The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-03-28

WA ASA AG
brought about this change, accord.
ing TO the Wilson report. In the
1905, Mexico went left In O big way.
All the big estates were broken up
and the land given 10 the poems.
The usual experience was that the
peon harvested and sold the crop
In cultivation, ct the time the land
was given TO him, and then let ma
ture take It's course. Dwindllng
world markets did the rest. Foreign
capital moved out and the tropico
took over. It was the same In sugar,
hennequin, ranch land, farm land.
Mexico wasn't quite ready for her
big experiment, and II went sour.
Now, however, there Is q big de-
l1and for hennequin, sugar, Live
stock, native rubber, for ell manner
Of agricultural commodities. An ap.
proach has repeatedly been made
TO some Of the hennequiI people to
take back the land taken from them
and for which they were never paid
In anything but bonds Of question:
able value. The government Of Pres
ident AvIla Camacho has been feel.
Ing out ex.landholders TO resume
the management Of their old 90"
tates.
Thus far, the hennequln growers
have been shy, for theirs Is o seven
year crop. They don't care to invest
what money they have left unless
they are sure the government Is
abandoning the old revolutionary
agrarian policy for keeps. Their
counter-proposal has been that the
government frSt try out It's new
policy on some Of the otae.year
crops.
TUGWELL TAKES OVER
This swing to the right on land
policy In Mexico Is particularly sig
nificant at this time when contrast"
ed with the land policy which the
Undted States territorial govern
ment Of Puerto Rico Is attempting
to maintain under the admlnistras
ton Of Gov. Rexford Guy Tugwel.
It Is almost the reverse Of the ten
dency now reported from Mexico,
and II 1t shows anything, II 10 that
the United States hasn't yet learned
what Mexico found out about shar"
ing the wealth In the hot countries.
Puerto Rico has had o so-called
SOO-acre land law on Its books since
1900, prohibiting any corporation
from holding more than 500 acres
Of land. The idea was 10 break up
the big Spanish estates and pro"
mote small farming on the Amer
lean plan. The law was never enc
forced, but in the spring Of I041
q new land authority act was put
through the Puerto Rican congress,
more stringent than the old law
In that IT prohibited ownership Of
more than 500 acres by both cor
porationB and partnerships.
Secretary Of Interior Harold 1ckes
sent Tugwell down to the island TO
hold hearings, provision was made
for payment In land authority OF 81
million was made which was 70 DC
o Is per cent cash collateral for O
S2S million issue OF bonds to pay for
land taken from the big estate and
given to the Puerto Ricans. Tug.
well has estimated the total cost OF
the program will be- SITS million.
Pressure on two big sugar centralS
has been sufficient 10 force them
into declaring their willingness 70
sell their land II they can get their
price and II they can determine
that the bonds are worth their face
value. II these estates are broken
UP, the land will 90 into small
farms.
RUM TAX PILES UP
Tugwell became governor In the
summer Of 1o4i. In the fall came
the threatened shortage and indus
trial alcohol for manufacture OF OK"
ploSiveS. Puerto Rico had IN the
meantime built UP O good business
In governmental distilled rum. Every
penny Of the tax collected off this
rum Is returned by the United
States to the Puerto Rican treas.
ury, and that tax now amounts TO
more than 81 million q rnonh.
With the order that diStilleries
must convert TO the production OF
industrial alcohol for war, IckeB and
Tugwell saw that II the govern.
ment was forced out Of the rum
business In Puerto Rico, the island
would lose about half Of It's 12S mil.
lion annual treasury receipts. II
that happened, the 600-acre lard
policy would have to be Shelved,
for without the rum taxes, there
simply wouldn't be any money TO
finance the purchase Of land from
the big estates.
Ickes and Tugwell protested VIC.
orcusly, with the result that the
Puerto Rican diStilleries are con.
tinulng to make rum at the rate Of
90 per cent OF last years produc.
ton, the taxes continue to roll In,
the land policy will 60 forward.
But you'll have TO wait another
10 years OF so 10 find out whether
the Puerto Rican agrartaIl policy