Diario las Américas. [volume], January 09, 1958, Image 10

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Inter • American News
for English •
Speaking people
sth YEAR
*' 4 o “OMAN c. »V. SMITH 8. SMITH
Presides! Vice President Vice President
V!^ R D Nt i SC ? A ?*i U l? E HORACIO AGUIRRF
Vice President and Publisher Vice President Editor and Manager
„ A “ , °" , ° Ellseo Rlera-GAmez
Manarina Editor Advt A Clrc Mgr
Published dall? except Mondar Entered as second claas matter at the
Poat Office of Miami Bprlnfi Fla. on February 8. 195 b.
EDITORIAL
COMMUNIST TACTICS IN
LATIN AMERICA
With the ability which characterizes the leaders of the
international communist movement, under the imperia
listic auspices of Rusia, in Latin America constantly they
are putting different tactics to the test, with infiltration
aims and with the purpose of winning supporters, create
confusion, discredit democracy and, if possible, to obtain
control of Power.
The assault to Power is, of course, the most difficult
task, for multiple reasons. However, there have been
cases such as that of Guatemala, which determined many
years of Soviet influence in the Government, until the
regime of Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown. And after a
short absence from the Guatemalan political picture, the
threat is appearing again in the most dangerous manner,
under the guise of democracy, but with such a poor dis
guise that the existence of the communist movement in
that Central American country is no longer a secret.
In the current electoral campaign, the communists are
taking advantage of the situation and are engaged in
maintaining political unrest, agitation and violence, trying
to achieve victory for the party under which they are
working with false emblems.
To reconquer Power in Guatemala seems to be a firm
aim of the hierachs of Soviet imperialism, because they
know that from that country they may develop, as they
did before, a great part of their plans for Latin America.
When in Guatemala the Governments were commu
nist sympathizers —Arevalo and Arbenz— they established
certain alliances with Latin American political movements
and even with some Governments, which joined them under
Guatemala leadership.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing about communist
Infiltration is the fact that sometimes it is difficult to
identify their tactics, because these are very flexible, and
are adapted with surprising speed to fit any situation in
order to carry out a determined aim.
Os course, those who direct Inter American policies
In each one of the 21 Republics have the obligation to be
on guard, s.o they will not be misled, because, after all,
with a little bit of an observing spirit, of analyzing the
facts and with honorable and intelligent investigations,
which are sincerely democratic, it is possible to discover
red maneuvers, which can then be opportunely combated.
Latin American Finance
and Trade News Reports
Mexican Economic Progress
Continues at a Fast Rate
NEW YORK (UP)— Mexican
economy continues to progress at
a rapid pace and dollar income
from tourism reached this year, an
un-presidented level, which is
estimated at 600 million dollars,
says the Chase Manhattan Bank
in its cuarterly report about Latin
America.
It says that the expansion of
Mexcian economy represents doub
le that of population increase this
year.
“The gross production of the
country it says is expected
to be a miminum of 7 per cent,
higher than that of 1956. In the
fiscal year ot 1956-57, industrial
production increased almost 10 per
cent.”
It states that crop perspectives
are favorable, although mineral ex
ports suffered due to the drop in
prices in the world market. Con
structive activity and electric pow
er generation increased 12 per
cent.
Agricultural production except
corn, was greater in 1956-57 than
in previous years.
It is estimated that this year's
income over that of last year will
represent -an increase of 18 per
cent.
“Mexican oil reserves increased
more rapidly at the end of the
year in August. 1957, than in any
other time since 1901,” says the
publication. “As a result of the
exploration program, proven re
serves are now 3,300 barrels, a net
increase of 416 million barrels. In
August, Pemex, the government
oil organization, began to send na
tural gas by pipe line to the U. S.
It is estimated that, at first, this
will produce six million dollars a
year.”
