Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15
ONE LITTLE KNOWN DICTATOR
President Carmona of Portugal Has Brought Peace and Unity
to Long-Troubled Nation-F1as Built No Par
tcuar Creed

BORT the army in its efforts to establish
order. The unity Of the corps Is rein
forced"
From the creation Of unified army
to the creation Of unified country has
been put o step. Without the tremen-
douS spiritual aid of some such force as
Fasc.smO. Gen Carmona and his as
sociateS none the less have won over
the majority Of the country to agree
that their rule is salutary. In plebis-
cite or appeal to the people E.
the time honored expedient Of success
full coupS d'etat since Napoleon III
the Carmona regime was sup
ported at the polls. 1t has earned the
confidence of the people in two yeats.
Gen. Carmona knew that what
Portugal most needed was confidence
Since the expulsion OF the monarchy
Portuguese capitalists had not felt Sc
cure to invest their money within the
country. Deprived of their support, the
government and the national Industry
declined Self-seeking politicians COM
pleted the debacle. Yearly deficits be-
gan to assume the proportions Of small
war debts. All production; commerce
and transportation stagnated.
Reads Hinder Motoring.
THE roads were so bad" President
Carmona confided, that automobiling
was nearly an impossibility and never
pleasure / remember that about 1926
I was still stationed at Evora and some
time before the coup d'etat received
an automobile. delivered to me there. I
invited o friend to come for drive.
We went off together, and in all, al
though we we're long time on the
road, believe that we covered only
80 kilometers. After that used nay car
only In the city. could not trust it to
the ;nfelicities Of the national roads"
The first necessity for the rebuilding
Of the roads, the commerce and the
basic industries, the first necessity for
the re-establishment Of confidence, was
the organization Of an efficient military.
AS soon as the army had been sufii-
GENTLY solidified to support the intro
duction of qualified civilians, this pre-
liminary expedient was modified. Ex-
perts from the life of the nation were
sought. The outstanding member OF
the present cabinet-proof again that
both Gen. Carmona and his associates
are willing to step aside before man
so qualified and devoted as to win their
respects Oliveira Salazar, the Minis
| ter of Finance. He has reorganiHed the
| income tax and brought about in one
year the economic reforms whiah
| committee Of experts from the League
of Nations calculated would take three
years In even the most concentrated
effort to balance the national budget
How is 1t that Gen. Carmona found
such O man when the politicians who
| had preceded him did not? Salazar
had been occupying the chair Of eco
Monies at the university all the time.
coming down to Lisbon in special inves-
LEGATIONS. and lecturing. He was the
FIRST technician in his field. But the
politicians were not interested in tech
nicians. Gen. Carmona was. In the
| last ANALYSIS, however, 1t is not only his
loyal support Of his fellows, his self
| placement and his solid merit which are
solidifying the regime. 1t is the ele-
mental fact of his honesty.
| Gen Carmona's first act upon taking
office under the regime of dictatura
| sem ditador was to refuse any salary
| than that of his ordinary military rank.
He had come to consolidate and not to
rob. He himself set the example Of a
Spartan simplicity. A feeling of secur-
ity swept over the country.
Comfortable, Cluttered Rooms.
At Cascaes the rooms have ashomely,
comfortable, cluttered air. A warm. uIl-
conscious intimacy pervades the place.
The general is surrounded by his nu-
merous family. 1t Is q group such rs
! some mid-Victorian author might nave
imagined for the ideal republican.
There is music beyond the wall which
shuts of the long veranda from the
town.
Come. It is the fete day Of . local
saint and from the top OF the wall we
can look down and see their process
sion," suggests the general.
We Chamber up an incline solidiy
constructed Of thick masonry, grown
over everywhere with ferns and Squashy
MOSES. From q sort of battlement we
look down. and there to one side Is the
beach. with fishing craft drawn up be-
yond the tide line, and great black nets
spread out across the sand like spiders
webs to dry. A tiny hamlet struggles
along behind, while inland, curving In
q crescent round with the promontoTy
to the foot of our wall, Is the town
itself, pink and yellow and blue and
white, with its gay population IN move
ment and It's CHEEKY holiday sounds
borne up to us on the breeze.
For fully five minutes the general
looks down. silently enjoying the charm
OF peaceful, happy fun making. Then,
as we turn away, his gaze goes out
across the Tagus toward the tower
where Vasco da Cana set out to reach
the Indies, and he sees as IL for the
first time the little gunboat standing
below his balcony.
Balcony. house and all are shut In by
the walls on which we stand and
the Enclosure widens with the promon-
tory to include rank upon rank OF long,
cold barrack buildings. Its occupant,
this silent, smiling man who has just
entertained his guests with a glimpse
Of simple rural life, is military dictator
Of Portugal