Evening star., 1940-12-25
BY RANDOLPH LEIGH.


BALBOA, Canal Zone, on Board
Lascar II, Dec. 10. (By MaiD Moth
ing serves better to make one realize
how near the war is to America
than to sail slowly from Norfolk
down through the Caribbean to the
Panama Canal.
Going into Kingston, Jamaica, for
instance, we were boarded by a
squad of Canadian soldiers and
were piloted through an elaborate
mine field. Even then we were left
in the outer harbor for the night.
Taken into the inner harbor at
dawn the next day, we were never
theless under guard during our en-
tire stay of three days. Gasoline for
refueling was issued only under spe-
cial permits. We were, of course,
courteously treated and were not
even charged any harbor fees.
Roosevelt Reported in Jeopardy.
In Kingston I was informed that
President Roosevelt was in some
jeopardy during his recent visit of
inspection there. My informant said
that mines were laid by the enemy
at the harbor entrance a few days
before his arrival British mine
sweepers, constantly active in that
area, made special effort to do
a thorough cleanup job on that
occasion and evidently succeeded,
but there was relief in official circles
in Jamaica when he was safely out
side British waters
Another thing which adds to the
confusion, or at least the nervous
strain of navigating those waters
is the persistent rumor that the
Germans have out a number OF
small vessels which act as decoy
or false lighthouses. They are, ac-
cording to the yarn, stationed tenn
porarily in the lanes of traffic
slightly in advance of important
warning points. They are supposed
to initiate the f1ash-frequency o1
the bona fide beacons. One of these
is said to have been operating fol
time some miles north of Cape
Macy, the eastermost lighthouse
point of Cuba, on the edge of the
difficult Windward Passage.
Something Odd Develops.
The idea. of course, is that a falls,
beacon will disrupt navigation, mo-
only by the actual wrecks caused
but also by creating confusion as t.
the reliability of the genuine lights
/ can testify to the fact that on tn,
night of December 80, somethin.
out of the ordinary was going OF
around Cape Macy. At about
am. that night the Lascar II sightet
what seemed to be the Cape Mace
light, and accordingly, changed he
course to the southwest There il
absolutely no other beacon of thi.
type in that vicinity. Nevertheless
dawn found us near the rocks or
the north coast Of Cuba, when, Il
We had passed the real light WI
would have been below the south
coast. 1t took some time to orien
ourselves and get into the Windwarc
Passage. Three other vessels, WI
later learned, had trouble that nigh
in that area, but, ironically, the onl.
one that came to grief was italian
The British have intrusted the de
fense of Jamaica entirely to Ca
madam troops. chiefly units from tn,
Winnipeg area. The economic con
dition of the island is very bad, tn
| war having killed the banana expor
business and the tourist trade, tn
chief source of revenue. London i
now buying up the entire banan;
crop at 12c stem, and giving tn
fruit to the increasingly numerou
poor.
Many Ships at Kingston.
There are many large British
ships in Kingston Harbor, either fol
safety, or in reserve. Most of then
are from Liverpool. There are ais,
dozens of antiquated sailing vessels
brought in from Central America TO-
use in the emergency One of thes,
spent an entire day trying to ge
itself to its dock, without any ma
chine power. and finally succeeded
The British population seems con
fldent Of ultimate victory. The ma
tives (78 per cent black, 18 per cen
mulatto, and per cent white) are
rather low in morale, but not com.
pletely hopeless. Discipline in tht
civil service seems somewhat relaxed
Long before reaching the Panama
Canal, one is aware of the new ano
vigorous system in effect there. Al
airplane, for example, flew out ane
circled over us many miles from
land. Later three submarines ap.
peared, one of them coming within