The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-06-04
GERMANY GETS
 RAW MATERIALS
l,5OO Tons Daily Coming to Nazis From Routes
 in Far East
BY JOHN R. MORRIS

United Press Staff Correspondent
 Shanghai, June 4-(UP)--Foreign sources in China and Japan claim. ed today that Germany has devel- oped an efficient purchasing and forwarding agency which has dis- patched as much as l,500 tons of vital raw material daily from the Far East to blockaded Germany,
 These sources claimed the traffic was routed by the Siberia railway with Manchull on the Man chukuo- Russian frontier as the principal forwarding agency with branch offices at Shanghai, Kobe, Tientsin, Tsingtao, Dairen and Har- bin.
 (Russia recently announced ban on all transit shipments of war ma terial and strict regulation of all shipments through Russia. Also, in connection with the purchasing and forwarding of material in and from the Far East, the United States ex- port licensing system was extended to the Philippines an important source of raw materials)
 Helmutll Wohlthat, head of a German trade mission now in Tokyo, was reported arranging for even greater quantities of supplies through Japan, which can collect vital products from Tine Nether- lands East Indies, French Indo- China and other Far Eastern points. Germany was reported increasing exports to the Far East of chemical products, dyestuffs, scientific ap- paratus and precision instruments.
 In Small Volume
 SilNh products, of high value can be shipped in small volume, in con- trast to the bulky raw materials which Germany was reported re. ceiving in exchange.
 Foreign sources claimed that B. 900 freight cars, each with e ca- pacity of 20 metric tons, have been engaged in traffic between Germany and the Far East. These cars were reported shuttling back and forth between Manchuli and tho Russo- German border. Goods destined for Germany were said to be collected by various sub-agencies, and then routed Into Manchult through Man. choukuo or from Kobe and Yoko- hama to Vladivostock.
 Germany was reported to have in- creased her TranS-Siberian traffic when Italy entered the war. Steady increases have been reported since then.
 The first move, foreign quarters said, was to send economic missions to Moscow, Tokyo and Hsinking. The influx of Germans into Japan and Manchoukuo during the past year was said to be concerned par- ticularly with economic activity.
 The Russians were said to allow no private shipments to Germany from the Far East. All traffic was reported in goods officially purchas- Cd and despatched.
 Exports from the Far East to Germany in 1940 were said to have totaled l50,000 metric tons. It was expected that for 194l the total might run to 600,00 0tons. The Rus- sians were said to have recently irn- posed higher freight rates
 November Was Peak
 Foreign quarters said that last November was the peak month for movement of Far Eastern supplies across Russia to Germany. During that month, 1t was said, Germany obtained from China 400 tons of meat, $50 tons of hides, $50 tons of tea, 250 tons of rice, 200 tons of cotton, 50 tons of leather and 30 tons of tobacco.
 Japan and Manchoukuo were said to have provided 35,000 tons of soy beans, 5000 tons of flour, 1900 tons of wool, 1000 tons of cereals, 1000 tons of lubricating oil and 400 tons of leather.
 Reports said that the average Trsns-Siberia freight train is made Up of 30 cars. Two trains were re- ported leaving Manchuli daily for the long journey to the German border. During some months, it was said, this average has been higher.
 Travellers reaching the Far East s recently by way of the Trans Siberia railway from Moscow said that trafiic was moving fairly smoothly although some trouble was reported with breakdowns due to faulty equipment and lack of maintenance.