Evening star., 1940-08-13
Nazis Reported Busy
In Dakar, Air Base
OF Strategic Moment
Use os Terminal for
Plane Service to South
America Is Seen
By OLIVER MCKEE.

To provide a listening and OBJ
servation post for the United States /
in French West Africa, the State
Department recently announced that
the American consulate at Dakar
closed since 1881, will soon be re-
opened. Located about l,4O0 miles
from the eastermost point of Brazil
Dakar, as a base for commercial
and military aviation, is of increas- !
ing strategic Importance, with the
military collapse of France, and
with Great Britain engaged in a
life-or- death struggle, the fate of
French and British possessions in
West Africa, as elsewhere, hangs
in the balance.
Though United States trade with
the European colonies along the |
west coast of Africa is comparatively |
small, this area has substantial re-
| sources in three important strategic |
materials-manganeSe, iron ore and
Tin. With proper exploitation,
! these and other resources could be
/ developed to a far greater extent !
! than they are today.
Nazis Plan to Use 1t as Air Base.
/ French West Africa has a popula-
ton of about $4,000, 900, and covers |
an area of 1,815000 square miles.
/ According to Department of Com !
nerce figures, cocoa beans, palm
kernels and palm oil and mahogany
are the principal exports to the
United States. France has been
the leading market for the pro-
ducts of French West Africa, and
is also the leading supplier of i'm
| ports. The United States ranks as
the second most important market
for exports from French West
Africa. The principal imports from
the United States include autcmo-
biles, petroleum, leaf tobacco,
wheat. flour and machinery.
Until 1857 Dakar was an unim-
portant fishing port. In recent
years it has been the third most !
important port in the French
empire. ranking next to Marseilles
ana Havre. Facilities of the port |
have been expanded and modern
lied. The Germans have been
active in Dakar since the armistice. |
According to reports reaching Wash |
ington, they are planning TO use
Dakar as base for airplane serv-
| ices to South America.
Near French West Africa are
several British possessions, includ-
ing the Gold Coast and Nigeria.
The principal exports of the Gold
Coast are cocoa, gold, manganese
ore and diamonds. About TO per
cent of the cocoa exported from the
| Gold Coast comes to the United
! States In 1887 this country took
| half of all the goods exported from
the Gold Coast In recent years the
! United States has bought Substan-
tial quantities of manganese from
the Gold Coast. This is strategic
material of high priority, important
both to industry and national de-
| fense.
Trade With Other Colonies.
Cocoa, palm kernels and palm oil,
peanuts and tin ore are the chief
exports of Nigeria, another impor-
| tant British colony in West Africa.
Half of Nigeria S imports come from
the United Kingdom. The United
States is also an important supplier
| of the Nigerian market Exports to
this country include cocoa, palm oil
and hides and skins. The State De-
partment maintains consulate at
Lagos, Nigeria.
Peanuts constitute approximately
95 per cent Of the exports of British
Gambia. Trade with the United
States is negligible. Sierra Leone,
a British crown colony, had a trade
of about 100000 with the United
States in 1888. The colony has con-
siderable deposits of iron ore.
Our trade with French Equatorial
Africa and the Cameroons is less
important than that with French
West Africa. In 1887 French Equa-
torial Africa sold goods to the
United States valued at $4,000
francs. Cocoa and palm kernalS are
the principal exports of the French
Cameroons to the United States.
In the Belgian Congo. Belgium,
now occupied by the Nazis, has a
large and valuable African colony.
The flag of Portugal flies over An
COLA and several other colonies.
In the Legation at Monrovia, Lii
IBERIA, the United States has an
other diplomatic lookout in West
Africa, where important territorial
changes are likely to result if the
axis powers dictate the terms of