OUR STAKE IN TROUBLED MOROCCO

[Music] the march of time today the editors of the march of time take you to the French protectorate of Morocco in recent days grave events there have posed a threat to an important link in the chain of American airbase is now being constructed for the defense of Western Europe five bases big enough to accommodate our largest farmers are being built by the air force in Morocco only six hours by b-36 to Moscow two of these bases are already operational with Air Force personnel and their families in residence but the air about them is troubled by a wave of terror which has brought death to over a hundred the story of that outburst of violence and its background is a story which we will bring you in just a moment [Music] the United States Air Force is in Morocco today under the terms of an agreement signed by General Maurice Shaw for the French administration in the Protectorate and by General p.m. Hamilton for the United States the pact authorizes the Air Force to build and operate bases in Morocco for the defense of Western Europe within a few weeks after the signing things began to happen American construction workers men who helped to build the Burma Road in the Alaska Highway and who consider this an even tougher job will earth moving equipment into action at five sites in Morocco giant compactors beaten pound the earth into a solid foundation for concrete runways built to carry the world's heaviest bombers a small army of native laborers does the pick and shovel work for the biggest overseas job taken on by the army engineers since the Panama Canal operating on a crash basis which makes speed the first consideration and cost secondary a small army of civilians and soldiers rushes the job to completion there was talk of waste and graft and a congressional investigation but after a brief examination of the facts congressmen found that the engineers are performing a small miracle runways are now in operation @ çd slamming ben career and newest sir runways from HR b-36 'as could deliver a full a bomb load on the industrial heart of the soviet union in six hours today squadrons of b-36 is land at these bases on training flights from Texas and Arizona to familiarize the bomber crews with the terrain and to get the feel of the runway [Music] [Music] but our activities in Morocco have not gone unnoticed fierce flatting by Arab extremists supported by communists anxious to undermine the US position in North Africa climax is a new wave of unrest French and native troops are brought in to bolster the Casablanca police and patrol the native quarters of the modern French city stern measures are applied against the rioters all passers-by on the streets are searched for deadly weapons the Moroccans say the law denies them civil rights granted Frenchmen living in Morocco one of the complaints the natives hold against the French regime [Music] the riots are the first serious challenge to the authority of Morocco's newest President General August and Guillaume a soldier and statesman in whose hands rest the considerable powers of the French government in the Protectorate of Morocco as Guillaume took over his post he was welcomed with all the pomp and ceremony of Arab tradition [Music] the new resident general is here welcomed by his majesty Ct muhammad ben yosef Sultan of Morocco at his palace which lies hidden behind high walls on one of the main boulevards of the city of rabat spiritual and temporal ruler over more than nine million Muslim subjects the Sultan's actual power rests squarely upon French military control until the French protectorate was established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 the Sultanate was torn by intertribal stripe and it was not until 1934 that the French completed the pacification of Morocco soon after his arrival Guillaume Tours French military installations in the Protectorate as well as civil establishments like this hospital a small contingent of armored troops is maintained in Morocco by France to deal with any serious uprisings their mere presence as a pacifying influence and even in the recent riots they were not called into action these infantry troops are Gumi a fierce native warriors who are intensely loyal to the French regime in addition to her ground troops France maintains most of her Air Force training units in Morocco at bases which would be comparatively safe from any sudden surprise attack recently the French Air Force acquired almost a hundred American jet trainers and pilots and mechanics are being instructed in their use by technicians from the US Air Force under the mutual security program [Music] American pilots and mechanics accompany the French Airmen as they wheel the two-seater jet from their hangars to the runways for the takeoff to buy to the American technicians will remain with this unit until the French Airmen have mastered all the problems of maintaining and operating the new planes [Music] these are the forces which enable France to maintain its control over a native population with a strong tradition of Independence and a willingness to fight for it the ancient city of Marrakech is a stronghold of the Berber tribes who are supporters of the French in this public square of GEMA Alpina snake charmers musicians and dancers still entertain the crowds as they have since the Middle Ages the trading of a camel in the adjoining marketplace still follows an ancient tradition with a hand clasp to seal the bargain a large percentage of Morocco's 200,000 Jews live in mullahs or Jewish quarters like this one in Marrakesh where they practice ancient facts and skills with the crude tools and implements of another age they are tolerated by the Moroccan but withdrawal of the French from Morocco could make their fate a tragic one this primitive lathe turning wood for use in furniture needs more than two hands to keep it going [Music] in a land where almost everyone sits on