Evening Star Newspaper, January 25, 1942, Page 81

HEN Hitler % was laying his i & plans for world % conquest, Mexico was to be the Achilles’ heel of North America. The Axis would strike at the United States through our southern neighbor. But these daringly conceived plans have been frustrated. And one who played a most important part in upsetting Hitler's plans is a man so unpretentious in manner and appear- ance that if you passed him on the street you might hardly notice him. He is General Manuel Avila Camacho, President of Mexico. Hitler'’s attack on the Americas was to be an inside job. He has said so on many occa- sions. German fifth columnists and saboteurs would undermine the Americas by destroying their unity. Class would be set against class, nation against nation. And the countries of the New World would fall into hislap like ripe plums. Able Nazi agents began organizing the thousands of German nationals in Mexico, began setting up front organizations, attempt- ing to influence reactionary politicians, re- cruiting minority groups and individuals who opposed the ideals of democracy. Part of their campaign was to create fear and suspicion of the United States. The Nazis screamed against ‘“Yankee imperial- ism,”” “dollar diplomacy” and ‘“‘the colossus of the north.” Uncle Sam was painted as a greedy, bullying tyrant who waited only for the right moment to seize the Latin-American nations and enslave their peoples. ‘This campaign was gaining headway when General Avila Camacho came into office in 1940. Certain ostensibly Mexican newspapers already were haranguing against “Yankee The story of how Avila Camacho helped to thwart that Axis offemsive in North America is one of the most vital chapters in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Wastes No Time Evm before he became President, Camacho had seen through Hitler’'s plans. And, once in office, the practical Chief Executive imme- diately started his drive against Nazism. His answer to German propagandists who sought to spread disunity and distrust was to proclaim forthrightly his support of Pan- Americanism and his close friendship with the United States. “The destinies of the United States and Mexico,” he stated, “are common geographically and politically. Mexico has nothing in common with Nazism or Com- munism. Mexico is a democracy.” It would be hard to find two men who differ more sharply than the Fuehrer of Nazi Ger- many and the President of Mexico. The Nazi is brilliant, erratic, cruel, dictatorial, fanatical and unpredictable. The Mexican is calm, deliberate, kindly, democratic and logical. ‘There is more common sense than fireworks about the President of Mexico. Soldier, farmer F FOOLED HITLER < Der Fuehrer had it all planned — he was to strike at Uncle Sam through Mexico! Then a man named Avila Camacho got busy by Henry C. Wolfe and family man, he is a sound, stable, hard- " riding Chief Executive. And that is a definite asset now. This is no time for flamboyant politicos and comic-opera dictators. What Mexico needs in the presidential saddle today is a sober citizen of simple tastes and outlook. President Camacho’s social and economic views are middle-of-the-road. This is an asset, too. It has helped him to unify Mexico’s classes and factions, has won him as a nick- name the ‘“‘great conciliator.” While he has pledged himself to uphold the political and economic progress of the revolution, he be- lieves that capital has its rights as well as labor. When people try to pin an ideological tag on him, he insists, “I am a democrat.” He has another asset that makes him es- pecially valuable today. He is a soldier. “A soldier’s soldier,” they call him in Mexico. He was born 44 years ago in the little town of Chiapas. His father was a farmer and businessman. But such a life did not appeal to Avila Camacho. He wanted excitement and adventure. He found both in the revolution of 1914, when at the age of 17 he joined Car- ranza’s cavalry. He came out of the war a lieutenant. Thenceforth his rise was rapid. He became a major at 19, a colonel at 23, a brigadier general at 27 and a major general at 32. Hard work was his stock in trade. . Dark-haired and black-eyed, he is one of the few unmustached Mexican generals. He is a powerful man physically, solidly built, Page Eight President Camacho: he’s letting U. S. forces use Mexican soil with heavy jowls and the neck of a wrestler. He is a forceful, unrhetorical speaker. He uses no impassioned gestures; his words are deliberate, his manner sincere. He conveys to the audience his own confidence and practical optimism. But the President of Mexico knows that words are not enough to combat totalitarian aggression. They must be backed up by prac- tical action. To guard against fifth-column dirty work, he has proposed a joint intel- ligence service for the United States, Mexico and other Latin-American nations. On the day that the United States declared war, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the Japanese Empire. Three days later President Avila Camacho severed relations with Germany and Italy. Mexico's part in the conflict, he told a nation-wide radio audience, ‘“‘under present circumstances will not be in the trenches but in the factories and fields’ to further production and ‘“‘contribute to the security of America.” He’s Co-operating TODAY. United States warplanes are allowed to fly over Mexican territory on their way to and from the Panama Canal, under a reciprocal convention between the United States and Mexico. Avila Camacho has initiated legisla- tion to the effect that Mexico shall not regard as a belligerent any American nation at war with a non-American nation. Airplanes, sol- diers and ships of American belligerents are now allowed to use Mexican ports, waters and terrain. Certainly he is making good on his pledge that the United States can rely on Mexico’s ‘‘solidarity and co-operation.”” He is modernizing the army as rapidly as possible, increasing its mobility and striking power. As a soldier he knows the advantages of organization, speed and fire power. The Republic is believed to have at present about 60,000 regular troops and 75,000 reservists. There are also the air force, marines and navy. Just how the Mexican and United States navies are co-operating to protect the coasts of North America is an official secret guarded in Mexico City and Washington. But it is known that their joint activities are far- reaching. As the United States girds itself for a great struggle against the European and Asiatic powers of the Axis, we can look with con- fidence to our neighbors. Never have relations between the republics of Mexico and the United States been so cordial. In a large measure Avila Camacho’s insistence that “the defense of America is a common cause to all of us” has effected that cordiality. He has wholeheartedly reciprocated our govern- ment’s policies of Pan-American solidarity and friendship. Such a working example of Good Neighbor- liness cannot but foreshadow failure for the Axis offensive against the New World. The End_ TW—1-25-42