Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-10

An American naval detachment of
an undisclosed strength, but believed to
be composed of cruisers and a large
number of destroyers, is moving about
in the Caribbean Sea in the vicinity of
the two French islands, Martinique and
Guadeloupe,
A regiment of marines is kept in
readiness to be sent to these French
possessions las soon as the situation war
rants it." When and why will the sit
uation warrant the occupation of the
French possessions in the neighborhood
of the Panama Canal? In most we'll
informed quarters in Washington the
answer is lin all probability not later
than December and possibly earlier"
According to. the Havana agreement,
territories held by European powers could
be taken over temporarily or otherwise
if they constitute menace to the West
ern Hemisphere. AS long as there was
a chance of the Vichy governments
maintaining a shadow of independence
there was no question of intruding in
Frances back yard in the Western Henri
sphere. The French naval units under
the command of Admiral Robert were
harmless. The plane carrier Bearn was
bottled up in the harbor of Fort-de-
France by the British West Indies squad
ron and could not escape to return to
France with its precious cargo of air.
planes.
But in the last two weeks sufficient
evidence has reached Washington to
prove that the deal concluded by Vice
Premier Pierre Laval and approved in
its general terms by Marshal Petain
has placed France entirely at the dis
posal of the totalitarian states 1t is
not, question of what territories the
axis may wish to take from the French.
1t Is much more than that.
Nazis Win Over yichy Government.
After long conversations between the
French and German leaders the prin-
cipal members of the Vichy government
have been won over by the Fuehrer and
Herr Won Ribbentrop to the idea that
France can find its salvation only in
totalitarian Europe. The economic
and political philosophy of the axis has
been fully Endorsed by the leaders of
Free France. The bulk of the popula-
ton, still dazed By the unbelievably
thorough defeat of the country, is fol-
lowing the government like a herd of
sheep. There can be no opposition
because the nation which caused the
1879 and 1848 revolutions has lost heart
and now wishes only to be left severely
alone under whatever form of govern
ment Vichy may decide on.
Petain and Laval have Endorsed the
German plan of a United States of Eu-
rope" under the leadership of the Reich.
These United States" will be forced
most of them have been forced already
to accept without discussion the political
and economic philosophy of the Reich
and Italy. But in order to make this new
group in Europe possible, it is necessary
to have peace. 1t is necessary that the
rest of the world should dovetail its eco
nomic policies with those of New Europe.
So far as the question of peace is con-
cerned, Germany, Italy and their willing
or unwilling associates maintain that
Britain, by her determined resistance, is
preventing the accomplishment of this
gigantic plan. Hence, that Britain must
be brought to her knees.
The idea of an invasion-of the liqui-
dation of the British Empire by an in
vasion-has been abandoned temporarily
as too costly and risky. The strategy the
enemies of Britain are following now is
that of war of attrition. On the one
hand, German and Italian planes con-
tinue to devastate the British Isle by
daily and nightly rails aimed at the
civilian population rather than military
detectives. These raids are intended to
destroy the British industry, the British
home and. by implication, the British
morale.
Possible Strategy.
On the other hand, the population
of Britain must be starved out. In
order to accomplish this, the Mediter-
ranean must become totalitarian lake.
The attack on the Near East, with the
aim of closing the Suez Canal, and the
eventual attack on Gibraltar to close
the straits, are intended to accomplish
this purpose. Britain can be supplied,
however, by her dominions in the Pacific
and other parts of the world by the
lengthier route around the Cape of
Good Hope. In order to render this task
more difficult, the Germans intend to
establish themselves at Dakar, on the
western bulge of Africa. That harbor
was prepared as a first-class naval base
at the time the British and the French
were allies. They considered the pos
sibility of the Mediterranean's being
rendered useless for commercial pur-
poses and decided to protect their ship
ping from Dakar.
The French, In their agreement with
Germany, have not surrendered any of
their colonial possessions to the totali-
tartan states. But they have agreed to
give the powers of the axis every con-
ceivable help to bring the European war
to quick end. The conclusion which
Is drawn here from this arrangement Is
that II the powers Of the axis consider