the ground sewing machines have no treadles and must be turned by hand but the products of these native craftsmen find their way into the world markets particularly Moroccan hand-woven rugs [Music] in the 40 years since the protectorate was established the French have done much to improve the status of the natives but the figures on progress to date provide rich ammunition for their Arab critics less than 10 percent of Morocco's native children are able to attend school although in the city's adequate schools are available in which all the 60,000 children of French families are educated still more and more French school teachers are sacrificing their comfort to go among the Moroccan natives in an effort to bring them some education the Arab poles of the French regime point out that Morocco's budget for education is split evenly between native and European schools although Moroccan children outnumber European children 25 to 1 but illiteracy still prevails among the four million Berbers who live under the most primitive conditions and the hills of central Morocco these Berbers descendants of Morocco's original inhabitants though still regard the Arabs as usurpers are scarcely aware of the tensions that exist in their strategically situated land many know nothing of the struggle for power that is going on in the great coastal cities the tribe is the limit of their horizon and many are not even aware that Morocco is a nation giving their allegiance to their pleasures and tides they lend little support to the Arab struggle for independence [Music] they're agriculture is primitive in the extreme everything is done by hand with only the crudest of implements to lighten their Labour's from the rough furrow scratched in their fields with plows built on an ancient model the earth springs forth each year the grain that is the staple of their diet the grain is gathered by hand and tied in small shields by hand the occasional Berber who owns a sickle is a fortunate man [Music] even the method of threshing the grain remains unchanged from ancient days with the nimble hopes of small donkeys trampling out the harvest on the bare ground the basic meal of the Moroccans is couscous made by grinding the grain into a rough flour and boiling it with bits of lamb or mutton to these people it matters little whether they are ruled by the Pasha's the Sultan or the fresh the Berber tribes give their support unswervingly to the French through their chieftains whose powers and privileges have been maintained under the protectorate most important of these is aging hodge el flowey Pasha of Marrakesh and feudal lord over 4,000,000 Berbers with more real power than the Sultan himself once al Glau II used his Berber Warriors to help the French bring the Sultan into line the center of the current unrest in Morocco lies in Casablanca where the country's 350,000 French residents have built a modern European community but from its modern apartment buildings gleaming white on the midday Sun one can look out over the wilderness of slums where some 200-thousand natives live beat avi it is called after the French word for the gasoline tins from which the shacks are built the French have made an effort to clear up this flight which exists on the doorstep of Morocco's most important city but with little visible success health measures are being carried out successfully water carriers disinfect their can the natives are put through disinfecting stations and are sprayed with DDT [Music] combined hydroelectric and irrigation projects such as this one in the central Atlas Mountains are one answer the French are making two Moroccan unrest its turbines will more than double Morocco's output of electricity and will irrigate 338 thousand acres today the Arab nationalist charge that what money has been spent on irrigation projects has mostly benefited land owned by French farmers and worked by Arab labour in the areas now being brought under irrigation the French are setting up model farms in many cases with EC a fund here nomads tribesmen are being taught the techniques of modern agriculture men who have never before seen such complex equipment are learning to operate threshing machines and tractors training is given young boys so they can help teach the people in their own villages modern farming methods [Music] [Applause] the French have also established health projects aimed at reducing the incidence of eye diseases such as trachoma which causes blindness and thousands of Moroccans each year and reduces them to beggary French doctors and nurses staff these institutions we're a concerted effort is being made to save the sight of the afflicted [Music] technical education is another field in which the French are notably active with the growing industrialization of Morocco the need for men with some technical training has become acute one day these young men will be able to help in the development of Morocco's rich natural resources which today have barely been tapped Morocco has large deposits of lead and zinc and such vital materials as manganese cobalt tungsten and vanadium those veins have only recently been explored here LED is being refined for export the country's deposits of phosphates are among the largest in the world aside from a few small enterprises Morocco had undergone no industrial development until after the French protectorate was established French administration of Moroccan Affairs is carried out through a Franco Moroccan Commission set up by the French as a front which allows the Sultan to cling to his prestige as nominal ruler of the country the Commission is presided over by Haj Mohammed el McCree the Sultan's 110 year old Grand Vizier [Music] from his palace and rabat the sultan plays a subtle game of power politics although America's air bases are on territory he nominally rules he had no part in the agreement by which they were established at first cooled to nationalist aspirations