Evening star., 1942-04-17
u. s. Aid Has Kept
Hitler From Crushing
Spirit OF France
Fuehrer Furious Becouse
He Is Not Able TO
Match Proerom
By WILLIAM McGAFFIN.
Midr Mnrld NruE

CAIRO Egypt. April l7-Ger-
many won the first battle for France
but the United States has been
winning the second-and that's one
Of the principal reasons Adolf Hitler
has felt IL essential at this time To
ram Pierre Laval down the throat OF
reluctant Marshal Petain.
saw both the first and second
battles OF France. The second was
not fought with bullets. but was Just
as desperate as If 1t had been.
American ammunition in that sec
ond battle has been such prosaic
items as sugar. tea and cotton cloth
shipped to North Africa -prosaic
to us. but vital to the French, be-
cause these are the things necessary
10 keep the African native popula-
ton happy.
America s ammunition also has in
rluded gasoline, machinery spare
parts and other miscellaneous things
without which the farmers Of French
North Africa cannot carry on.
Unable 10 Match Program.
Hitler is furious because the
United States has been delivering
the goods under French American
economic accord for the last year
and thereby winning considerable
influence over French policy. It is
a program he has been unable TO
match.
German agents have made glib
promises and even collected lists of
the needed products from the
French and sent them on to Berlin
to be filled-but nothing ever hap
pened.
Meanwhile. the ships continued to
steam in, laden deep with products
from the United States.
The beauty OF this program Is that
Il has not been costing the United
States a cent. France has been
paying out of her own funds in the
United States and carrying the stuff
In her own ships.
The American part in the accord
was to make the purchases possible
by unfreezing some OF Frances
assets In the United States and,
after the goods were bought per-
suading the British to pass them
through the blockade TO North
Africa.
Nazis Used Various Tricks.
The Germans resorted to various
tricks to attempt TO stymie the ac-
cord, and succeeded in slowing 1t
down from time to time, but not in
stopping 1t, (The resurgence OF M.
Laval, however, caused halt in the
shipment Wednesday,
Originally Gen. Weygand was one
OF the prime movers for the accord.
Gen. Weygand. extremely pro-Amer-
ican, gave the United States Gov
ernment assurance that 1t would be
used properly.
Five months ago Hitler went to
desperate lengths He forced Marshal
Petain to fire Gen. Weygand as pro-
consul for French North Africa, But
the American program continued
Although Admiral Jean Dsrlan
was running North Africa from
Vichy, the United States still had
enough friends in high places that
1t was believed safe to continue ship
ments. Thus American influence
continued to prevail
Standing Reached New High.
When the United States entered
the war, American standing with the
French reached a new high. I was
in Casablanca then. A visible change
came over the people. Scores stopped
me on the streets to say:
Now we can hope again. Now
we are assured of an Allied victory"
Through her economic program
and entry into the war. the United
States has kept Hitler from crushing
the French spirit and enforcing all
out collaboration
This greatly helped keep the
French feet and bases out of Hitler's
hands, In supplying the French with
something, the United States thus
could ask for something in return.
This sort of argument is especially
effective with the fence -straddling
type OF government which has been
ruling France since the defeat of
June, 1910.