Henderson Daily Dispatch

Better Take It Now

Protest against Vichy France

The French island [of Martinique]. Some believe drastic action [by] the United States [a]gainst [the] Vichy [regime, an] incident when [Pétain was] put into the mouth of the capital act and charged a gun who was desperately an army small-feuded in an attack on merchant shipping on the African coast.

While [he was] no [longer] an ally [but] suffering [at the hands] of [an] enemy, he quit [and] miserably will he [be retained for the duration of the] war.

But Vichy's repeated pledges against allowing German submarine bases on their land can be taken with several grains of salt. Always one has to remember that Vichy will [do] nigh[t] to resist Hitler['s] demand[s] and in the end if the pressure is strong enough, is compelled to give in.

So that the Swiss have demanded that their submarines be grounded in Martinique [and] the probabilities they are being furnished [supplies] down there. This French Colony will be a thorn in the flesh as long as it is under Vichy control. As long as the war lasts. It will be unsafe, more than that, too is much close to the Panama Canal for comfort.

United Nations cannot [too] well [know] that neither Hitler nor Pétain can be trusted by statements they make.

Why, then, piddle longer with them? The saner safer way is to proceed immediately and without further ado to seize Martinique and then promptly kick out every German in the place. In our way of thinking, this cannot be done too quickly. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

For our part, we think the great French fleet ought to be seized, if that is possible and by all means that the other strategically placed French island of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, ought to be occupied forthwith to keep it out of the hands of both Germans and Japanese, and to prevent its use by either as a base of operations against Allied convoys moving around the Cape of Good Hope with supplies for Russia and China and the British Middle East forces.

Either of these French possessions can more easily be taken now than after Axis countries have grabbed it. The cost in men and equipment would be infinitely less. Reason enough already exists, far more indeed than the Axis has found for many of its operations. While decent peoples do not relish the idea of emulating such enemies, you've got to get at them with whatever weapons are available, on whatever pretext may exist, or accept the terrible consequences.