LATIN AMERICAN
CURRENCY DROPS
NEW YORK (UP)— The Pick
World Foreign Exchange Bulletin
includes the currency of Argenti
na. Bazil, Colombia, and Uruguay
among the 17 countries whose cu
rrency suffered “historical drops”
in 1957. The Bulletin says that the
Brazilian eruzeno was in second
place as the money which was the
weakest in the poll, as it dropped
27 per cent.
Pick states, nevertheless, that
the U.S. dollar also continued to
weaken and that as in 1956. it
lost 3 per cent of its national
buying power.
Another bit of bad news, ac
cording to Pick, is the fact that
The Ameisl as Daily
For a better understanding between the Amedeos
in this country industrial shares
lost 11.2 per cent and railroads
36.1 per cent, based on the index
of Dow Jones
At one, time it adds non
ferrous metals were considered as
the best protection against the
depreciation of silver certificates,
but, in 1957 “silver dropped 2 and
3-4 per cent, tit’ 7 per cent, pla
tinum 25 per cent, cooper 26 per
cent, lead 30 per cent, zinc 31 per
cent, and nickel led all of the other
with a drop of 67 per cent”.
MEXICAN CHAMBERS
' WARN ON OPTIMISM
MEXICO CITY. (UP)— The
Confederation of National Cham
bers of Commerce appraised Me
xico’s economic and social progress
today and cautioned against over
optimism for the immediate future
prospects of the Republic.
Affirming that Mexico has made
creat advances in view of its li
mitations, the confederation point
ed out that the standards of living
of a majority of Mexicans are poor
and the nation is still classed as
“underdeveloped”.
“Mexico is a country still in the
process of development but still
a long way from its goal, which
can only be achieved by the whole
hearted cooperation of all citizens
and the hard work of all”, the
Confederation concluded.
BRITISH BOARD OF TRADE
PRESIDENT IN MEXICO
MEXICO CITY. (UP)— Sir Da
vid Eccles, President of the British
Board of Trade, the first rbitisty
cabinet minister to visit Mexico
in the last 150 years arrived here
from San Francisco for a six-day
official visit.
Sir David paid official calls on
the Minister of Foreign Affais Luis
Padilla Nervo, the Minister of
Economy Gilberto Loyo and Mexi
co City Mayor Ernesto Uruchurtu.
He traveled from the United
ingdom to the UniKted States by
the polar route. He is accompanied
on his journey by Ladv ECCLES
AND HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY
A. D.cccmcm cmcm cmsh h f dgga
Neale.
During his visit here Sir David
will confer with Mexican officials,
bankers, businessmen and indus
trialists on measures tp increase
trade relations betwen the two
countries. He also plans to fly to
the Iron and Steel Center of Mon
terrey in Northern Mexico and
confer with industrialists and au
thorities of Nuevo Leon State,
where Monterrey is located. ,
The New York Times Hits
Neglect of Hemisphere
by the State Department
NEW YORK, Jan. 8. (UP)—
“The Netv York Times” publishes
today a 48-page supplement and an
editorial dedicated to the economy
of the Latin American nations
the editorial, entitled “The He
misphere”, says:
“It is well to be reminded at
least once a year that not Europe
or Africa or Asia but Latin Ame
rica and Canada are the most
important places in the world for
the trade and security of (he Unit
ed States. Popular interest is a
Know! thy
Neighbor
By ANTONIO RUIZ
CUBA—Since the country be
came the Republic of Cuba, con
structions in the capital have in
creased at a fast rate, and archi
tectural progress has been marked
in Havana. A great dumber of
architects and engineers, both Cu
ban and foreign, have developed
beautiful styles, which they have
applied to magnificent buildings for
public or private offices, as well as
hotels and elegant private resi
dences. Specially in the private
homes, a true national style has
been created, with the blending
of North American and European
modern styles and the high quali
ty of colonial architecture.
During the American occupation
only one building of importance
was constructed, the School of Arts
and Crafts, which was of simple
lines and adequate proportions.
