Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-05-09
REPORTED
FAV0R|NG RETURN
Of REICH COLONY
Union of South Africa Is Ru.
mored Ready to Yield
Mandate.
HERTZOG is BELIEVED
PREPARED TO 0. K. STEP
Official Declaration of Policy
Awaits Raising Of Question
by Germany.
BY the Associated Press,

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 9.-Authoritatiye
quarters said today the Union OF
South Africa is ready and willing to
have Southwest Africa, formerly Ger
many's, returned to the Reich.
That revelation came as repre-
sentatives of the dominions and colo
MES resumed their conversations with
members of the British cabinet on
questions of Britain's foreign policy.
Sir John Simon, foreign secretary,
has already given the empire states
men full accounts of his recent visit
to Berlin, during which Adolf Hitler.
among other things. insisted that
Germany'S right to colonies must be
recognized.
Hertzog Views Awaited.
It was confidently expected the
views of ]. B. M. Hertzog, prime min
lister of the Union of South Africa,
would be sought in the matter OF
giving back to Germany some OF the
territory she lost in the World war
because the Reich's greatest losses
were in Africa.
Hertzog, it was understood. was
prepared to tell Simon and Prime
Minister Ramsay Macdonald that his
government would approve the step.
Observers here recalled that o.
Prov, South African minister OF de-
tense, recently told visiting German
naval officers he was looking forward
to the day when Germany would be
coming back to South Africa as q
colonial power.
The authoritative quarters, however,
emphasized there could be no official
declaration of policy as to South
Africa, which was made an integral
part of the Union of South Africa in
the postwar settlement, until Ger
many specifically raised the question
regarding Southwest Africa.
The imperial conference of 1880 pre-
cluded South Africa's taking any pub
lie stand on this question without
offering Britain an opportunity to ex-
press its views it was pointed out.
Published reports that Hertzog
brought to London the suggestion that
independent Liberia be inundated to
Germany caused surprise in South Al
rican quarters, which pointed out that
South Africans felt this would be I'M
Just to the Liberians.
Aside from the fact that the white
population of Southwest Africa is still
mainly German, informed quarters
cited these reasons why the union
would favor its return to Germany:
/. The heavy expense of its admin
istration, running into several million
pounds sterling annually.
Fear for White Domination.
2. Fears caused by the French post
war policy of arming African natives
for use in Europe in the event Of the
outbreak of another war. South AZ
ricans expressing the view that the
million natives reported under arms
in North Africa menaced white DOM
nation of the continent.
8. The belief that Germany, III view
Of the stress she is now placing on
Aryan and racial superiority, would
not allow such arming Of the ma
tives, her return to Southwest Africa
thus providing a buffer state against
French territories to the north.
4. The fact that South Africans
do not want the job of keeping
Southwest Africa's natives under con-
troll, since they feel that they have
their hands full with about four times
as many natives in the union as
whites
BY the treaty of Versailles Ger
many gave over all her overseas pro-
tectorates to the principal allied and
associated powers. These territories
In Africa included some 1900 Ger
mans and $1,000 900 natives.
Southwest Africa was inundated to
the Union of South Africa, the Came
rooms were divided between France
and the British Empire as manda-
tories, Britain took the mandate over
Togoland and Great Britain and Bel
gium divided the mandate over East