A competent Government official today predicted that despite the curtailment of North Atlantic shipping there would be a full utilization of the German, Polish, Czechoslovak, Hungarian, Rumanian, Bulgarian, Portuguese and Spanish quotas. While the French and Swiss quotas are not expected to be fully used, “a substantial increase” over the number of visas utilized last year was predicted.
Officials admitted that there were 6,000 visas outstanding in the United Kingdom which have been charged against the quotas of several European countries and that these have been renewed after the customary four-month limit has expired.
Admitting pressure to reassign these numbers to the continent, a Government source said it was felt that, as the shipping situation out of British Ports might change at any time, this would not be fair.
Despite frequent reports from abroad that transportation facilities were not sufficient to carry the immigration load, an official interviewed today expressed confidence that the six ships a month–U.S., Spanish and Portuguese–leaving Lisbon at the present time, coupled with the transportation available for refugees reaching the Far East, would be sufficient to meet the demand.
In all, it was said, not more than a “few hundred” quota authorizations would not have visas issued against them by the end of the year. At the moment, the American Export Line is concentrating on carrying U.S. citizens out of Lisbon. This will require only a few trips, it was pointed out, and thereafter the emphasis will be on quota immigrants.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