The Presidential Palace, started
as the Provincial Government
building, shows many of the faults
of the primitive office building,
and many changes had to be made
later to adapt it for presidential
residence. However, architect Mar
tinez Inclan pointed out that “al
though it lacks the proportion of
the great palaces, and it has sev
eral defects, any modern architect
could take pride of being the au
thor of the design of a building
which, in construction, is among
the best in Havana.”
The National Capitol was built
during the regime of Gerardo Ma
chado, at the site of the old Villa
nueva Railroad Station, where they
had started, during the regime of
President Gomez, the construction
of a presidential palace. The cost,
according to official figures, was
$16,640,743 and was considered by
many then as a wasteful ostenta
tion of suntuosity. It is estimated,
however, that today it could not be
duplicated with the expenditure
of fifty million dollars.
The University of Havana,
founded in 1728 by the religious
Order of the Preachers in the con
vent of San Juan de Letran, was
transferred in 1842 to the Con
vent of Santo Domingo, and again
to the hill occupied by the Military
School, using the buildings that
were already there. From 1928.
there have been many changes, and
beautiful buildings have been un
der construction, among which
special mention should be made
of the University Library, the on
ly school in Cuba that has such a
building for cultural purposes,
with all the modern convencien
ces.
Among other public buildings of
importance are the Institute of Se
condary Education, the Secretariat
of Education, the Foreign Ministry,
the National Red Cross, the Na
tional Council of Veterans of the
Independence War, the Treasury
Building, and many others.
There are many and very beauti
ful private buildings in the Cub
an capital, including those of the
Centro Gallego, Centro Asturiano,
the Commerce Building, many
banking institutions, both national
and foreign, including the branch
of the National City Bank of New
York; also worthy of mention are
the Railroad Terminal and the
Telephone Building.
There are many beautiful build
ings among the numerous and mod
ern hotels in Havana, most of
which, in particular those recently
built, are very luxurious. There
are also beautiful theatres, casi
nos and night clubs with elegant
buildings, as, well as those of pri
vate and exclusive clubs, such as
the Havana Yacht Club, Vedado
Tennis Club, Country Club, Sports
Casino of Havana, the Union Club,
etc.
Among the most modern build
ings in Havana, besides the newly
built hotels, are the Fine Arts Pa
lace, Radio Centro, where radio
and TV stations are located, the
American Artists Building, the Pa
lace of Communications, the Tri
bunal de Cuentas (Government Ac
counts Building), the Retired Den
tists Building, and many others.
Spanish Version Page 3
MIAMI SPRINGS, FLA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1958
Hemisphere
Department
capricious phenomenon, and one
of its dictates is that there should
be little attention paid to our he
mospheric neighbors. A lack of ur
gency also leads to a neglect by
the State Department, especially
of Latin America, which is extra
ordinary when the facts kre weigh
ed and set forth as they are in
this newspaper today.
United States investments in Ca
nada alone now total about $ll.-
000.000.000. In Latin America the
figure is close to $8,000,000,000.
Our trade with Canada and with
Latin America is- larger in each
case than our trade with Europe or
any other region of the world.
Despite the impressiveness of
the figures, the over-all picture is
not a harmonious one, either for
Canada of for Latin America as
a whole. The reasons are simple.
We export far more in the hemis
phere than we import. In addition,
our policy of disposing of surplus
agricultural commodities like whea
and cotton is considered to be
dumping by other countries. Ca
nada and certain Latin-American
countries suffered in 1957 from
these exports. Another grievance
for which the hemispheric nations
deserve sympathy is the threat,
which seems only too likely to
materialize, of higher tariffs on
lead and zinc and import restric
tions on oil.
“The fall in commodity prices
during 1957 has hit all these coun
tries hard. When coffee prices dro
ped fourteen of the twenty Latin-
American countries were in trou
ble. Copper and nitrate are what
keep Chile going, and the drop in
prices has been calamitous. Peru
is suffering because copper, lead
and zinc prices fell. Canada has al
so been hurt by the decline of
minerals. All the Latin-American
nations are struggling with the
greatest “population explosion” in
the world. All are suffering in
greater or lesser degree from in
flation.
