Indonesia's usually cocky President Sukarno seemed tired, nervous and uncertain. While his government's reckless campaign to seize The Netherlands' vast commercial holdings continued apace, Sukarno made his rounds screened by a phalanx of bodyguards, armored cars and secret servicemen. In Surabaya, Sukarno exhorted a rally of 100,000 Indonesians to prepare for hard times. "We must dare!" he cried. "We must start from the bottom. In the next few years we may be short of food, short of clothing." But Sukarno's flamboyance was gone, his melodramatics unconvincing. His audience listened, unmoved.
Each day brought reports of new seizures of Dutch properties....
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