Evening star., 1942-01-27
Visiting Journalists
Received by Chile's
Acti"g President
Santiago Presents Calm
Appearance in Contrast
To Washington

To Washington
Mr.. Rogers is one OF a number
OF American newspapernlen noU
risiting Chile as guests OF Chilean
ne,Cspupers. This ptstt returns
the visit OF Chilean newspaper
men last gear ,Dho 1Dere guests
of American newspapers, tnclud-
ing The Stdr. The interchange
of journalists was arranged by
United States Ambassador to
Chile Claude BoDers.
By HAROLD b. ROGERS,
Star Staff Correspondent.
SANTIAGO, Chile (By MaiD.-
The difference between Washington
capital of the United States, which
Is at war with the Axis powers, ana
Santiago, capital Of Chile. tar below
the Equator. still at peace win tne
world, is no more str1k1ngly l!lus-
trated than by the activities about
the two cities, about government
offces. and particularly the homes
of the respective chief executives. .
In this country. there is plenty OF
room to get about, comparative
uuietness among government offices
and few restrictions. When we lett
the United States there was milling
ttrong everywhere, strong restric-
tions. particularly about all defense
offices. and war excitement in the
air. In the United States people
hustle through the cold Of winter;
in Chile, they stroll through the
pleasantness Of summer. and many
are on vacations in the lake regions
Of the south, along the seashore, and
In other resorts.
Greeted by Vice President.
Here the Vice President, DR..
Jeronimo Mendez, greeted the dele
CATION of North American news
papermen in the stately and i'm
pressive atmosphere OF La Moneda,
great gray stone and stucco govern
ment house designed and built by
the Spanish before this country
fought for and gained its independ-
ence. DR.. Mendez, who has been
head of the country since the death
of President Pedro Aguirre Cerda,
rose from behind the large carved
table at which he had been working
on some papers, to welcome the
visiting journalists to Chile. He
expressed the hope our trip would
be pleasant and help to improve
understanding between the two
countries. AS q journalist also, he
recalled he had been editor OF a
newspaper, Ell Norte (The North),
at CoQuimbo, in a northern province
of Chile, and knew what it was to
work late at night.
The Office of the President of
Chile Is rectangular in shape, its
walls covered with dark red damask.
1t Is softly lighted. Heavy tapestry
curtains at the windows open out
on the patio. At smaller table at
his left are three telephones. Only
a few papers were on his desk at
the time of our visit.
Visit Cabinet Room.
From his private Office the Vice
President accompanied his visitors
to the adjacent room, where the
ministers Of state gather about q
great cabinet table. Their chairs
are upholstered in red leather. On
the wall Of this room is q painting
in heroic size OF Bernardo OHig-
gins, the George Washington" OF
Chile.
The impressive thing about our
visit to the Acting President Of
Chile was the quiet dignity Of the
great building, which houses not
only the President and his home
but also several other offices Of gov
ernment. Entering La Moneda
through the offices Of the Ministry
Of Foreign Affairs, we were con-
Quoted through many rooms, hall
ways and several anterooms before
reaching the presidential quarters.
In other parts of La Moneda are
also contained the Offices of the
Minister of Interior, the Minister OF
Public Lands, the Ministry Of For
eign Affairs, a telegraph Office, post
office, Offices for the Carabineros,
who guard the whole structure, and
other facilities. In all, about 5000
persons occupy La Moneda. It
covers an entire city block.
Open to Public.
The stately Spanish structure,
which was designed and built by
the Spanish beginning in 17s6, now
is generally open to the public
through the stately vaulted en-
trance, where two great copper
studded wooden. doors have been
swung wide open. With a Chilean
friend I entered without question:
ing from the brisk Carabineros in
white jackets, gray breeches, black
boots and heavy. spurs who are
armed with rifles. Courteous and
efficient, these officers of the law
preserve order throughout Chile.
They are seen everywhere, as traf-
f1c officers, guards in Congress and
throughout the country.
Persons who stopped too long in
front of La Mondeda, however, were
approached by the officers and
asked to move along. Inside the
patio of La Moneda an ancient foun-
tain plays and there are old Spanish
guns, made in 1772 in Lima. The
story goes that the architect Of the
building, Toesca. helped with his
own hands to teach the artisans
their trade in those early days. The
original Spanish coat of arms has
been replaced with the Chilean coat
of arms, carrying the Chilean slo-
gan, For right or strength"
Chilean public attention at the
time of this writing was centered
principally on two different subjects
the conference of foreign minis
ters at Rio de Janeiro and the po-
litical campaign for election of q
President. Chile elects no Vice
President hl1t in case of tho daofb