Britain’s new scheme for Africa —LONDON BETAIN is desperately trying to maintain her position as a first class power at a time when the events of history have rendered this impossible. The sun no longer shines perpetual- ly on the British flag, and Lon- don is no longer the hub of world commerce. While the Bri- tish worker pulls in his belt an- ether notch, Downing Street finds itself confronted with an adverse trade balance, a shortage of dol- lars, and the imperative neces- Sity to reduce dollar purchases abroad. This state of affairs has re- sulted in the British govern- ment’s sudden awakening to the economic potentialities of its Af- rican colonies... From that source Britain can get much needed food supples* and raw materials and pay for them on a pound sterling basis instead of with dollars. Moreover, if this Afri- can market is properly develop- ed, as it must be to supply Bri- tain’s needs on any satisfactory Third By GLADYS CARTER VERYBODY—from those who - consider Henry Wallace's en- try into the presidential race as Virtual treason to those who re- gard is as the great hope of man- Kind—is agreed on one point: that the Wallace candidacy has touched off one of the sharpest political contests in Amencan history more than eight months before the polls are due to open. While the third party's role in 1948 was at first felt to be mere- ly an opportunity for the Ameri- can people to register a fairly sizable protest vote, even Wallace has now described its growth. as ‘fantastic.” A third party candidate won everwhelmingly in a recent New York congressional byelection, One. out of every six voters in the state of California signed pe- titions supporting Wallace. It is mow reliably reported that Henry © Luce’s publications have sup- pressed a public opinion poll run under their own auspices which showed 15 million voters for Wal- lace at this early date. With election fever mounting, a sizable list of candidates is al- ready in the field. In the Demo- eratic Party, President Truman has now said he will run, Many Democrats, however, would clear- ly prefer to replace him with someone who would be more pal- _ atable to the “common man” and particularly to labor (including its leaders who now claim to be -anti-Wallace but pro-no one). The _ party’s dilemma ts that a rejec- tion of Truman would be tanta- mount ta a rejection of the pol- icies he represents. — Most frequently mentioned sub- _ stitute for Truman is General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who re- cently resigned as U.S. chief of staff to head Columbia Univer- sity. First talked about as a pos- sible Republican candidate, Fis- enhower removed himself from the race with a trm statement that no military man should seek high civil office. This statement, however, has not halted the wide- spread talk in his favor. It is generally agreed. that’ Eisénhow- er; who.won immense. popularity ~ during the war, is the one person whose victory wourd be virtually assured... No one seems Scieiesitendy con- -eerned whether Eisenhower 1 a basis, there is the bright pros- pect that the African colonies will provide British manufactur- ers with a new and large pur- chasing market. Therefore, Downing Street is going ful steam ahead with va- rious schemes for the rapid and intensive development of Afri- can resources. e AND so the British govern- ment is busily mustering private and state capital to bring - about an economic revolution in her African colonies. The $100,- 900,000 allocated for the exten- sive peanut-growing project in British East Africa last year is acknowledged to be “only the first shot in the campaign for the more extensive development of the resouces of the colonial territories.” It is now estimated that capi- tal investments in British East Africa alone during the next ten years will amount to $1,600,000,- 000. The sum represents about four times the amount of for- arty movement sweeps U.S. Republican or a bemocrat. EHisen- hower himself has given no indi- cation of where he stands on any question except the current bi- partisan foreign policy, which he supports. Important groups with- in both parties apparently feel that this one commitment is enough, cancelling out the argu- ment of many self-styled liberals who oppose Wallace on grounds that there are major differences. between the two old parties. ee [x THE Republican Party, the list of prospective canu:dates includes New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, Senator Rob- ert A. Taft, Harold Stassen, Sena- tor Arthur Vandenburg and, most recently, General Douglas Mac- Arthur. | While early predictions were that Wallace's candidacy would allow the Republicans to name anyone they chose with a virtual guarantee of victory, the Repub- licans find no grounds for optim- ism in the third party’s continu- ing successes. The announcement that Mac- Arthur is in the race is generally felt to be a sign that the extreme right—or neo-fascist—wing of the party is straining at the leash. This is borne out by the build-up given MacArthur by William Randolph Hearst's network of newspapers: throughout the coun- try. j It is generally considered doubtful that MacArthur will emerge as the Republican candi- Jews rout Arab attacks in Palestine By SIMON PARITZKY \ RAB strategy aimed at crush- ing Jewish resistance in Pal- estine has failed in its presently. ending first phase. About 450 Jews and over 750 Arabs have been killed. Road communications have been partially dislocated. But no fence of any Jewish set- tlement has as yet been tres- passed. ' The Jews of Palestine are con- smously fighting for their lives and ‘their national aspirations embodied in the ‘United Nations’ decision. Unconsciously they are fighting an anti-imperialist war ef liberation. During the last two months, op- é eign capital invested in the same area in 1936. “Nothing could be more ab- horrent,” says the Daily Tele- graph, “than a suggestion that these schemes are merely ex- ploitation to solve our own im- mediate difficulties.” Yet the fact remains