Evening star., 1941-01-04
French Gold Hoard
AT Martinique Keeps
Nations Jittery
Neither Britain Nor U. S
Wants Any Of Funds
To Reach Hitler
(Sirth of q SerieS.)
By STEPHEN TRUMBULL.


Gus fuses attached to this powder
keg that is Martinique and most
casual long-range observers Will
lead off with talk of the French air
craft carrier and the American
built planes here.
They capture public imagination
an hence they capture the major
ity of headlines from this Island.
Actually, next to the high strategic
position of the island itself the
greatest cause for international con-
Germ here is some 300 tons OF gold
(about S330000,000 under guard
lust above the town at Fort de SaiX.
Let that aircraft carrier start get
ting up steam and you can bet there
will be Immediate activity on the
United States deStroyers watching
the harbor entrance. Let unusual
activity start on the field where
most of these 80 planes are staked
out and it's safe TO bet we would
hear about it.
Would Balk Hitler.
But lots Of things might happen
to that gold, such as its bar-by-bar
movement, and it is not so clear just
how soon we would know about 1t
or what we would do when we dld
know about it. Neither the United
States nor England wants any OF
that gold to go to Adolf Hitler Tor
the ransom of La Belle France.
International law would be
stretched until it snapped before
either nation would see that gold
leave this harbor Its transfer and
presence here already has caused
two incidents which nearly brought
exchanges of gunfire between the
British and the French.
Most of this gold. hastily loaded
aboard the cruiser Emile Bertin,
which still is here, was started across
the Atlantic from Brest for Halifax
on June II, as France was crum-
bling. 1t reached Halifax Just as
1t was becoming more and more
certain that France was out OF the
war. The British authorities there
were all for unloading it at once,
but the skipper Of the Bertin eVl-
dently had kept close radio con-
tact with his home government.
Sped From Port.
He stalled for time and then,
quite suddenly and without the
usual formalities, he sped for the
open sea and headed south. A Brit
ish ship followed, with guns on
both ships ready for action. The
Bertin lost herself in the darkness
and showed up in this harbor June
%, two days before France signed
the humiliating armistiCe. Two days
after the armistice the aircraft car
rier Bearn arrived with cargo OF
American-built planes.
Still hot on the trail of that gold,
the British sent Gov. Sir Hubert
Young of Trinidad here for a series
of conferences with Robert Bressol-
les. French high commissioner OF the
Antilles. Progress of these parleyS,
if any. suddenly terminated July 8
with news of the demands at Mers-
el-Kebir, Oran, French Africa,
which ended in the blasting OF
French naval units by the British.
French temperS f1ared here. The
Bertin cleared its decks for action.
The British cruisers Fiji and Dune
din. here for the conference, left
and took up a blockade position out
side the harbor. The threatened
battle failed to materialize. but the
British maintained that blockade
until United States naval units took
over early in November.
Agreement Was Near.
There are many here today who
will tell you that but for that MerS-
el-Kebir incident, an understanding
might have been reached here with
the British. The small but inf1uen-
tial white minority were said to be
advocating such an understanding.
Probably it will be long after this
war is over before the complete story
of that conference is known, and
before the entire story is told of the
extent to which the United States
now guards this golden cache OF a
beaten nation.
Admiral John w. Greenslade was
here with a United States mission
the first week in August. officials
will not discuss it, but the unofficial
observers are confident he visited
the gold cache The admiral re-
visited the island November with
a Marine Corps observer.
Made Many Friends.
Some sort of agreement must have
been reached on that first visit, be-
cause on August Is Comdr. Earnest
CBuck) Blankenship arrived here as
United States Naval Attache. He
has been here ever since. A pleas
ant, unoffcious chap, he has made
MANY friends here. He will discuss
almost any topic with you except the
pertinent one-United States inter-
est here.
He is permitted periodic inspec-
tions of the controversial American
made airplaneS and apparently he
travels about the harbor at will.
But as to whether he also is per-
mitted periodic peeks at the gold, he
Just isn't talking.
Trade Was Resumed.
Further indications OF some sort
of understanding between the
United States and Martinique came
at the end of August, when sugar
and rum trade was resumed with
France. There is a general belief
here that England, too, must have
been in on that understanding
Sugar and rum are convertible to
alcohol, and alcohol is the solvent
used in the manufacture of TINT,
so the observers hereabOutS believe
there must be guarantee to the
British that these Martinique prod
ucts are not for transshipment to
Germany.
At this writing 10 ships were re-
ported as having sailed for French
ports. Only one, the S. S. Cuba, was
reported by Vichy as seized by the
British and taken to Freetown
Africa. There were $500 troops or
the Cuba and local belief is that the
British suspected there might also
be some gold aboard.