USA Abandons Manus to Australia's Pinheads

AUSTRALIA’S blundering bureaucrats and politicians apparently have succeeded in driving the United States out of the South-western Pacific.

It was announced from Washington, at the end of October, that the United States now will not seek to hold any Pacific bases south of the equator, and will withdraw from Manus.

The Americans spent 156,000,000 dollars on the construction of the Manus base, on outlying islands of the New Guinea Mandated Territory. (For description, see October “PIM.”) They hoped to occupy it permanently, as the southern flank of the fortified system they plan to maintain between Asia and North America.

When the nlan was originally announced, Australia should have shouted with joy. It meant that the United States, in holding Manus, must help to protect the 7,500,000 Europeans, in empty Australia, against 1,000,000,000 hungry Asiatics in Asia.

But the incredible people now in con trol of Australian affairs showed no joy.

They snarled and snuffled, and pointed out that Manus was Australian territory, and Australia wasn’t going to give any territory to anyone. Finally, with mani fest reluctance, they said that they might be prepared, in certain circumstances, to share the Manus base with the United States.

Well, they got their way. The Americans are going to withdraw from Manus.

A CORRESPONDENT, some months ago, referring to “PIM” comments on this subject, said that * we took a pro-American and cock-eyed view. Well,

here is the opinion of the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia’s senior newspaper: “Australian policy has apparently suc ceeded in freezing the -Americans out of Manu's Island. The US Navy Department, it is announced from Pearl Harbour, is dismantling the facilities at a base which cost some 156 million dollars to build during the war.

“Whether the Americans would really have kept the base in being indefinitely, if this country had granted them reason able rights, cannot now be known. The point is whether, on practical grounds of security, we ought not to have given them every inducement to do so. The Anzac Pact virtually gave the United States notice to quit this and other mandated territory, even before the war had ended. It affirmed that the con struction of military installations in war time did not give any Power continuing rights therein.

“As a statement of principle, that was perfectly sound. Theoretically impeccable, too, was the contention that Australia and New Zealand should assume respon sibility for policing the south-west Pacific zone.

“We have stood firmly on the letter of our rights but where has it got us?

Manus, abandoned by the Americans, will fall into ruin, since we lack the means to maintain it. The shield offered by a great and friendly Power certainly on its terms rather than ours is being with drawn. It seems a heavy price for a small and exposed country to pay for the asser tion of title to sovereignty in an area of whose very existence most Australians were unaware before the war.”