AMERICA ALERT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24250, 16 April 1942, Page 7

AMERICA ALERT

AMBASSADOR RECALLED VICHY DEVELOPMENTS CLARIFICATION SOUGHT (Reed. 10.35 p.m.) LONDON, April 15 A Washington message says that the United States Ambassador to Vichy, Rear-Admiral W. D. Leahy, is being called home for consultation. It is pointed out that this does not necessarily mean a break in diplomatic relations, but that it can be accepted as a warning to Vichy. The shake-up of the Vichy Cabinet would necessitate a complete re-examin-ation of relations between the United States and France, with a rupture of relations an imminent possibility, said a diplomatic spokesman in Washington. The State Department has not yet received official notification of Laval's return to power, but when Admiral Leahy's report has arrived the UnderSecretary of State, Mr. Sumner Welles, will probably ask the Vichy Ambassador, M. Haye, for a full explanation. It is also expected that Mr. Welles will demand additional guarantees that the recent accord reached with M. Haye will not be jeopardised by the new French Cabinet. That accord is understood to have been reached only after French assurances that Laval would not return to power. The accord also included French pledges not to exceed the terms of the German armistice in aiding the Axis. The Vichy news agency, commenting on the American Note in reference to the appointment of a United States consul to Brazzaville, in French Equatorial Africa, says the French Government will not accept a Note drafted in insulting terms and tending to discredit before the world the conduct of French citizens, who do not require lessons in patriotism from foreigners. The agency expresses the opinion that the Note is designed for propaganda purposes in an attempt to create trouble.