BEFORE INVASION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1942, Page 5

BEFORE INVASION

COURAGE OF DUTCH

LONDON, February 22. The Batavia representative of the

Associated Press cables today: "I

have just been sitting on the,terrace of a luxury hotel and listened to an 11-piece orchestra with unconscious cynicism playing selections from the 'Mikado.' The allclear has sounded outside and the natives have milled through the streets. "Inside, officers drank and swapped stories, while Dutch and English girls, greatly outnumbered and revelling in it, held court. "Last night the dance floor was so crowded that it was uncomfortable. The bar was jammed, and so was the dining-room, which is understandable as the guests are sleeping five to a room. "There is no sign of depression, fear, or foreboding. I had seen the same thing at Bandoeng and Surabaya. War, even on an island that is smaller than New Zealand, cannot kill their gaiety. The Japanese might have been thousands of miles away instead of under 200. CLOUD NOT IGNORED. "But the cloud which is moving over Java is not ignored. Many men in the bar have met the Japanese lace to face, some in Sumatra,and others in Borneo and the outer islands. At any moment the greatest blitz yet launched by the Japanese may be directed at Java, and the mere fact.that invasion has been delayed for some days is an indication that the Japanese are not underestimating the strength of the defences and are bringing up reinforcements and preparing their bases before they strike.

"To get fabulously wealthy Java, with every raw material Japan needs and 47,000,000 natives for cheap labour, was Japan's primary object when she entered this war. When she strikes it will be with her full strength, aerially and navally, and with heavy troop landings, probably at several points.

"The Dutch defence is based on mobility, and the army hopes by its ability to rush strong forces to threatened points to meet the Japanese on even terms.

"The courage of the Dutch has never faltered and is not faltering, even