Evening star., 1933-07-09
CUATAMALAN PRECEDENT
FOLLOWED BY DIR. MORGAN
Heads of Tennessee Valley Authority
Officially Lists Personal Property
at Time of Taking Office.

office. They. too. must declare what
they have. so that when their terms
are over it may be known what they
had not.
The law Of probity finally specifies
that when government official or en-
ploye ceases to function, or even dur
ing his tenure Of ONCE, any person. by
mere comparison of possession, may
file charges against him with the state
auditor or treasurer, vino is directed to
make an immediate investigation and,
If necessary, place the facts before
the courts
The significance Of this unprece-
dented law was particularly enhanced
at that time by the circumstances that
facts placed befo.c the courts had,
only few months before, placed be-
hind the bars" several prominent gov
eminent officials in other Latin Amer
ican republics
When President Ubico decided to
make his private wealth a matter of
public record. and when he pressed for
the passage Of the Guatemalan law of
p-ooi:y. he probably had in mind the
fact that charges Of misuse of national
funds had been consistently heard in
connection with the violent changes of
government. in the preceding year, in
Bolivia, Peru. Argentina, Brazil and
Panama.
Whether justified or not-vhether
legally accurate or merely the result
CT political passions and revenge-these
accusations had accompanied the over
throw OF every ousted Latin American
executive during the then recent epi-
oemlc OF revolution. At the time the
Guatemalan law was approved two
former South American presidents were
still awaiting in prison the outcome of
heated trials for allegedly shady govern
mental transactions during their terms
Of Office.
Wave of Revolution.
The arousing of a keen sense Of pub
lie responsibility had. precisely. been
one OF the outstanding characteristics
OF the revolutionary wave which was
then sweeping one Latin American gov
eminent after another.
up until then, with very few excep-
tons, so-called popular revolt in
that part OF the world had resulted
in bat the substitution of one erorJn
OF men for another, with no signs Of
Improvement In administrative meth
cos OF IN the standard of ethics en-
Floyed In the disbursement of public
Ilnos. In general, the faults and mis-
deeds of the deposed authorities, whose
lack OF scruples in financial matters
played an important part in provoking
tne revolutions had been looked upon
With indifference after these revolts
succeeded. The guilty ones usually
%aiHeo out elegantly to enjoy on some
olStant shore the fortunes piled up un-
der cover of government positions their
successors being more concerned with
the thought of getting rid of them
than with their punishment
But this time the ousted executives
mad found themselves in a different
position. A tribunal of national sane
tlon had been created in Peru the day
after the successful termination of the
Sanchez Cerro revolt. to investigate
the personal wealth of deposed Dicta-
tor-President Leguia. his sons and DO
lNical comrades.
After careful inquiry which lasted
several months, this tribunal had con-
vtcted the Leguias of embezzlement of
public funds and condemned them to
refund 20 the national treasury the
small sum of $4,000. 900 soles
III Argentina, former President Iri-
goJen and some of his closest political
trends were being tried for misman-
agement Of the national income. In
Brazil, fo-mer President Luiz had been
SAo"so 10 proceed TO Europe only after
:: severe investigation OF his private
fortune. In Bolivia and Panama.
Charges of financial nature against
the heads of the overthrown regimes
were pending before Congress.
The epidemic-whetiler real or only
In the exalted imagination of the enc
mics CT the deposed authorities s-had
proved to be general. No wonder, then,
that PRESIDENT Ubico with all these
experiences in mind, acted to prevent
the malady in advance by means of his
law OF probity," vaccination, as it
were, against possible contagion.
Now that the Guatemalan innova-
ton has been introduced in the Arneri-
can scene by the head of the Tennes-
see valley Authority. American read
ers will be more interested in observ.
ing its operation, a truly noble ex.
pertinent" in public life.
tCopyright, 1933o