Evening star., 1943-12-12
US. Will Face Delicate Task
In Postwar South America
By Marquis ". CMids.

some of them almost unobtainable else
where, began to be flown to the United
States. Bases came into being where
swampy wastes had existed.
Brazil was not content with merely a
permissive role. Military men close to
Vargas, including Minister of War Dutra,
wanted to send an expeditionary force
into combat duty. Washington finally
approved. Gen. Eisenhower personally
requested that Brazilian troops serve
under his command
Through lease-lend the equipment of
modern army was undertaken. A force
OF $4,000 has undergone rigorous combat
training. How soon they will be sent to
Africa and Italy is a matter of con-
lecture, and is in any event military
secret. There are those who believe it
may be long delayed and may not, in
fact, come in time for Brazilian partici-
patton in the battle of Europe.
Ingram a Diplomat.
Collaboration between the United
States Navy and the Brazilian Navy has
been even more close. A potent force in
Brazil is bluff, hearty Vice Admiral
Jonas H. Ingram, who is in command in
the South Atlantic. Brazilian WarshipS
form part of the team he directs from
his headquarters at Recife Stunning
the atmosphere of intrigue and cabal in
Rio, Admiral Ingram has nevertheless
proved himself a frst-rate diplomat
Brazilian and American officers alike
pay tribute to him.
All this has meant an inevitable in
terlocking with the regime which has
been supreme since Vargas declared a
totalitarian order in 1887 This inter-
locking relationship is SO close, particu-
larly on the military side, that it is
difficult to see how it can be terminated.
Some military men say frankly that it
must not be terminated; that the COL
laboration between the two powers must
continue for their mutual safety and
the security of the hemisphere.
There are those who see Brazil de-
veloplng as the dominant power in
South America Just as the United States
is the dominant power in North Amer
lea. When the war ends she will be in a
highly strategic position with the only
trained modern army in South Amer
lea. If her troops have gone into COM
bat, she will have an authority at the
peace conference unrlvaled by any other
Latin American power. Her bitter rivalry
with Argentina, which has cast its lot
on the Axis SIDE might lead to armed
conflict in which Brazil would have a
great advantage.
Our military partnership with Brazil
suggests some extremely interesting
questions which are likely to be raised
in the posthoneymoon period Would we
stand aside and allow a change in
regime to take place even though the
processes of change might lapse from
. those of well-ordered democracy to
bloody revolution?
Life More Difficult.
This is not merely an academic ques-
ton either. While appraisal is difficult
In country with such close internal
censorship as Brazil, some observers be-
In spite of handsome charts which
show the contrary, prices have risen
and life for the ordinary citizen is more
difficult. On the other hand, Sac Paulo,
where much of the opposition to Vargas
has been concentrated, is having
boom and is said to feel renewed con-
fidence in its ability to direct once again
the affairs of the nation
Some prominent men in the state of
Mlnas Gerais, where most of Brazil's
! mineral wealth has been found, signed
a petition of protest which was circu-
lated more or less in secret There were
rumors that they were put under house
arrest when the petition was discovered.
Men whisper their discomfort at the
same time that they concede that Vargas
has done more for Brazil than any one
in recent history.
The charge is brought against Caffrey
by some Americans that he is too close
to the regime. This criticism was ex-
pressed by Allen Haden, the Chicago
Daily News Latin American specialist,
who blamed the American Ambassador
for much of the surveillance and hush
hush stuff that Americans here are sub
jected to. Haden wrote after he left the
country and there were rumors that he
would not again be admitted to Brazil.
(See TASK, Page CO