Evening star., 1937-09-16
POWERS AWAITING
NEXT ROME MOVE
|FORPATROLPAR|Ty
Britain and France Rush
Sea Activities to War.
time Basis.
ANTI-SUB WEAPONS
WEIGHT HUGE FLEET
Paris and London Not to Address
Further Pleas to Italy for
Collaboration.
BACKGROUND

submarine raiders ON neutral ship
ping in Mediterranean led France
and Britain to summon conference
at Nyon, Switzerland, to draft
agreement for policing sealanes.
Italy and Germany refused to at
tend. Italy refused to become party
to agreement unless she ,oas
giuen role in patrol equal to that
OF any other po,Der.
BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, September 16.-Great
Britain and France rushed their Med
iterranean naval activities to vir-
tually wartime basis today and init
mated that Italy must make the next
move if she wants to join an "anti-
piracy patrol in the inland sea.
The two powers took the stand that
any Italian suggestions, including II
Duce's demand for patrol parity, would
be considered"
But neither England nor France had
any intention of addressing further
requests to Rome for collaboration.
Thus, the Italian demands for
equality in the new Mediterranean pa
troll scheme remained In . tense dip
lomatic impasse.
Armada Is Modified.
Weighted with powerful depth
charges and torpedoes, a mighty An
glo-French armada was mobilized to
stop for good all Mediterranean pirate
submarine attacks on neutral shipping.
War planes became the "eyes" of this
neet.
The first contingent Of destroyers
to reinforce the vast Anglo French
piracy patrol sped from England
toward Europe's trouble -fraught back
yard"
Britain was building her Mediter-
ranean feet up to 30 ships, counting
the ~ on regular duty. She and
France, - her co-pertner In the un-
precedented Job Of policing main sea
lanes, viii have more than $50 vessels
on guard against the undersea threat
to European peace already menaced
for IA months by war on the Spanish
peninsula.
Prom one end Of Britain to the
other bases rushed to recondition the
entire naval reserve feet, which will
be held In readiness for emergency.
Preparations were concentrated on
destroyers, minelayers, minesweepers,
net layers and auxiliary vessels which
are best fitted for the kind of naval
warfare Britain expects.
Her heavy battleships and battle
cruisers already were in fighting trim.
A squadron Of Royal Air Force flying
boats was poised at the Felixstowe
base to take OF tomorrow for Malta.
to be the "eyes" OF Britain's pirate
hunters. France already has ordered
a huge armada to Mediterranean duty.
Bad weather forbade the take-of from
Felixstowe today.
Rearmament plans in the Lam
cashire area at Manchester, Stafford,
Oldham and Stockport were disrupted
by "children's strike" Seven thou
sand apprenticed youths quit work at
aircraft plants in demands for rs cents
more pay each week.
Omcials feared q serious delay in the
hlling OF big government orders unless
the strike were settled soon. Many
Journeymen were laid of because no
work was available without the ap-
prentices.
Optimists in informed London cir
cles believed Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain's desire not to jeopardize
1talo-British friendship talks was the
best guarantee that a way would be
found out Of the deadlock with Italy
over the anti-piracy patrol.
Lord Perth, British Ambassador to
Rome, is scheduled to open conversa-
tions late this month to cultivate the
seeds Of amity that were in bud before
the piratical attacks on Mediterranean
commerce brought a new European
crisis.
On the eve of the Nyon Conference
the Soviet Union made the accusa-
tion-angrily denied in Rome-that
Italian submarines had sunk two Rus
sian freighters. This brought into the
open intimations of the British press
that the Italian Navy was connected
with the half-hundred attacks on car
go ships in recent weeks.