Evening star., 1940-02-12
British individuals
And War Agencies
Garry On UnheraIded
Ministry Of Economic
Worfore Is Typical
Of Unheurd-Of Units
BY H. ]. ]. SARGENT.

BY H. j. J. SARGENT.
LONDON, Feb. IL (C.NF).-It is
. truisrn to say Of this country that
one Of its characteristics is to con-
ceal or ignore details about many
Of the most important individuals
and organizations which help to
govern England and more parti-
cularly at the present moment to
night the war to, it is hoped, sue
cessful conclusion.
Does any one know, for instance,
that Prime Minister Chamberlain
has son and a daughter and what
the daughters married name Is?
They are never mentioned in the
press and am sure that nine people
out Of 10 do not even know that they
exist. What can the public tell
about the immense concentration
Of scientific talent which has been
got together by the government in
order to defeat the German offen-
sive by invention. If such an ex-
preston is allowed? Nothing at all.
The magnetic mine, for instance,
had about a fortnights successful
life before the measure of it had
been taken and its sting removed;
but no one knows exactly whit. the
people were who studied and
countered this new weapon and,
truth to tell, this strange British
public does not care.
France Is Different.
could develop this idea at almost
any length and could say without
much hesitation that in France,
where people take more interest in
the doings of their clever folk,
the defeat of the magnetic mine
would probably have been made the
subject of many articles in the news
papers and would have led. I am
sure, to the distribution of many
decorations. Was a single man
decorated for this job in England?
Not one.
To get to a more far-reaching
subject, would say that one OF
the government organizations on
which the limelight has not been
turned to any extent is the min
istry of economic warfare. I am
prepared to state on oath that if I
were to go out of the room in which
I am writing this article, which
overlooks Fleet street, and ask six
consecutive passers-by whether they
knew of the ministry of economic
warfare I should be given mega
tive reply. I will go further and
declare that if I were to ask 100
consecutive people for the name of
the minister of economic warfare
I should not be given 1t more than
possibly once or twice. AS it hap
pens the gentleman's name is Ron
aid Cross.
Work to indispensable.
And yet that ministry is doing
work without which I am certain
the allies could not win the war,
however effective the military side
Of their effort might be- Both this
country and France had the sense
to set up ministries of that kind
Immediately upon the outbreak of
war. That was an improvement on
what happened in the first World
War, when the British government
waited until 1916 to set up what was
then called the ministry of block
ade. under Lord Robert Cecil, who
afterward received a peerage and
is now Viscount Cecil Of Chelwood.
A shadow ministry of economic
warfare had been set up before
September 3. A certain number of
officials from various government
Offices had been told off to form
the framework Of the department
and a number Of retired officials.
who were experts in foreign affairs
and trade questions, were asked to
serve in the new ministry for the
duration of the war. The closest
cooperation with France had been
decided upon in principle and in
fact high officials of the correspond
ing ministry in Paris are now serv-
Ing In London while men from the
British ministry have been Sec
onded for work in France.
In accordance with age-old tradi-
ton the British Navy, Immediately
war was declared, put a strangle-
hold on the enemy's seaborne trade
and reduced it, as the world knows,
to a mere trickle both as regards
imports and exports, but that was
the seaborne trade only and it has
TO be remembered that Germany
has far greater opportunities for
obtaining supplies by land routes
than she had in 1914-1918. It became
the business of the ministry of eco
nomic warfare to see that as far as
possible those land routes were as
effectively blocked as the sea lanes
Thanks to the enormous financial
strength of the British treasury and
the worldwide power of the British
banking system, it has become DOS
s1ble to buy up much of what would
otherwise have gone to Germany
from neutral countries. This is no
secret. In fact, Ronald Cross. the
minister, said only a few days ago
IN Parliament that this country had
concluded or was discussing COM
mercial agreements to that very end
with no less than IA neutral coun-
tries and that after less than five
months Of war Germany was in
economic straits not unlike those in
which she found herself after two
years of the last war.
This is not bad record for the
economic warfare people. Perhaps
one OF the reasons that they labor
unseen and unsung is that nobody
attacks them. In fact, Hugh Dali
ton, . great leader Of the Labor op-
position, who was foreign under
secretary in the last Labor govern
ment, actually went so far as to say
IN the House of Commons that he
doubted whether serious criticism of
our blockade could be offered.
Bishop Criticizes Acts.
Nevertheless there has been criti-
eism and from no less q person than