British circles emphasized that Chancellor Adolf Hitler has promised to bring prosperity and plenty to the German protected countries and now is an excellent time to prove his good intentions.
Meanwhile, a survey of the best informed British sources indicated that all recent predictions of a general famine in Europe in the coming winter, together with the assertion of the United States Ambassador to Brussels, Mr. John Cudahy, last week that 8,000,000 Belgians are facing the threat of starvation, are exaggerated.
Taking into consideration the known or calculated reserves at the outbreak of the war, together with the estimates of the current crop, experts have drawn a fairly detailed picture of the winter food situation which is substantially subscribed to by both the British and neutrals. This survey can be summarized as follows:
1. Europe generally will be compelled to fall back on reserve stocks to cope with the difficult problem of distribution and to assure the best use of available stocks.
2. In certain areas, notably Poland, Norway and Belgium, the food situation is likely to become ery difficult" about the beginning of the new year, particularly in the industrial areas. This will result in rationing and perhaps a certain amount of malnutrition.
3. United States relief would inevitably enhance Germany's capacity to wage war, since the British blockade is essentially a long range weapon whose effect can become increasingly noticeable as the war is prolonged, but which would not exert a telling effect, as far as food is concerned, before the latter half of 1941,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.