Evening star., 1944-05-15
Bolivia S Full Story
|Will Merit American
Apology, Writer Say,

Apology, Writer Says
BY ALLEN HADEN,
Foreign Correspondent of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
LA PAZ, May 15.-When the full
story of Bolivia's struggle since last
December to escape involvement
with Argentina can be told there
will be some gnashing of teeth and
some very red faces in Washington
and some pretty handsome apologies
made to Maj. Gualberto Villaroel,
provisional president of Bolivia.
Even now the whole story cannot
be told, due to certain ibelous ele-
ments. But it begins on December
20, the night of the revolution, when
the Villaroel government begged Ar
|gentina to withhold recognition un-
til other American nations had rec
ognized it. Argentina's recognition,
which had been offered and tenn
porarily turned down.. was an
nounced in Buenos Aires before it
was known here.
Notwithstanding to certain
extremely well-informed persons
here-the story of Argentina's hav-
ing fostered the revolution was deli
cately distilled into willing ears-by
Argentine sources throughout the
continent.
Why? To get Bolivia in wrong
with the United States in the hope
that on the rebound it would land
in the arms of Buenos Aires.
Good Reasons for Tactics.
This sounds q trifle Oppenhein-
ish, but there were good reasons for
these tactics. Argentina had not
broken with the Axis by last Decem-
Der. The Japanese and German
Embassies in Buenos Aires were
keeping open house. Argentine firms
had received very attractive offers
from Portuguese and Spanish firms
for any quantity of rubber, quinine,
tungsten and tin which could be
supplied them.
Bolivia also produces these stra-
tegic materials. OF course, these
materials might have been wanted
In Portugal and Spain for use by
Portuguese and Spanish industries.
But then, maybe not. The recent
laborsome negotiations by the
United States State Department
with Spain and Portugal sought to
stop tungsten shipments to Ger
many.
just to give an idea of how lucra-
tive the rubber traffic is today, the
Argentine government recently paid
a premium of $500,0O0 beyond the
purchase price of 80 cents pound
for IS tons of crude rubber deposited
in Buenos Aires under contract be-
tween the Bolivian and Argentine
governments.
La Paz has been crawling with
Argentine businessmen in recent
months. How desperately Argen-
tina wants rubber is shown by the
following incident. Willy Gutierrez
former editor of La Razon and
prominet young businessman of this
city, recently bought small rubber
factory at Pura-Pura, near La Paz
for $4,000. On the following day
an Argentine who described him.
self as a semiof1cial envoy of the
Argentine government offered him
a profit of 100000 If he would sell
Willy Gutierrez refused.
Ways to Evade Contract.
Here Is the reason for Argentine
Willingness to pay high premiums
In the contract between the Bolivian
government and the United States
Rubber Reserve Corp, all natura,
rubber produced in this country 1.
turned over to the United State.
except that amount needed for do.
mestic use and $50 tons which car
be exported. These ESQ tons 60 tx
| Argentina. . But the contract i.
poorly worded where semimanufac.
tured goods are concerned.
Argentina, therefore, has wanted
to own and operate the only rubber
factory in Bolivia. It's producers o1
Isemif1nished goods would have es-
caped the terms of the Boloviar
contract with the United States
land couldA export to Argentina, ir
addition to the $50 tons of crude
rubber.
The story Of how the Villaroel
government stopped the smuggling
of quinine, rubber and tungsten to
Argentina, which had f1ourished
under Gen. Enrique Penaranda
(overthrown president), is a sep
arate chapter. It did so despite
lucrative temptations, on the one
hand, and the nonrecognition and
generally hostile attitude of the
American Government and press
lon the other.
A fact which underscores the
courage exhibited by Mai. Villaroe
lis that Bolivia does not feed her.
lself. 1t gets its wheat, meat, butter
and other foods from Argentina
There. is a shortage of bread in La
Paz today because the normal ship
ments of wheat at the end of April
were held up in Argentina. Bolivia
needs 5000 tons of Argentine wheat
monthly. But despite the dangers
of starvation, Maj. Villaroel anc
his cabinet stood by their contracts
with the United States.
Copyright, 1914. Chicago Daily News, Inc J
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