Evening star., 1941-08-28


recently arriued in Paraguay
after spending some time on the
French island OF Martinique,
"po,1der keo OF the Caribbean"
BY JOHN B. JAGO.
BY Armail to The Star and NINA.
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 10.
1T is popularly supposed that
there are many Germans on Mar
Unique, French possession in the
Caribbean. This is not the case,
although it cannot be affirmed that
there are no French nationals on
the island acting as German agents.
Several hundred European refu-
gees have been temporarily stationed
in Martinique at various times, as
when the steamship Carimare put in
at Fort de France on her way from
Marseille and Casablanca to Latin
America some weeks ago. Most of
these people had obtained United
States visas in Europe or carried
passports visaed for Latin American
countries.
This writer spoke with several
French passengers and sailors on
the Carimare and also the Duo
D'Aumale, which later carried some
refugees from Martinique to the
United States. Some of them told
strange stories about several of the
passengers, and it is not improbable
that at least two or three of the
passengers who went on to America
we're disguised German spies.
Secret Police Active.
So far as its government is con-
eerned, Martinique has suffered a
profound change since the fall of
the Third Republic. The vote has
been suppressed, as well as all elec-
tive and insular bodies The local
press has Disappeared. and with it
all printed news except government
information bulletins Constant OBJ
servation by secret police and
agents, as many as 200 in Fort de
France, makes it dangerous to ex-
press, in public at least, any criti-
cism of the government and its
policies, and, above all, any SYM
pathy for De Gaulle.
No Martinique resident is allowed
to leave the island unless the ne
cessity in a particular case calls
for a special exception. The new
laws of Vichy, including those dis
solving Freemasonry, eliminating
Jews from public office, and barring
married women with fewer than
three children from the government
service, are in full effect.
The dissolution of the local Free
masonry, which was formerly polit-
ically very powerful and counted
among its members many of the
leading liberals of the island, was
not unattended with trouble. What
may be characterized as an incipient
movement sponsored by the Free
masonS against the government ap-
pears to have been suppressed fairly
recently without bloodshed, but the
affair gave the government some I'M
quiet moments. There are very few
Jews on the island.
Governor without Power.
Supreme local authority on Mar
Unique is exercised by Admiral
Georges Robert as high commits
sioner to the French possessions in
the Western Hemisphere. There Is
q governor of Martinique, but he
has about as much power as the
King of Italy, whom he closely re-
sembles in physical appearance.
Closest to the admiral is the chief
Of staff, Capt. Pierre Benech. A
former naval attache of France in
Washington, he is a man of deep
and searching insight and a coldly
powerful intellect.
The admiral, whom I interviewed
struck me as being a remarkable
character. Vigorous and challeng-
ing in address, trenchant in his
reasoning and analysis, it is impos-
sible to imagine him a tool of Ger
many. From my conversation with
him, however, I gathered the dis
tinct impressions that he thought
Germany would win the war, that
the resistance of Russia would
shortly come to an end, that Eng
land had continually thwarted and
made tool out of France since 1918
and, finally, that an English victory
would not spell an appreciably bet
ter fate for France than a German
one. This last point, incidentally,
was one which I heard voiced many
times by various naval and govern
ment officers.
-. Public opinion in Martinique con-
cerning local and world affairs is
difficult for a visitor to evaluate, in
view of the prevailing governmental
regime, which prevents free express
sion. However, there can be no
doubt as to several points. Virtually
all of the black fraction of Marti-
nique'S estimated 265 900 inhabitants
and this, apart from the Euro
peans temporarily on the island,
means about 263,0O0-hate and fear
Germany and ,ardently desire a
British victory The same may be
said of the native white population,
including most of the native white
army officers.
Peasants Dissatisfied.
The great majority of the black
peasants and workers are dissatis-
fed with their economic condition
An average days work in Fort de
France nets Is francs-about so
cents. This sum. if regularly earned,
would have been sufficient once.
But work is not regular now, and
although general price fixing has
been adopted, goods imported from
the United States, with blocked
funds released for that purpose by
the Treasury in Washington, are
more expensive in many cases than
those which used to be imported
from France.