Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-26

UUu uTWLGu TUuIGTS, UTILLSH w
tho adventurous, Seu-going re-
porterS lDho haze Just returned
to Ne1U York from "Snoop
cruise" in those lUdterS.
BY LEICESTER HEMINGWAY and
ANTHONY JENKINSON.
NEW YORK, Aug. 26.-Shortly
after the outbreak of the European
war, 200 drums of fuel oil were
shipped out of Port Limon by Ger
man firm, one of the biggest con-
Germs in Costa Rica. The drums
were carried aboard a 100-foot YES
sci, the Santa Helena to Bluefields,
Nicaragua and there unloaded. They
remained for several weeks on the
government dock at Bluefelds Bluff
and then were taken away aboard
the Santa Helena.
Port officials at Bluefields will
tell you that the fuel was returned
to Limon. Limon officials, however,
will assure you that it never ar
rived. Two hundred drums van
ished into thin air.
guess. but if you cruise the Western
Caribbean in a small sailboat, such
as our schooner, Blue Stream, your
guess will be that the drums were
taken to one of the isolated outlying
islands, such as Great Corn or Old
Providence or st. Andrews, that are
being used by the Nazis as fuel bases
for sea raiders.
In Limon the German firm has
large warehouse, occupying a block
in the center of the city, in which
much Diesel fuel is stored. This
store is known to the local author
tiles, Costa Rican and foreign, but
what they apparently do not know
is that the firm maintains all even
larger store in a "disused' ware
house in midtown. A small railroad
track connects this warehouse with
the street. On the buildings door is
the tell-tale notice, mo smoking
Germans Thick in Limon.
There are other Germans in
Iimon. After Office hours they
gather in the largest German
owned hotel in such heavy concen-
trations that an American guest
feels himself already intruding in a
branch of the Greater Reich. One
of these Germans, a young photog-
rapher who keeps large quantity OF
radio equipment in his store, sar-
castically asked us whether we'd
seen any German submarines yet
and then added: Don't worry.
You'll see plenty before long"
Some fine new buildings are 60
ing up in the church compound at
Limon. Helping in the construction
work are a number of stalWart
Young Germans of obvious military
age.
In Bluefelds, important Nicarag-
uan port, similar conditions exist.
An exporting firm, possessing a dock
of its own, has large godowns filled
exclusively with Diesel drums and
trading schooners in which to ship
them. The owner of this concern
is ambitious and pro-Nazi and has
two Germans working for him. Like
the firm in Limon he undertakes a
large amount of coastwise trading
in Diesel-powered motor vessels,
which gives him a valid excuse for
carrying fuel oil and makes 1t olfr-
cult to keep track Of the drums ne
ships to the outer islands where the
Nazis have their bases.
The head of the Moravian mis-
sion in Nicaragua, which has
branch in Bluefields, is German.
He travels extensively throughout |
the country.
The holder of the important post |
of inspector of customs at Bluef1elds |
is a pro-Hitler German of Nicarag-
uan citizenship.
The crew of the Blue Stream,
having a visit to the post office IN
Bluefelds to collect mail, found that
the two men waiting in the line |
ahead of them were Germans. One
received mail with the poStmark
Berlin" the other Dusseldorf"
In Bluefelds and along most OF
the seaboard of Central America
the Nazis are being aided by an IN
durable banana disease which is
forcing American fruit companies to
transfer their activities elsewhere,
thus leaving the Germans under less
strict supervision.
Costa Rica Anti-Nazi.
In Costa RIGA, however, the Nazis
have run up against a problem.
The Costa Ricans are among the
most democratic of all Central
Americans and their dislike OF Fas-
cisrn, both internal and external,
IS strong. Early in the war, when
the Italian cruiser Due DAosta
called at Limon on a goodwill tour,
the Costa Ricans gave the visitors
such an unfriendly reception that
the police escorts had to be trebled
and the Due D'Aosta, which had
come for a week, was forced to
leave after two days.
Discussing this incident, a Costa
Rican told us: 1.-THE best defense
against Nazi penetration in Latin
America is democracy. If the
United States wants to keep Nazi-
ism out of Central America, 1t must
encourage democratic movements In
our countries and not Fascist re-
gimes which will eventually play
fifth column roles at the bidding OF
Hitler. Democracy is stronger in
Costa RIGA than in other Central
American countries"
Another obstacle that the Nazis
have run into in Costa Rica is that
the population of Limon and, in
deed, of most of the Atlantic sea-
board of Central America, is largely
British West Indian. These colored
people, while not pro-British, are