Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-28
By Joachim Joesten


TANGIER. There are no
two ways about It: The Moroc-
can crisis is getting worse by
the day. Not only has it taker
a sharp turn from argumenta-
ton to violence, but 1t Is alsG
getting more and more con-
fused.
Any attempt to unravel the
tangled skein must begin with
a presentation Of the many
conflicting elements and q
bird's-eye view Of their respec-
tive positions.
First of all, it Is necessary
to emphasize that the Moroc-
can situation Of today cannot
possibly be reduced to simple
terms. It is not just o con-
flict between Frenchmen and
MoroccanS, or between Arabs
and Berbers, or between Paris
and Madrid. as some Of the
most common Simplif1cationS
60. Each and all of these rival
ries and quarrels do indeed
exist, but none of them is more
than a patch on an extremely
complex pattern.
To the foreign observer, per-
haps the most striking feature
Of the current situation Is the
clear-cut distinction, which Is
made here by all parties con-
cerned, between 'Frenchmen
of France" and "Frenchmen of
Morocco"
Whether one talks to a Ma
tionalist leader, a representa-
tive of the ruling class Of long
established French settlers in
Morocco, a visiting Frenchman.
an administration official. a
military man, or foreign
diplomat-they all make the
distinction and draw a line
between the two groups of
Frenchmen. Generally, the
tendency is to excuse the for
mer from blame, putting the
entire burden Of responsibility
on the latter, but the opposite
view is also widely represented.
'coIons' Are Key
That it was the Frenchmen
Of Morocco, or. as they are
commonly called, the colonS,
who shaped the course of
events in recent years, is evil
dent enough to any unbiased
student of the country and its
current history. For better or
for worse. they have drawn the
blueprintS, and handled the
details of execution, of what
is called French policy in Mo-
rocco. The Quai d'OrSay,
which has been watching the
grave turn Of events with as
much uneasinesS and bewild-
erment as the rest of the
world. merely ratified deci-
sionS that were in effect i'm
posed on it by Rabat Uhe
administrative capital Of Mo-
rocco. The dethronement of
the Sultan last August was an
outstanding case in point, but
there are many others.
Like most pioneers, the COL
onS are a hardy, self-willed
and Observation-Disclosures lot.
Many of them came here as
young men. AZ years ago. when
the protectorate treaty was
signed. They found a back
ward, strife-torn country, on
the verge of chaos and civil
war. They took it in hand, Or
ganized and developed it.
Their material accomplish
mentS are varied and impress
sive. They built fine roads and
erected stately buildings; they
criSS-crossed the arid plains
with irrigation bitches, and
.reforested the treelesS coun-
tryside. They brought in
modern equipment, giving
farming and industry a much
needed impetus.
Pride in Their Work
Naturally enough, the colons
are proud Of their achieve
ments and reluctant to give I'D
the fruits of their efforts. These
"Uteur MGrocainS' (old Moroc-
cans) feel and proclaim that
this country belongs to them
IS much as, or even more than,
to the natives. Together with
q numerous and Solidly en-
trenched bureaucracy, the 400
600 or so colonS form q power
ful ruling class that Stoutly re-
fuses to be either elected or
swamped by the more than
20 times their number Of ma
tiveS.
When, after the last war,