Evening star., 1949-11-13

colonel's revolt that overthreW Pr
President the people of the rich
selves ever elected. In fact, he wa
had ever been permitted to vote
their government had taken ofhe
federal congress.
The State Department has been
anxiously awaiting the oath for
some indication from Caracas that
the three-man military junta,
headed by President Col. Delgado
Chalbaud, intends to carry out its
promise, voluntarily made before
diplomatic recognition was &C
corded it by this and most OF the
other southern governments, to
call elections and return the ma
ton to a constitutional regime.
There Is increasing anxiety in
Washington over recurrent news
of disagreements in the armed
forces, unrest among the general
public and especially the recent
rioting and clashes between uni
versity students and the military.
Our officials are concerned over
the possibility that any widespread
disorders might give subversive
elements in the labor movement
just the opportunity they have
been looking for to sabotage the
multimillion- n-dollar petroleum in
dustry in which this country is SO
heavily invested and which means
so much to the European recovery
program. Venezuelan fuel oil is
one of our largest purchases from
Latin America under the Marshall
Plan.
Oil Output at Peak
So far there has been no serious
political or labor interference
with production or with foreign
operation of the fabulous enter
prise. In fact, production is at
an all-time high. There was a
cutback last spring, correspond
ing to the world drop In demand,
and very few new wells have been
brought in during the past IL
months. But in October the daily
output averaged we'll over $780,
900 barrels. Nor have there been
any notifications of the last gen.
eral agreement, or contract be-
tween the deposed regime and
the oil companies. chief among
which is the Creole Co., a sub
sidiary of Standard Oil.
One of the first acts of the
| junta wien it assumed power last
year was to dissolve and outlaw
the Confederation de Trabajo, the
middle the-road federation o1
labor unions. as well as the Ac-
cion Democratica, the powerful
government political party, with
which the confederation was al
lied. At least the union fedora
| ton was in close collab aboration
with if not an integral part OF
the party. much as the CTM
/ the chief labor federation in Mex
7 leo. Is an arm of the Government
Parry of Revolutionary Institu-
i tionS.
! From October, 1945. when Ac-
cion Democratica, headed by
Romulo Betancourt, took over the
government from President Isaias
Medina Angarita until President
Gallegos was overthrown in 1948,
| the oil companies had been prom
ised, even guaranteed. freedom
from labor troubles. This in re-
turn for a so per cent share in
the profits on all oil shipped out
of the country, along with high
wages, about the highest paid on
the continent. and all kinds Of
social benefits to the workers.
The confederation saw to it that
this agreement was kept.
! Reds Dominate Unions
| Today. with the Confederation
de Trabajo out of the picture,
the field has been left to other
unions, most of them dominated
by Communists and fellow-trav-
elers. Fortunately, so far, the
comrades have not made much
headway in prpselyting among the
ranks OF the prescribed confed-
eracion. Their active membership
has increased by less than 2 per
cent since the revolt of last year
But then Communist technique
does not call for large numbers
of followers to make their actions
effective. The great danger, as
diplomatic observers see it, is that
they are the only openly organized
groups left in the oil fields.
AS to the situation in the Mill
tary, the three,man junta has
had no easy time of it. It is
pretty difficult in a closely policed
state for outsiders, especially dip
,onats and foreign newsmen, to
learn much about inside squab-
oles in the army. It is well known
that. although he has the best
mind among the three, President
Chalbaud is not the most power
full of the triumvirate. Col.
Marcos Perez Jiminez. the Min
lister Of Defense, is the strong man.
Ji,ninez is impetuous and am
bilious, and much impressed with
the way in which other Latin
American strong men have been
able to raise themselves to posi-
tions Of absolute power. He is
known to be an enthusiastic adj
mirer Of Argentine President Juan
Domingo Peron. He also went to
military school in Peru, where he
was q student Of the present
Peruvian dictator, Gen. Manuel
Odria.
Any one who has been in Car
acas since knows that last years
coup did not have the unqualified
support of the entire army. MANY