“Os course, there are good fea
tures.
The problems are partly pro
blems of expansion. Industrializa
tion is moving at a fast rate. Eu
rope, especially Germany, and Ja
pan are becoming bigger markets
and bigger buyers and investors.
So is the Soviet Union, a develo
ment to which we must become re
concilied. We tend to take Canada
and Latin America for granted.
However, here, as in the fields of
science and arms, complacency is
dangerous”.
Brazilian Envoy
Will Visit Rio
WASHINGTON, Jan 9. (UP)—
The Brazilian Ambassador, Erna
ni Do Amaral Peixoto, announced
that he expects to visit Rio de
Janeiro next week, for consulta
tions with his government and al
so to attend to some matters of a
political nature
He told the U.P. that he would
remain in Brazil for two or three
weeks, and then return to Washing
ton. His wife will remain in this
Capital during his absence.
Before his trip, Amaral Peixoto
HEMISPHERIC EVENTS
Latin America n News in Brief
Foreign Ministers
to Visit Colombia
FOREIGN MINISTERS
BOGOTA. (UP)— Foreign Minis
ter Carlos Sanz de Santamaria an
nouced that he will soon visit
Ecuador, -and that the foriegn Min
isters of Peru and Brazil will visit
Colombia.
Sanz de Santamaria did not spe
cify the date of his trip to Quito
but he said that it was also pro
bable that the Ecuadorean Minister
Carlos Tovar Zaldumbide, will vi
sit Colombia.
The visit of Foreign Ministers
of Peru, Manuel Cisneros, and Bra
zil, Macedo Soarez, are planned for
sometime during the next two
months.
Nunez Portuondo
Sends Message to
Panamanian Envoy
» Frances
UNITED'NATIONS (UP)— A
message was sent by the Cuban
Ambassador to the United Nations,
Emilio Nunez Portuondo, to the
Panamanian Ambassador, Jorge
Arias Stresses
Urgency of the
Salary Problem
in Canal Zone
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UP)—
Panamanian Ambassador Ricardo
M. Arias has indicated that the
United States Congress is fanning
sentiment for the nationalization of
the Panamk Canal by failing to
improve salaries of Panamanians
in the Canal Zone.
Asked to comment on a publish
ed report that Latin America may
join in supporting the return of the
Canal to Panamk, Arisa said the
Panamanian people are “gravely
concerned” over lack of congres
sional action on a 1955 Treaty call
ing for equal pay for Panamanian
and U. S. Canal Zone employes
who do the same work.
Such a measure passed the Sen
ate last year but was held up in
the House.
The Ambassador, a former Pre
sident of Panama, rejected the
comparison drawn in the article
ison drawn in the articleet hmth e
between the Panamanian situa
tion and the seizure of the Suez
Canal by President Gamal Abdel
Nasser of Egypt.
Arias said Panamanians had as
pired to the canal “before Nasser
was even born.”
In an obvious reference to the
implementation of the 1955 Treaty,
he said that his people only want
what is “fair and just.”
“The aspirations of the Panam
anian people as to the benefits
that they should derive from the
Panamk Canal are based on the
elementary principles of. justice an
equity, Arias said.
“Until such a time as these as
pirations are fulfilled the people
will struggle for what they believe
to be their rights.”
CUBAN NAVY SEARCHS
FOR 85 FISHERMEN
IN THE CARIBBEAN
HAVANA. (UP)— Planes and
ships of the Cuban Navy started
a search in the Caribbean for
85 fishermen on board 19 ships,
of which nothing has been heard
since December, when they were
operating near Anguila Key near
the nort coast.
Among the search units is the
crusier “Baire” and two amphi
bious planes which were ordered
to cover the northern coastal zone
between Ckrdenas and Caibarien,
and the southern part of Salt Key.
Army units were also alerted
for the U.S. yacht, “Renovoc”, of
Harry Conover, which had five
persons on board and disappeared
on a trip between Key West and
Miami.
