Evening star., 1944-02-13

geStlOn that the LeaSe-Lend Admins
tration be empowered to provide stock
piles of food and other essential civilian
supplies as well as to maintain and
operate a distribution system in the
area. Earlier the President had ex-
pressed the belief that too little at
tention has been paid to the use of
schooners and sloops now located in
the islands themselves"
The West Indies Schooner Pool was
organized by Coert du Bois, State De-
partment expert on the Caribbean and
a member of the Anglo-American Ca
ribbean Commission. Under the direc-
ton of Capt. S. H. Trew, fullest use has
been made of vessels in the pool. Car
rying full cargoes, they are routed from
island to island.
Another way worked out to beat the
submarine menace was through the
Emergency Land-Water Highway. Ships
for Cuba with supplies for the be-
leaguered Caribbean were routed not
from gulf ports, as is customary In
peacetime, but from Florida
The shuttle to Havana was used as
the first link in the emergency trans
portation route. The remaining links
were the railroad from Havana to San
tiago de Cuba; the small-boat service
from Santiago de Cuba to Port-au-
Prince, Haiti; the truck service from
Port-au-Prince to San Pedro de Ma
coris, Dominican Republic, and the
small-boat service from San Pedro de
Macoris to Mayaguez, p r. Through
the use of the land-water highway, an
800-mile exposure to submarines was
obviated. Jamaica participated in the
emergency route by operating a shuttle
between Santiago de Cuba and Port An
tonic, Jamaica, distance of 120 miles"
Red Tape Is Cut.
A great deal of red tape had to be
cut. United States funds were neces-
sary to construct and repair roads.
Tires and equipment were furnished to
truck owners In Haiti and the Domini-
can Republic. BY means of the land
water highway Caribbean stockpiles
were built up. In several crises the
stockpiles provided food for Jamaica
and Puerto Rico.
During this time the Caribbean was
developing into major source of strate-
gic materials. Production of refractory
chrome in Cuba, now the only source
available to the United States, has in
creased five times since the outbreak
OF the war. Manganese production in
ho 1aI
the production Of nickel has been built
in Cuba with 100000, 900 provided by the
Defense Plant Corp.
The Guinanas are now the only for
eign source available to the United
States for bauxite ore for aluminium.
In addition, bauxite has recently been
discovered in Jamaica. The petroleum
refineries of Trinidad, Aruba and Cura-
Gao have been of vital Importance. From
Haiti sisal has come in increasing VOL
ume to replace Manila fiber There is
hope for natural rubber from thou
sands of acres of cryptostegia planted
by an American Government corpora
tion in Haiti. And this list could be
greatly augmented.
The report points to significant polit-
ical changes that have been brought
about during the crisis. In February
of last year the British government
offered Jamaica universal adult suffrage
and new constitution providing for
tWo-chambered legislature and an exec
utive council composed of the governor,
five elected members of the lower house
and five appointed members of the
upper house. British Guiana has also
seen a political advance. In Trinidad
new constitution became effective in
1941. President Roosevelt has asked
Congress to consider law giving Puerto
Rico the right to elect its own governor.
The question is whether these changes
have come too late. That they were
forced by the desperateness of the crisis
is no secret to the native populations.
In certain of the British possessions ex-
treme radical elements are deeply dis
trustful of Britain's postwar intentions.
Wartime restrictions serve as a lid to
hold down for the duration all disaf-
lection. What may happen when the
lid is off is anybody's guess.
printed by special ARRANGEMENT with the
ST. Louis Post-DispatchD