The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-06-15
.Merry-GO-ROund

Obscured by news of strikes, hotel fires and Supreme Court pickering, the most important con- versation of the Western Hemisphere quietly took place in Washington. It between the Argentine Chief of Staff Lt Gen. Carlos von der Becke, and U. s. officials, especially General Eisenhower
 The conversation was important for the following reasons:
 1. This is the first time in recent history that the U. s. Army has taken foreign policy away from the State Department and has virtually attempted to dictate it's own policy for Latin America.
 g. The D. s. Army is now forcing close military cooperation with the chief dictatorship in Latin America which, up until short time ago, were were officially denouncing as pro-Na1.
 Here is the inside story of what happened.
 For some weeks, General Eisenhower worried about Russian penetration of Latin America, has been pushing the idea of standardizng weapons and ammunition among the Americas, their armies can cooperate with the United States.
 The State Department, while sympathetic to this general idea has argued that should not put the cart before the horse. In other words, the arming of Latin American armies by the US.A must not start until we have signed international defense pact and arranged for the control of arms. Other WiSe the State Department argues the arms we send Latin America will be used by military juntas to promote revolution, build up dictatorS and fonlent wars
 However, General Eisenhower, without waiting for the State Department jumped the gun and began asking Congress to okay standardized arms for Latin America.
 Meanwhile, Dictator Peron, sitting isolated in Argentina, worried over the Brazilian ArIy'S modern Iend-Lease equipment rose to U. s Army bait, and decided to go over the State Departments head
 This he did, first by a personal letter to Eisen- hower later by having his Chief of Staff, General von der Becke, resign and go to Washington as 8 private citizen.
 The Argentine General who is pure German and once openly stated that the German Army could not lose the late war, called Eisenhower last week When he walked into his offce he did not know that only two hours before the U s. Chief of Staff had received a phone call from Assistant Secretary Spruille Braden seeking to put damper on 1keS cordiality Braden informed him that reports on Perons inauguration were diSquietng and the Amer ican Ambassador had been roundly booed.
 Eisenhower said thanks, he'd keep it in mind.
 Ambassador MeSSerSmith in BuenoS Aires also had cabed Washington that the impression prevalent in Argentine Government circles that Braden was all washed up Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Latin American affairs, and that was why Argentina now trying to deal direct with real ists" in the U. s. Army.
 Braden pointed this cable out to his chief Sec retary Byrnes, and protested that Eisenhowers &C., tions were undermining the State Department. As a result Eisenhower promised to make it clear to Won der Becke that final Army decisions must come from the State Department
 All this had taken place before the Won der Becke interview When the interview finally occurred, only five present. Eisenhower was flanked by It. Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, new Chief of Combined U. S. Intelligence and nephew of Senator Vandenberg General der Becke accompanied by Col. Arturo Bertoo Argentine Military Attache, and the fifth man Lt Col. Gregorio Marquez, Puerto Rican officer who acted as interpreter.
 Won der Becke began by telling Eisenhower that