A Navy unit found the remains
of the schooner “Enriqueta”, a 14
tons ship, to the East of Fragoso
Key lighthouse, but they found
no trace of the five Cuban crew
members which had been on
members which had been on
board.
will meet with officials of the Ex
port Import Bank and the State
Department. He expects to attend
the Congressional session when
President Eisenhower will read his
annual message.
Illueca, upon his assuming the pos- 1
ition of representative of his coun
try on the Security Council.
On the Ist, Panamk replaced Cu- j
ba on the Security Council as one
of the non-permanent members of
this high body. Nunez Portuondo
is well known in Panamk and a
great friend of the Panamanians
as he was the Cuban diplomatic
representative there.
The message says: “Upon Pana
ma’s occupancy of the post on the
Security Council, a country which
I have much alfection for, I wish
you much success in this difficult
and responsible mission. Affection
ate regards and a very happy New
Year for 1958.”
CUBAN FREIGHTER
BELIEVED SINKING
NEW ORLEANS (UP) The Coast
Guard reported a Cuban freigh
ter which stayed afloat for 12
hours Tuesday without power in
stormy Gulf waters sent new dis
tress signals today that the ship
was “fearful of sinking”.
Search and rescue headquarters
of the Coast Guard here said the
distress calls were beamed from
the W. 500 ton Bahia de Sequanea
of Havana.
Messages were hard to record
because the ship’s radioman spoke
Spanish and reception was poor.
Cuban Group Here Offers
to Support Castro's own
Candidate for President
Request Him to Withdraw Demand For
Control of All Cuban Armed Forces
The two organizations represent
ing the Cuban Autentico group
in Miami have replied to the letter
written by the youthful rebel lead
er, Dr. Fidel Castro, as the head of
his “26th of July Movement”, in
which Castro formally repudiates
the Liberation JKUNTA WHICH W
the Liberation Junta which was
formed in this city two months
ago with Jhe purpose of uniting
all anti-Batista forces in one
single front against the Batista
dictatorship.
In this document, signed by Dr.
Manuel Antonio de Varona, Pres
ident of the Autentico Party and
former President of the Cuban Sen
ate, whom Batista has accused of
“masterminding' the recent un
successful uprising in Cienfuegos,
with the the help of disaffected offi
cers of the Navy, the Army and
the Aire Cops— and Dr. Enrique
C. Henriquez, a former Congress
man, as head of the “Organization
Autentica”, the Autenticos seek to
refute the arguments put forward
by Castro for his unexpected blow
against the Junta and against the
common anti-Batista front which
it represented. They express their
willingness to accept Castro’s can
didate for Provisional President,
after the eventual overthrow of
the Batista regime. —Dr. Manuel
Urrutia—, if Castro agrees, on his
part, to withdraw or modify those
demands in his break-off letter
which they consider inadmissible
and particularly, his demand that
the ymitful “26th of July Move
ment” which he leads, not only
designate the Provinsional Pres
ident, but also keep their arms,
reorganize and control Cuba’s arm
ed force, and be entrusted with
the task of preserving public or
der; while, on the other hand, all
the other anti-Batista organizations
would be allowed to play no other
role than to wait for the calling
of elections and to take part in
them, as political parties, when
ever these are called by the Cas
tro-selepted President.
The Autenticos hint that such
a demand contains the threat of
a “permanent control of the coun
try through armed force” —that is,
of a new military dictatorship—
and that it would be contrary to
the Cuban people’s traditional love
of freedom, and to the re-establish
ment of Cuba’s democratic institu
tions. They say that they “can
not resign tnemselves to believe”
that such an objective could be the
goal of the “heroic movement that
you are leading, which has given
so many demonstrations of its des
inteiestedness and of its love for
Cuba, and for her democratic ins
titutions”.