the Sultan has come more and more under the influence of extremists and has instituted a policy of non collaboration in French efforts to strengthen their control in recent months he has opposed several decrees handed him by the French the Sultan who represents a dynasty that came to power in Morocco in the 17th century would normally be succeeded by his elder son but the recent riots brought reports that the French might force him from his throne in which case his brother shown here with him might become Sultan [Music] the French treaty with Morocco requires France to protect the person of the Sultan and even his personal guard is under French command thus even when the Sultan leaves his palace to go to the mosque to pray he is made aware of his dependence on French authority and military support it is only when he reaches the walls of the mosque itself and passes through its gates that he can truly feel that he is the ruler of nine million subjects for here no Frenchman follows him here there are only his own people in their long white geladas and he is able to walk alone to ponder his problems in the sanctuary of his temple one of his chief problems is the nationalist extremist organization called the istic Lao bitter foe of America's interests in Morocco and principal instigator of the recent riots many of its leaders have been forced to leave the country and their newspaper al-alam has now been suspended under the plantings of the Istiqlal leaders the Sultan warned General diem that Frances friendship and economic aid were no substitute for Moroccan independence the Sultan closed with a plea for some form of constitutional monarchy which would allow Morocco control over its own internal affairs [Music] his warnings were quickly followed by the recent riots in the aftermath of tension which prevails in Casablanca today general Jeon took immediate personal command of the situation he ordered a roundup of all known communists and Istiklal leaders and hundreds of arrests were made [Music] when the police closed in upon the rioters dozens of knives razors and other weapons were dropped in an effort by their owners to avoid the severe penalty for possession of a murderous weapon these weapons were picked up after the rioters were subdued not all of the prisoners surrendered without a fight these Arabs were considerably bruised in their battle to escape arrest troops patrol the streets of Casablanca especially those leading from the native quarter of peed-on field where the rioters had gathered their forces in the churches the bodies of the five French victims lay in state some of them horribly mutilated [Music] a large segment of the French population gathered for the funeral services at Casablancas Cathedral at the United Nations in New York the debate on the question of un jurisdiction over the moroccan problem coincided with the riots in casablanca france takes the position that its relations with morocco are an internal matter not subject to review or consideration by the united nations as members of the Middle East Arab bloc begin presenting their case against France the chair of the French delegate is empty the Egyptian delegate at Dolman M Mustafa accuses France of merciless repression and brutal measures any solution in Morocco must conform with the Charter give Morocco her liberty and independence and make her one of the family of free nations one the community the nacio Libre the Indian delegate Krishna Menon is in favor of placing the issue on the General Assembly's agenda academic Morocco therefore exists industry exists today as a country which was independent which is independent it's over a state as its concerned but some of its functions are performed some functions are today performed by France and perform how performed by France in the name of Morocco the delegate of the Soviet Union arkady a Sobolev calls the united states the principal villain in morocco and backs the arab position Salman Lloyd speaking for the United Kingdom upholds the French position in Morocco as defined on the Treaty of Fez in many quarters and there is no provision for the revision of that treaty by the United Nations under that treaty the conduct of Morocco's Foreign Affairs is vested entirely in France the u.s. delegate Philip Jessup urges France and Morocco to resolve their differences when we come to discuss Morocco now we can hardly be surprised that treaties such as leaves involving the closest relationship between two countries the most complicated interplay of two administrative structures and an intimate and long-continued juxtaposition of two coaches would present problems in their implementation energy and ingenuity must be combined with patience and restraint if a happy solution is to be found for the urgent problems now troubling Morocco would only the Russian delegate mentioned America's bases he called Morocco an aircraft carrier for the Atlantic bloc of Nations and thus laid bare the crux of the situation for in the security of these bases and the political stability of the countries in which they are situated lies America's hope of protecting the peace and security of the Western world these Moroccan bases and the promise they hold of quick us shelter blows serve as a check to any aggressive move from behind the Iron Curtain [Music] on the sands of Morocco the centuries have left no mark but today even this remote land has become an important area in the struggle against communism by the forces of the free world time marches on the march of time brings you each week at this hour on authoritative report on the people the problems and the places which will become tomorrow's news and play a significant part in the history of our time this is Westbrook Van Voorhis inviting you to join us again on this channel at the same hour next week when the editors of the march of time will present another chapter in the march of time television series [Music]