Evening star., 1942-01-21

and a half in Berlin until Ger
man restrictions on neaDs coUer.
age made it necessary for him to
operate elSelChere in Europe and
he transferred his activities to
Bern. Switzerland, tDhere he re-
mained seUeral months before
returning to this country.)
By DAVID NJ. NICHOL.
Europe is caught today in the
grip of the most efficient plunder
machine the world has ever evolved.
The process is applied impartially
to enemy and ally alike, but the
result is precisely the same and its
object solely the support OF Nazi
Germanys effort to bring the en-
tire globe under its domination. 1t
has made Europe a continent of
loot and slavery.
In detail it is an undramatic ac-
count, the story of little people
suffering endless hardships. of hun
ger and disease. of ceaseless migra-
tions and broken families, of stoves
without fuel and homes without
light. of Italians without spaghetti
and Swiss without cheese, of living
reduced to It's lowest subsistence
levels.
No Locust Plague More Thorough.
In it's total it means the decline
of every standard. the exhaustion OF
every resource that Continental Eu-
rope has built over decades. 1t
means the ultimate defeat of Hitler
if the Allied armies are sufficiently
strong to block him from new sources
of supply and to build a mighty dam
behind which their own productive
capacity can bring its full weight
to bear.
1 watched this destructive whirl-
pool for 16 months in the heart OF
its expanding orbit while it en-
quilted one after another of Europe's S
countries. During that period the
technique of looting was brought to
incredible perfection. No locust
plague has ever done a more thor
ough job.
1 WI SCINC W Sy PAioAA oAA
whatever there is Of value in the
continent. One is the German gov
ernment and its agencies. The Sec
ond is the German soldier and tour
ist. The first operates through the
official requisitioning commissions
and economic staffs Of the occupy
ing armies, through the trade mis-
sions" dispatched to allied countries
and the ruthless bargains that are
forced on the few remaining neu-
trails
It's ramifcations are endless and
extend to every phase of Europe's
existence. Nazi panzers need grease
with the result that the trains
pounding through Switzerland
vital arteries for Italy-are improp-
erly fabricated and continually
breaking down.
All the continents rolling stock
has been scrambled into one gigantic
pool. heavily overburdened alike by
the absence of any trucking and the
demands of the armies, and depreci-
ating steadily because there Is
neither labor nor requirements. Re-
ports of wrecks were so frequent
that the Germans stopped their
publication wherever they could.
Every bank OF Importance. every
insurance company has been brought
under the control of central German
institutions. With the banks came
predominant interests In many in
dustries. Most of Europe's steel and
armament works have been incorpo-
rated directly or indirectly into the
huge Hermann Goering Wereke. I. G
Farben has taken over most of the
chemical concerns, one Of the newest
branches being "Francolor," which
went into operation at the beginning
of the year combining three prin-
cipal French organizations.
Soldiers Take Care of Retail Looting
A central holding company in
which the German banks and the
German government participate di-
rectly has been established to exploit
the continents diminishing oil re.
sources and presumably will take
over the Russian fields should they
ever be conquered. Movies will be
controlled through q new group ir
which Germany and Italy-which
means Germany-can out-vote any
other possible combination. Ever
Europe's poets have been organ
lied" under German leadership ant
compulsion.
| What these central agencies de
for heavy industry and raw ma
terials the German soldier and
tourist has done for consumers
goods. They have literally eater
and shopped their way through