The Omaha guide., 1947-01-18

Social SClenCe CcnLer,
University of Puerto Rico
The Caribbean Sea is the scene
of a little known attempt to CRAP
pie with colonial problems on a
regional basis which brings n
enlargement to believers in 'one
world.' Politically, the Caribbean
is split into IL independent coun-
tries and the colonies of four en-
pires. Ethnically, the peoples of
the world are well represented by
Africans, East Indians, American
Indians, Chinese, Europeans, An
Anglo and Latin Americans. The
non-self- governiag territories con-
tain around 100000 inhabitants
and the republics have about
10000, 900.
Geographic obstacles hamper the
movement of men and goods on
much of The tropical mainland, but
on the sea itself another type If
handicap is found -the man-made
barriers erected on the basis of
Imperialism. aationalism and other
anachronistic belief. These bar
riers intefere with trade between
the islands, with raisirg standards
of living, with improving educa-
tion. and with the building of a
broad-based. inclusive democracy
bereft of class. caste. color and
religious restrictions. Here seem
to converge the by-products of all
the economic All dpolltical errors
made by man in the past five hum
dred years. said Charles w. Taus-
sig.
The depression of the 'thirties
plus the impact of World War Ii
on the region began to shake some
of the once sacrosanct attitudes
of colonial officials, the sugar
planters. the military, and the
middle class, which tries to keep
its skirts away from the morass
in which the workers and peasants
live. Labor parties and unions
were organized. Demands for i'm
provements were presented. Riots
occurred when desperation led to
extreme measures. Labor leaders
were jail1i. Committees were ap-
pointed to investigate, and event
uaIlv some action vas taken on
their recommendations. Greater
political PARTICIPATION was grant
ed in the British colonies fairly
quickly. war interfered with many
of these activities and tossed ur-
gent bread-and- butter problems
into the hopper. The leasing of
air and naval bases to the United
States and the flooding of some
of the military and civilian per-
sonnet wearing the white supre-
Macy chip on their shoulders
created serious situations.
The Anglo-American Caribbean
Commission chaired for the Unit
ed States by Mr.. Taussig, was
created to try to solve some of
these problems. The Commission
tackled the pressing war-born
troubles and kept at them during
the emergency. Annual reports
since its organization in 1912 are
useful reading to anyone interest
ed in the problems of colonial and
other backward" peoples.
The Commission has now adjust
ed it's activities to times of peace.
Tt has taken the highly significant
step Of bringing the Dutch and
French into the picture. The
Commission is now a four-power
affair. A Caribbean Research
Council is getting down to brass
tacks on the long-range needs of
the region. Perhaps the most use
full arm of the Commission is the
West Indian Conference, a forum
for the peoples of the area, which
has now held two meetings where
opinions are fully and freely ex-
pressed. The second conference,
which the writer was fortunate in
attending, marked a real stride
forward in democratic participa-
ton. Fifteen colonial entities in
the Caribbean were represented,
usually by at least one peoples
delegate" as c~ontrasted with a
colonial official. The complexion of
the second assembly vas much
darker than the first: of the 20
delegates. % were natives of the
area. \ @tl
After the destroyer bases deal
in 1910, United States prestige
took a nose-dive as a result of the
1ll-considered actions of many
continentals. The region still looks
askance at our domestic scene and
wonders how much longer Visions
racism and religious bigotry will
prevail. The debate on the promo
ton of tourism at the West In
dian Conference indicated the fear
of many of the delegates that tour
lists would bring their prejudice
with them.
The organization provides a tool
with great potentialities. Whether
it will be used to tackle some of
the more fundamental problems of
the region depends primarily on
public opinion in the metropolitan
countries. Since the abolition of
colonialism is one of the most ur-
gent matters on the worlds agen-
da today, all who believe in the
wides possible extension of de-
mocracy should follow carefully
the work of the Caribbean Com