Jan. 6.
As it was expected President Roosevelt's message to Congress is regarded by the Wilhhelmstrasse as "the most violent anti-German speech he has ever made;" and there can be no doubt that it has aroused considerable indignation amongst the Nazi leaders. But the President was careful to refrain from naming any country, and to enter such a verdict as that given in Berlin is to make the confidently "expected admission that the cap did' ft after all. Singularly enough, but important as showing to what lengths German propaganda will go, it Is reported in Netherlands' newspapers that the propaganda machinery haz been put in motion to turn his words of criticism into terms of commendation for the consumption of the German people. When accounts of what is broadcast from Berlin for the in~ formation of German listeners-in are read it {is possible to understand how Herr Hitler's doctrine that any lo will stick so long as it big enough is being applied in duping the German people. Not only that, it is possible to understand why the Nazis should inflict severe punishment upon Germans found eullty of listening to broadcasts from abroad. The task of turning the President's condem~ nation of German aggression into words of commendation is not so enormous as it would appear at first blush, for the inventors of the fabricated account have little fear that their version will be immediately corrected, fand are certain that their lie will have a long lease of life before it is eventually run earth—if ever. Apart from the invention of taradiddles, in which Dr. Goebbels' ministry has shown itself so adept, the various messages of Nazi leaders over the New Year, in themselves form an interesting subject for study. Each of them appears to breathe nothing but the completest confidence in the future success of German arms: It would, of course, be foolish if the leaders were to ad~ mit to their people the anxieties as to. the future which they are undoubtedly suffering, and the importance of the factors which have produced that hesitancy in Berlin which is now so noticeable.
Field-Marshal Goering speak of the readiness of the German air arm to raid the British Isles directly Herr Hitler gives the word. It is known on the other hand that hho does not approve of any such attempt, and it is reported that the dissension be tween Herr Hitler and himself is such that he will not order the German air force into that action without first receiving his in~ structions in writing from his leader. Who can blame him? He realizes that when it comes o taking air action, it is a game at which two can play, andthe British: and French air forces are now at such a strength that they can be confidently expected not only toinflict enormous damage upon any raiding force which may be sent up, but can also repay bombing in exactly the same currency.
balance, as a result of the various engagements between Allied and German fliers, it may safely be alleged that while the issue as to who shall have command of the air has not yet been decided, the definite super ferity of the Allied air' forces, as shown by the results of encounters since, the commencement of hostilities, gives every possible support to the view that they" should In the not too distant future secure that command to which the Nazis have been making completely unsubstantiated claims. hurrying to the Uruguayan port to thwart any attempt she might make to escape was a vessel of the Ark Royal type, while later it was admitted by the same agency that it was in fact the Ark Royal which visited Rio de Janeiro. The graceful correction of the featlier lie does not, however, hide the fact that in this instance, as in so many others, truth had eventually to out, and prove the uuntruthfulness of the original German claim, If such examples as these were not sufficient to prove the ineptitude of German propaganda, the Herr Hitler's doctrine, concerning the use of the lo as a political weapon, Justifies the world at large in assuming that any particular item of alleged information emanating from Berlin must of necessity be open to the gravest suspicion. Herr Hitler forges the weapon end Dr. Goebbels uses it, and the sorry effect of it all is that even when the German Ministry of Propaganda tells the truth, experience teaches the worl fo suspend judgment until what the Allies have to say on the subject becomes known. At home German propaganda may have some sort of success in deluding the German people because they have access to no other information. Abroad the story is an entire~ ly different one. In Britain and France there no prohibition against persons listening to whatever broadcasting station they wish. That in itself is the best possible form of propaganda, for it proves conclusively that whereas the Allies have nothing to fear from the truth, the German leaders have a great deal. "Otherwise, why -seek to change President Roosevelt's condemnation into commendation
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.