They agree that “the Cuban ar
med forces should be reorganized
and cleansed of criminal elements”
but that “the military organiza
tion should be respected, in ac
cordance with the Constitution
which we all have sworn to rest
ore”; they further express that the
But the Coast Guard said the j
distress messages made the point
the 29 crew members believed the
wind whipped seas endangered the
ship.
The Coast Guard sent a sea
plane from Biloxi, Miss., and a
cutter to aid the ship located about
270 miles southwest of New Or
leans in the Gulf of Mexico.
Last night the 250-foot freighter
resumed its journey to Havana
aftei its engines failed for 12
hours about 200 miles south of
New Orleans, the port last visited
by the Bahia.
LATIN YOUTH LOSING
SPIRITUAL VALUES
MEXICO CITY (UP)— The
Youth of Latin America is disor
iented and driven by the desire to
earn money for material well-be
ing, completely forgetting the spir
itual -values,-Uruguayan professor
Andres Daglio declared here.
Dr. Daglio is touring Latin
America, under sponsorship of the
Montevideo newspaper “La Mana
nas, “to further the reciprocal un
derstanding of Spanish-speaking
nations*”
He said Latin American youth
suffer specially from vocational
disorientation. In all the countries
he has visited on.his junket so far,
he said, he has found a supers bun
laws which estaolish their functions
should be modified, so that “pro
motions, and all military matters,
be no longer subject to the ca
pricious will of the government
that happens to be in power, but
to legal tenets” so that they may
exclusively serve “the interest of
the nation and not those of any
individual or group”.
The Autenticos take up the
charge expressed by Castro, that
the Junta was not sufficiently vocal
in repudiating “foreign interfer
ence” in Cuban affairs or in de
manding the cessation of “inter
vention in favor of Batista” They
point to the fact that a Commit
tee appointed by the Junta, consist
ing of Mr. Csrlos Hevia, former
Cuban Presidentl Dr Felipe Pa
zos, former President of Cuba’ Cen
tral Bank, Dr. Salvador Massip, a
Havana university professor, and
Mr. Angei Cofiho, a Cuban labor
leader visited Washington on Nov
ember 4, and protested “the (Ame
rican: delivery of weapons to Ba
tista. who was using these weap
ons to murder fellow-Cubans”.
Organization of
Latin Newsmen is
Asked in Mexico
MEXICO. (UP) — Newspaper
men from six Latin American
countries have signed, in this ci
ty, “The Declaration of Mexico”,
in which they advocate the crea
tion of an organization which
would combine the plan of solida
rity and cooperation of all of
the newspaper .associations of Ame
rica.
This declarations was subscrib
ed during the meeting held yester
day to celebrate the festivities
which commemorate the 35th an
niversary of the founding of the
National Press Guild.
Newspapermen from Brazil, Cu
ba, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and
Mexico have attended these meet
ings.
The subscribed document rea
firms the principles as regards to
the defense of press freedom as
well as the fight for bettering
material and moral conditions in
the profession.
The dcoment was signed by the
following: Jorge Quintana, Havana
Provincial Guild; Juan Antonio
Mespleh and Raul Ryff, Brazilian
National Newspapermen’s Federa
tion; Miguel Carrillo and Jernao
Carnero Checa, Peruvian News
papermen’s Federation; Gonzalo
Vargas Noriega, Ecuadorean Nat
ional Newspapermen’s Union; Car
los Puyo Delgado, Newspapermen’s
Circle of Bogotk; and Antonio Or
tiz Izquierdo, Luis Parra Lopez,
Rosendo Gomen Lorenzo and sEn
rique Angulo, Mexican National
Press Guild.
dance of medical and law students
to the detriment of technical stu
dies.
What is needed, Dr. Daglio said,
is for the youths to first know
themselves, then to know what a
vocation really is, then to realize
that in order to enjoy life, spirital
clarity is the most important fac
tor.
Speaking of Latin America in
general, he said “we must turn our
eyes again toward Europe, the
base of our culture. Humanism
blossomed from the Sorbonne and
not from the University of Massa
chusetts.”
