in the satisfaotion of their
need for tractors, houses and
motor cars.
You-r correspondent paints a
vepy pessimistiC picture of Ioe-
land’s future, but I am unable to
share his opinions.
*
He attempts to point an ana-
logy between the post war pro-
blems of our own country
Iceland. He appears to overiook
the fact that Gt Britain’s eoonomy
is based on heavy industrv'-
whereas Ioeland’s is based on
foodstuffs. At the oessation 0
hostilities Euro'pe will be starv'
ing, and Iœland will have no
diffioulty whatsoevei’ in finding'
markets fior her fish, mutton and
anything else she oan cpare- Her
fishing fleets will be a-lmost in
tact, buit the fishing fleets 0
Norway and Gt Britain ane dis
persed, and after the war wiU ^
very thin indeed.
Gt Britain will be anxious
supply building materials, an
the buílding trade in Iceland wfl
be kept busy meeting the deman
ft>r new flats, and oarrying °ut
a!l the work whidh is now aí,cu
mulating and for which funds W
available.
* f .
The most imporiant point
Icelaud’s favour is. that she wi
finish the war as one of
very few creditor nations. Hon
National Debt at present is abon
40 milILon krónur, most of w®
is owed to Gt Britain. Ai ^
end of the "war she whl
ber in
aocuimulated large cnedits in
Britain, and this wfll plaoe
a stronger position than she U®5
ever been before, and wfH ^
her to carry out all those cup
itai
improvements whWh she has
had
tio forego as a p-oor Oou-ntry-
In additLon I emvisage toe1a^r
beooming a most importan't
base -on the North AtlanU® 31
route. Before many years
have
elapsed huge cargo planes
be using it as a refuelling b
on the route from America ^
Eu-rope. Planes from al' ^
North European capitals wíU
using Iceland as the first s
to America, and the nesufl^
revenue wfll be almost as
portant as her fishing in
dustry-
her
.f&>
Ioeland, for the first timc 'n
history wfll be on a main tra ^
route and this will beneH-t
sections of her industríes-
Oontinued on Pag®