WHAT GERMANY WILL DEMAND

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 226, 19 June 1940, Page 10

WHAT GERMANY WILL DEMAND

African Writer Predicts RESOURCES OF FRENCH COLONIES Au article by Mr. John Sumnierseales in the “Journal of the Royal African Society” brings to notice an aspect of the war which is liable to escape the casual British observer, and which events of the past few days have made of the greatest importance to British people. This, in the words of the article’s title is “The War Effort of the French Colonies.” A war poster appearing on the public boardings in France, wrote Air. Summer scales', "shows a map of the world on which, for the first time in history, the two Imperial territories are coloured red together,” and he proceeded : “If by some ill-luck the Allies lose the war it will not be Paris that Germany will demand. It will not be Bordeaux or Marseilles. It will lie the colonies. And it is to defend them that we are fighting now.” This was the comment made by M. Galaii'dou-Diouf, the Negro Deputy for Senegal, at a large demonstration recently held in Dakar. M. Galandou-Diouf is a typical Moslem son of France. He served in the last war, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and promoted on the field lo the rank of lieutenant for conspicuous gallantry. No fewer than 17 members of his family, sons and nephews, are now serving under the French tricolour. ' Native opinion all over the French Empire wholeheartedly endorses the recent statement of Al. Mandel, Minister "of Coloifies, in which he said that this was a holy war of the colonial peoples for liberty and the respect of humanity, since Germany is the avowed enemy of the coloured races. Nazi Racial Doctrine. ’.rhe Nazi leaders have hopelessly underrated the intelligence and instinct of the coloured peoples, who are ■not the simpletons the Reich RacialPolitical Relations Office seeks to make out. They comprehend quite clearly iill the implications of the Nazi racial doctrine, with its emphasis on Nordic superiority and the penal restrictions of the Nu rein burg laws. They realize that a Nazi colonial policy has already been drafted on the assumption that no man of colour can ever aspire to reach the cultural level of the white man, and which would refuse them elementary civil rights in respect of education, labour, and social conduct. Bazaar and village gossip has given widespread publicity to the passages in “Alein Kampf" in which Herr Hitler refers to the natives as “born semi-apes,” and to his outburst against France and Britain for what he describes as a sin against the Eternal Creator in training these people for intellectual professions.

The economic contribution of the French empire countries to the war effort, will be of supreme importance. In all essential foodstuffs France, with the help of her dependencies, is in the happy position of being self-sufficient. Among tlie non-essential but important food products, coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar are produced in large quantities. Indo-China alone can supply .1,500.000 tons of rice annually. There is a lack of certain raw materials, notably coal, rubber, petroleum, cotton, wool, and some metals, but all these can be drawn in abundance from (he British Empire with the exception of petroleum. In recent years there has been a remarkable drive to develop tlie economic resources of the empire. Typical of this effort is the development of the banana industry. Supplies of empire bananas to the French market, have risen in seven years from .13,000 to 178,000 tons a year, and are now sufficient to meet the whole of the home demands. Special attention lias been given to (lie development of the timber industry, both for lumber and wood pulp, and several paper mills have been established in West Africa.