U.S.A. MAY BREAK WITH VICHY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 215, 7 June 1941, Page 9

U.S.A. MAY BREAK WITH VICHY

Hull’s Strong Hint NAZI “IN CONTROL” IN SYRIA (By Telegraph.—Press Assu.—Copyright.) (Received June 6, 8.40 p.m.) LONDON, June 6. While messages from the Middle East testify to the increasing German infiltration of Syria, the series of Government conferences is continuing in Vichy on what is officially described as “the eventual defence of the French empire.” The American Secretary of State, Mr. Hull, in a public pronouncement in Washington last night, said that official reports to the United States Government strongly indicated that the Vichy Government had adopted a policy aimed at aggression and oppression. Such a policy would be inimical to the just rights of other countries. A high Washington diplomat of unimpeachable authority told the Australian Associated Press that Air. Hull’s statement could be interpreted as being one of the strongest statements that have been issued by the Administration, and it was a clear warning to France that if she weakly gave way she could not expect to maintain diplomatic relations with the United States. If France failed to heed this warning, the diplomat said, it might well be anticipated that the formal diplomatic relations would be broken off within a week, and in such circumstances it was difficult to believe that the United States’ relations with the Axis Powers would be maintained. COLONIAL CHIEFS GATHER. France’s colonial chiefs are gathering at Vichy. They include General Nogues, of Morocco, and Admiral Estebat, of Tunis. The “Daily Telegraph” says that M. Boisson, Governor-General of French West'Africa, has arrived in Vichy, probably as a direct result of America’s interest regarding the German infiltration at Dakar. M. Boisson, who was responsible for the hostile action at Dakar against the adherents of General de Gaulle last September, would certainly assert that he has the Dakar situation under control and that the Germans are not seeking to extend their influence there, but reliable information in London reveals that the contrary is the position. At present there is no evidence of any curtailment of Admiral Darlan’s manoeuvres for collaboration with Germany, but the Vichy representative of the British United Press declares that hundreds of letters from French men and French women are pouring into the United States Embassy there, expressing opposition to France’s co-operation with Germany. of General de Gaulle are also circulating leaflets reprinting President Roosevelt’s recent statement in which lie said he refused to believe that the French would freely accept the collaboration with Germany. DEVELOPMENTS IN SYRIA A “Daily Express” correspondent on the Syrian frontier says that Dr. von Roser, Hitler’s “under-cover man” in Syria, virtually took over the country from the French yesterday. A great round-up of antiNazis began in Beirut, where security police in a house-to-house search roped in hundreds of the pro-British element and sent them to Damascus in the interior.

• The Germans warned the naval base authorities at Beirut that they must soon make room for German E-boats and submarines, which must be given equal facilities to the French navy. According to' the Istanbul correspondent of the British United Press, a German ground staff is now completely in control of the Palmyra aerodrome. The Beirut correspondent of the “Palestine Post” reports, however, that Germans have not yet appeared in appreciable numbers in Beirut and Aleppo, but says that a group of German experts has inspected all the aerodromes in Syria and Lebanon with the object of making them serviceable for the Luftwaffe. The Germans have drawn up plans for improvement of the aerodromes, on which the French have started work.

In spite of anti-aircraft fire, British planes today bombed the oil area in Beirut, starting large fires, this correspondent says. A later message from Ankara says it is reliably reported that German personnel have occupied the aerodromes at Damascus and Aleppo as well-as Palmyra.