SHIPS COLLIDE IN
THE PANAMA CANAL
PANAMA (UP)— The German
banana boat Proteus enroute to
New Orleans with a cargo of bana
nas from Ecuador, was damaged
in a collision with the British
freighter Port Napier in the Pa
nama Canal. The British ship suf
fered no apparent damage.
Panama Canal personnel were
trying to repair the Proteus in
sulation before the banana cargo
spoils. The Proteus was hold in
the bow above the waterline.
• Member Inter American
j Press Association
I For Liberty, Culture and
Hemispheric Solidarity
NUMBER 15?
I TEMPERATURE
VILLAINS IN POLITICS /
As soon as political problems
of any type arise, and especially
when bitter strife develops
among different groups, or
against the Government , in
dividuals devoid of all moral
qualities come forth to join those
groups and do their best to win
the friendship of the leaders
with their outbursts and their
tenacity.
This is extremely dangerous
for society and for the political
groups that accept this .kind of
services, because they do grave
harm to the stable and peaceful
existence of the first and they
detract prestige to the second in
front of public opinion, which
calmly analyzes the conduct of
every party and every individual.
Those heading these groups,
the democratic leaders who
endeavor to surround their
causes with prestige so that they
may be respected, yet never
feared, must oppose such
elements and separate them from
their ranks, even if it means
not having a few good things
that may be obtained through
this type of individuals, who are
familiar to an environment of
delinquency and irresponsibility.
The benefits derived by a party
leader or by a group from the
audacity and perseverance of
some elements better classifield
as villains in their police records
and by their general behavior in
society, who turn their backs to
culture and morality, are unthink
ably small if compared to the
harm done to'those leaders or to
those parties who count on their
side such individual, despised by
honest people above all political
or party interests.
Therefore, even for reasons of
political gains, it is unwise for
those who aspire to public
respect and to thp consideration
of their countrymen, to surround
themselves with individuals who
discredit them in front of the
honest people, who constitute
the great majority in our com
munities.
There is no doubt that it is
quite difficult for group leaders
to shed these “comrades”,
because sometimes, if their harm
ful effects have taken roots as a
result of the indifference or the
complicity of the leaders, perso
nal risks are faced. But the
case is that those who want to
be leaders must necessarily take
to themselves all the responsi
bilities accompanying political
leadership.
Two illustrious Colombian ex-
Presidents, and top figures in
American intellectual and demo
cratic circles, Alberto Lleras Ca
margo and Eduardo Santos, who
have fought immensely for the
return of republican life to their
country, in their joint New
Year’s riiessage to the Colombian
nation, bitterly refer, with
categoric words, with civic in
tegrity, with a high sense of
responsibility, to all those who
in the name of political causes
plant terror and impose their
will on the basis of violence and
with attempts against individual
life.
In all certainty, the words of
Lleras Camargo and Santos did
not echo on those who felt
alluded and despised, but the
great educated majority of the
Colombian people should keep
on believing in the cause sym
bolized by Lleras and Santos
which is the cause of the Nation
and of public decency. Following
are some excerpts of their mes
sage:
It is urgent to take away
from the villains who continue in
a barbarous career of crime, all
the pretexts and masks that may
dissimulate their horrid behavior.
This does not refer to conserva
tives, or liberals, or communists,
or to old or new partisans. To
say or to admit such a thing is
to approve, even if in good
faith, of the savage work of those
who are villains purely and
simply, moved only by unhealthy
primitive passions or by lowly
greed, or perhaps by both.
Against those delinquents, who
have no excuse, it is necessary
to oppose the joint efforts of
all the good men, as-they consti
tute a somber threat against the
security, the life and the honor
of the Colombians. If any right
or claim is made through the
way of a reproachable conduct,
that right is annulled, nefariously
smudged”...
With words such as the preced
ing ones Lleras Camargo and
Eduardo Santos may lose the
support of villains—if they ever
had such support in the political
confusion—but they win the
definite and decisive of .
the honest people, -»