Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15
BY WILLIAM LEON sMYsER.

President of Portugal, Is the
~ least known dictator in Eu-
rope. Slight of stature, reti-
cent, suave and silent, he selves every
opportunity of retiring behind the army
which he represents. Among his fellow
ofncers, who have studied his military
treatiSes in the war college and worked
under him at the cavalry school, he
enjoys a rare prestige. Some even
speak of him with real affection. They
remember a certain occasion when, as
chief OF the 4th Army Division, he arose
at 5 in the morning to sign the imme-
diate release OF a group of imprisoned
colleagues whom a court-martial haIi
Just acquitted Of treason.
Outside the army, among the people,
Gen. Carmona is neither loved nor
hated, simply because no contact exists
between him and them. He has built
up no great popular creed. like faScismo
or communism. He has never made
speech from balcony. He has never
given his proclamations a personal ring
In q government as arbitrary as that of
the Pretorian Guard over imperial
Rome. he represents the military man
turned statesman, the technician learn
ing new technique, the guardian OF
an army's honor attempting to restore
that of his shaken country.
The general, in his very first state
metit, showed how widely his Dictator
ship was going to differ from all the
others flourishing on the continent. A
series of successful revolutions and the
dissolution of a military triumvirate
had brought him to the supreme COM
mand. The army controlled the coun-
try. Parliament had been dissolved.
Certain persons were in exile. Strict
~
preston. When, now, he called to-
gether the representatives of the press,
those assembled came rather fearfully.
Palace and Terraced Walls.
At Belem one enters the dictator's
palace between terraced walls. Spaced
sentry boxes stand before, while behind,
In the court, rank Of uniformed men
is always at attention. From deep por-
tico, broad stairs lead up directly into a
most imposing audience chamber, where
the ceiling lifts away from one like the
interior of a mansard and, in its center,
is nearly twice as high as the already
lofty walls. Massive, these are, and
built of squared gray stone. Against
them hang the great black tapestries in
each of which, like some rare, exotic
blossom bursting out of tropical night,
kiOWo L1lC kOAOCAA Va dllSC CLCSt "a 1Ok
tugal. The ensemble forms the in
evitable setting for a pronunciamento
The awed representatives Of the press
were surprised at the serene affability
with which they were received. If, as
Q general, the dictator wore a uniform
on this occasion, 1t was not flamboyant
or overbearing. He made no effort to
dominate his guests. Instead of Grating
and posturing as leader exhorting his
people to new heights of nationalism, he
spoke simply, as one man to another,
merely outlining the fait accompli
which they already recognized and,
strangely enough, mentioning other men
who we're associated with him in the
new enterprise of government far more
often than he mentioned himself. He
concluded:
Gentlemen, Portugal at this moment
Is under q dictatorship without die
tator."
Una dictadura sem ditador is the
secret of the Carmona regime.
The general has a knack of doing
things and keeping out of the way. 1t
Is absolutely in keeping with his char
acter to have launched witticisnl about
his cautious regime. When first heard
the story in Portuguese Guiana, did
not know the man sufficiently to UNDER
stand this fact and insisted that the
young secretary who related 1t give me
his word of honor as to its anthem
ITCHY; yet at another time, months
after the coup d'etat, found during a
conversation with the general that his
own attitude toward his position amply
bore out his earlier words:
II was at Evora. They came and told
me that there had been a revolution and
that there was need of me. went at
once to Lisbon and formed with Gen.
Gomez de Costa and Commandante
MendeS Cabacadas q new government.
I was q soldier. The army had been my
unique interest. Indeed, am here be-
cause the army had to take control of
the country. I stand for the army,
that Is ALL"
Phrase Becomes Classic.
The phrase una dictadura sem dita-
dor has become classic throughout the
Iberian Peninsula. It expresses so per-
fectly the peculiar atmosphere which
President Carmona has created about
his Office. 1t explains so well why po-
litical assassination, which until his adj
vent in 1925 had been the universal re-
ward Of Portuguese statesmen for a
generation, has not been invoked. It
represents so fully system which Is
consolidated to go on in spite Of bullets
and bombs, system based first upon
unity within the army and then upon
unity within the nation, first upon q
coherent and conservative program and
then upon realization and solvency.
But 1t expresses best of all the man
Carmona. It is a confession of the
modesty and other non-military virtues
Of this officer. With his quiet wit and
tactfulness he has held together the
most turbulent army outside the Bal
kans, and imposed upon people more
tndividualistic than the Irish regime
Of benevolent but absolute despotism.
From the first, President Carmona
has done everything that he could do
to make his play upon words appear the
dictator so labored to sweeten the bitter
dill of autocracy With astuteness he
has surrounded himself with dominant
figures. Every member of his cabinet
he has exalted as If the man represented
parliamentary choice and a constitu-
ency. And he himself has kept behind.
The enlightenment which one reads
in President Carmona's public actions
Is legible also in his face and carriage.
Although we'll proportioned, he appears
almost fragile. He Is inclined to stoop
slightly forward, with polished defer
ence which is misleading. One must
not mistake this for timidity, or inter-
pref the pauses in his conversation for
hesitation. He frequently stops In order
to select exactly the phrase which best
conveys his meaning. Exactitude and q
sharpness of definition mark his every
gesture. The flneness Of his face and
hands has been carried nearly to DELI
cacy, yet in their lines there Is the char
acteristic element Of decision.
Face of a Strategist.
The face is that of a strategist. Small,
pinched and shrewd, it is so modelled
as to accentuate by prominent cheek
bones and dark brows the deep well OF
the eyes. Here the spirit Of the man
has its being. These eyes, sharp ana
sparkling, never at rest. belle their
owners self-effacement. They suggest
that 1t is policy. They reveal some