that the schemes were not conceived until Britain got into her present difficulties. Also beyond denial is the fact that no capital outlay in any way ap- proaching that for the economic schemes has yet been mention- ed in order to provide for the the rapid educational and social progress of the African millions under Britain's rule. Britain’s plans for bolstering her economic condition by lJean- ing on her colonies have been made possible by the willingness of the U.S. government to revise the Anglo-American loan agree- ment so that Britain can get certain commodities from her colonigs— on her own terms — instead of having to buy them from the United States. So far date. His treatment of troops ana exhibitionist role during the Pa- cific campaign have added to the aie Isacson is sworn in Leo Isacson (American: Labor Party, New York), as this phase of the loan agree- ment is concerned, the U.S. gov- ernment is .willing to consider the British Isles and Britain’s colonies (but not the dominions) as an economic unit. benefit” of the a British offi- “The principal U.S, concession, cial was quoted as saying last year, “ will be that we won't have to worry any more about prices at which the colonies are able to offer us food.” But the Africans and other colonials will have plenty to worry about! The problem of making a living will become more acute than ever; for they will have to sell their cocoa, cof- fee, sugar, tea, peanuts, palm products, tin, cotton, and other products more or less exclusive- ly to British concerns instead of in the open market, and at prices dictated by the British and colonial governments. Native peasant farmers and traders in the colonies have long protested against this eco- nomic straight-jacket which is a popular dislike he won for order- ing troops to fire on First World War veterans who made the bo- se who scored a swetping upset in a Bronx special election where he ran on a pro-Wallace platform, is sworn into Congress by House Speaker Joseph W. Martin. Isacson (right) joims Vite Marcan- tonio (center) as the second ALP Congressman. br, position to sapael@ide has sur- passed anything in the history of the last 30 years. Thousands of peaple over the age of 25, intel- lectuals, workers and middle ciass people, most of whom never took an active part in public life pre- viously, have volunteered to -the “Mishmar Haam,’ the People’s Guard. wy They man the roadblocks in the outskirts of the towns and vil- lages, carry out guard duties in | the streets and public buildings. They: help with the distribution of essentials and execute ordin: ary police duties, . Not all the daily BrOblarks aris- ing out of the new situation, such as the settling of refugees from border areas, price control and supply of work:to the unemploy- ed have found their solutions. : But the preparatory work for the Jewish government hag great- ly advanced. Negotiations on the formation of a. coalition govern- ment are already going on. The left labor parties demand that the masses be involved in the planning and the decisions and sharply criticize the “foreign policy” of the Jewish teadership. The Jewish Agency has an- nounced that its policy is: “Orien- tation on the United States.” the existence of a democratic front and. an imperialist front within the UN is a well known fact which one Ageney so far ig- nores, " thur’s But. universal characteristic of calme- jalism. Will they submit to evea more stringent measures? @ "THESE African economic schemes are also linked with Britain's imperial strategy. A speaker on a BBC broadcasi, “Calling Hast Africa.” remarked that the whole of Africa fron: Capetown, South ‘Africa, up t%& Nairobi, Kenya, “forms a hugs sound, defensible base area. Eco- nomically, that area must not only be self-supporting in the primary needs at peace, but it should be able to produce the basic requirements of man at war, “In East this strategical set - wp, Africa, the new forwari base area, must house, feed, train, clothe and shoe, entertain and “refit the men and machines of a modern army.” Such, in brief, is the story be- hind the story about Britain’ investment of millions of pounds sterling in her African colonies. nus march to Wasuington in 19k? Rob F. Hall, Washington coi- umnist for the Daily Worker,” suggests that some right-wing leaders of the Republican Party would like to Use MacArthur's candidacy to spur nomination of Taft—building up sentiment for MacArthur among delegates to the Republican convention and then at the last moment stagme a switch of support to Taft, as & more likely victor. Hall also suggests that Truman hackers are interested in MacAr- candidacy. If MacArthur ran, this would add weight to the argument of many Wallace op- ponents that Truman is a “lesser evil” and must be supported. From their public statements, the programmatic choice among the Republican contestants seeme slim. Taft is known to favor more direct American control in return for aid to Europe than Vander- berg recommends. However, both are agreed on the end desired. Stassen claims to represent the. ‘Yiberal”. wing of the party but on program he supports the Mar shall plan and the) Taft-Hartiey law and has expressed no best differences with Republican poi- icy-makers. Dewey, who ran against Roosevelt jin 1944, 4¢ again staking his chances on hik proven ability to avoid commit- ting himself. 2 The resignation of Dr Moshe _Sneh from the executive of the Jewish Agency in protest agains the “western orientation” is «as true expression of the feelings ef the people. Giving up of arms and strong- holds by the Hagana to tne Brit- ish police and army without re- sistance is also strongly criticiz- ,ed by the Left and the Right. The argument that resistance to arrests and. confiscation of arms would force the Jews to face two fronts, an Arab and, a Brit- ish, is refuted by the Left labor movement which claims that there is only one front: Arab re- action and imperialism workme¢ hand in hand: PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAROH 19, 1948—PAGE ¢