DEFENCE OF DAKAR

Evening Star, Issue 24332, 22 October 1942, Page 5

DEFENCE OF DAKAR

TRAINING OF FRENCH NATIVES LONDON, October 20. Native troops in French Guinea are reported to be preparing defence posi-. tions along the Sierra Leone border against a possible Allied advance against Dakar from Freetown, says the Madrid correspondent of tne ‘ Daily Mail.’ Observers point out that a land assault against Dakar through French Guinea and Senegal would Ibe resisted mainly by natives, who would have no tank support. Intensive training of new Senegalese battalions has been in progress for. tholast 18 months. It seems fairly obvious that Marshal Petain’s recent conferences with military and naval officials was concerned with tho defence of Dakar. UNHAPPY FRANCE FORGED LABOUR FOR GERMANY (Rec. 8 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 21. The French authorities have threatened to shoot workmen from the Paris Gnome-llhone aeroplane engine works who were selected for transfer to Germany if they try to escape, reports tha ‘ Daily Mail’s ’ French frontier correspondent. The Marseilles police have taken special precautions against growing unrest in Lyons. The strikers have returned to work, but it is understood that they will strike again if Laval persists m conscription of labour for Germany. Berlin 'radio says that Communist* leaflets have been distributed among the Lyons strikers urging them to declare a general strike, but measures have been taken to. nip in the budl every attempt to cease work. The radio adds: “Recent similar strike movements instigated by Communist and de Gaullist propaganda as a protest. against the despatch of French workers to Germany have been absolutely ineffective.”

DAYLIGHT SWEEPS

R.A.F. OVER HOLLAND

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, October 21. Daylight sweeps over Holland last week by Mustangs of tjie Army Cooperation Command resulted in the destruction of 19 railway engines and seven tugs. Numerous trucks were destroyed or damaged. A military car was also attacked, and burst into names, and ran off the road.

_ The primary object of these operations, says the Air Ministry News Service, was to destroy or interfere with enemy communications. Before tho pilots took off they were framed to take the greatest possible care to ensure that the civilian population did not suffer, from the attacks. The sight of the R.A.F. evidently had a heartening effect on the oppressed people, many of whom stopped their work in the field to wave encouragement. Some of the pilots, travelling at treetop leycl, waved back. MRS ROOSEVELTS PLANS WASHINGTON, October 20. The President’s secretary, Mr Stephen Early, confirmed the report that Mrs Roosevelt had definite plans to visit England. He declined to reveal the date. HIGHER TAXES IN AMERICA WASHINGTON, October 20. The House, by 130 votes to 2, approved the joint conference report on the record war taxation Bill. Later the Senate completed action on this Bill. Treasury experts estimate that the measure will bring m £6,882,000,000 dollars of new funds. | In the lower and middle income brackets the total taxes will be multiplied many times. The new combined normal income tax and surtax rates will take 19 per cent, of the first taxable dollar of individual incomes above the exemptions and deductions. _ On top of this is the 5 per cent. Victory tax on all earnings exceeding 624 dollars a rear. Because of the Victory tax and the reduced _ exemptions on regular income taxes it is estimated! that there will be 44,000,000 individuals on the Federal tax rolls, compared with 28,000,000 at present.

MERCHANTS AND SMALL MANUFACTURERS ELIMINATED (Rec. noon.) _ WASHINGTON,’ Oct. 21. America’s middle class, “ the back* bone of the nation,” is threatened with liquidation by current impending fines and taxes, Representative Andresen told Congress. He added: “These men and women are needlessly being put out of business and professions. Something must be done before it ia too late.” He declared that when the middle class was liquidated, American democracy would be destroyed. The Department of Commerce predicted that over 800,000 independent merchants and small manufacturers would be out of business by July as the re* suit of war-time conditions.

MONEY FOR WAR BRITAIN'S HUGEIxPENDITURE iRUGBY, October 20. Moving the supplementary vote of credit for £1,000.000,000 for the war, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Kingsley Wood, first welcomed the visit' of Mr Henrv Morgenthau, secretary of the United States Treating who stood very high in the councils of tho United Nations. The new vote of credit, said the Chancellor, would make a total of £4.000.000,000 for this year and £12,050,000,000 since the outbreak. Since September 9 the average daily war expenditure had gone up by £500,000 a day, and was now £12,700.000 a day, including £10,500,000 on the fighting and supply services. The Chancellor said the credit now asked for. together with the balance remaining from the £1,0(X>,000,000 voted in September, should last until February. It was possible that we had now passed tho period of striking increasesin the rate of war expenditure, but this did not mean that the problem of financing the war on sound lines would take an easier turn or that we could relax any of our efforts. On the contrary as the war progressed and we exhausted the accumulated nest eggs and other capital sums available for investment, we had to use other means of replacing them. la this, still greater savings from current income and still greater, economies ia the absolute avoidance of all wasteful expenditure must take a high place. A decent • and proper standard of living was obviously essential, but if wo insisted on spending for spending's sake ‘instead of saving to the greatest extent possible wo would endanger the sound economic structure.