Evening star., 1947-02-16
Puerto Rico
OverCrOwded
q
Suggests u. S. Purchase
Dutch Guiana for
Her Use
Bv H. Stuart Morrison

Bv II. Stuart Morrison
MIAMI.-Overpopulated Puerto
Rico is casting covetous eyes on
Dutch Guiana. Secretary of State
Marshall already has received a
request from former member of
the Puerto Rican House of Repre-
sentatfves that the United States
purchase the Netherlands South
American colony.
Antonio Pacheco Padro, author
and veteran of the Spanish Civil
War, in which he served with the
Lincoln Battalion of the Interna-
tional Brigade, is the sponsor of the
proposal.
Pacheco Padro has written Secre-
tary Marshall, outlining his plan,
and citing historical and humani-
tartan reasons for 1t. -
He points out that acquisition of
Dutch Guiana, better known as
Surinam, would do more than
merely provide living room for
crowded Puerto Ricans. It would
also, he says, provide the United
States with ownership of the source
of 65 per cent of eur bauxite supply
And, he points out, right now O.
Dutch concern, the Billion Co., is
preparing to compete with Alcoa,
the. American tBig One" of the
aluminium industry.
Dutch Guiana has a population of
only 178,000 in a territory of $1,000
square miles-less than four in
habitants to the square mile. Puerto
Rico, with a population of 2,101 900,
has only 3,423 square milestone
544 persons to the square mile.
u. S. Assistance Needed.
Pacheco Padro sees in the pro-
jected Dutch Guiana acquisition a
chance to shift thousands of Puerto
Ricans from dependence on Uncle
Sans largess to a new land of
opportunity.
But he's not overlooking the
present political battle raging in
Puerto Rico, which one day will
decide whether that island shall
remain a colony of the United States
or become new State in the Union
or another American republic. He
proposes that Dutch Guiana, if
bought, be incorporated as part "of
the political body of Puerto Rico. !"
1.-THE assistance OF the United
States Government" Pacheco Padro
wrote Mr.. Marshall, sis required
through the State Department in
order to explore the opinion of the
Dutch government on this proposal. y
Then he points out that the Sec
retary of State might use Surinam
as bargaining point with the
Netherlands government. He quotes
Elco Van Kleffens, Netherlands del
egate to the United Nations Sc
curity Council, as having declared
that "he hoped in the writing OF
the German treaty the United States
would help Poland obtain recti-
flcation of the German border.
Holland wants a piece of German
territory and it appears to be Pa
checo Padro's opinion that Uncle
Sam could do a little Yankee trad
ing and maybe come out of the deal
owning Dutch Guiana.
Dutch Guiana is located on the
northeastern coast of South Amer
ica, sandwiched between British and
French Guiana. The three Guianas
are wedged between Brazil and
Venezuela.
Bargain Backfired.
Originally settled by the British
in 1915, the colony passed to the
Dutch in 1867 under the Treaty OF
Breda, which ended the Anglo
Dutch war.
In this treaty the Dutch traded
the colony of New Amsterdam, the
S24 investment which has become
the metropolis of New York, for
Dutch Guiana. They thought they
were getting the best of the bargain,
because of the gold in Guiana.
But the colony has been a constant
liability to Holland. The importa-
ton of slaves to provide labor re-
suited, in 1868 when slavery was
abolished, in a total population of
|, So, ,OO0-of which $4,000 were freed
slaves. Chinese, British Indians
and ~Javanese then were imported
to make UP the labor supply, with
the result that today, Dutch Guiana
has a heterogeneous population.
Pacheco Padro closes his appeal
to the State Department with the
point that Surinam would be a
strategic addition to the Panama
Canal defenses and adds naively:
Puerto Rico will accept the
financial responsibility for the whole
program, with the United States
guarantee.