Evening star., 1950-01-22

OF the area, held IN Havana on the
18th and 10Th of this month, As
sistant Secretary of State Edward
G. Miller, jr., went over the prob
lens of each of the countries and
considered what definite attitude
and policies the Truman admins
tration might follow in dealing
with them.
On the heels of this meeting a
special Peace Committee of the
OAS launched an on-the-ground
inquiry into the charges of med
ding and threatened aggression
that have been hurled back and
forth between the governments of
Cuba. Haiti, Guatemala and the
Dominican Republic.
So far there is no official or
definite information about the
findings OF conclusions of either
group. But even the most casual
observation of the general situa-
ton in these countries cannot
help but arouse concern and anx-
iety. Frankly, in a 4,000-mile trip
to Cuba and Guatemala, down
through the countries of Middle
America to Panama, across North
ern South America and back
through the various islands of the
West Indies to Haiti, I have founo
few evidences of progress In con-
stitutional and democratic gov
ernment.
Democracy Foresaken
Among the eleven so-called re-
publics of the region only four or
five, including Cuba. Guatemala,
Honduras, Costa Rica and Haiti,
have governments that can, with
out stretching credulity to the
breaking point, be called duly
elected governments. The meth
ods and procedures by which at
least three of these came into ex-
istence have been the subject of
considerable criticism. 80
While President Mariana OSpina
Perez of Colombia came to office
as the result of a regular con-
stitutional election, he is ruling
today without a congress and
under extraordinary and self
promulgated powers. He is sched-
uled to turn over the Office to
DR.. Laureano Gomez, chosen
President in an election in which
only his own party voted. Mica
ragua and Ell Salvador, Panama
and Venezuela and, of course, the
Dominican Republic are in the
hands of out-and-out dictators.
military juntas or presidents ar
bitrarily put into Office by strong
men or political cliques.
Even some of the colonial pos
sessions, such as Jamaica, the
French islands of Martinique and
Guadeloupe. the Central Ameri-
can colony of British Honduras
and others are buffeted by politi-
cal storms and agitation. Not
only is the territory of British
Honduras a subject of bitter dis
pute between Guatemala and
London, but observers in the cap
ital of Belize report that ,agitators
from leftist labor unions and po-
litical parties in Guatemala have
been hltering into the little COL
ony to stir up unrest. a.. F..
Jamaican politics are enlivened
by powerful rival labor and po-
litical groups. Martinique and
Guadeloupe, which are no longer
colonies but a full-fedged depart
ment of metropolitan France, are
troubled with Communists who,
until a few months ago. controlled
the local assembly or legislature.
In fact in the entire Caribbean
the self-governing island of
Puerto Rico is the one shining
example of democratic and Or
derly political advancement.
Elusive Commodity
AS one of the most distin-
guished students of government
in the Caribbean described it,
This American sea of ours is
a. seething cauldron of dictator
ships. demagogues and political
double-crossers, spiced with lib
eral portions of communism and
other extremisms. Certainly gen.
uine democratic government is
difficult commodity to find"
In the majority of the countries
and islands the nationalists, the
radicals and other extremists,
along with the politicians and men
in power, are again shouting the
old refrain about "gringo exploit
ers, Yankee lmperialists," and
other foreigners. They have not
forgotten any of the old cliches.
The friends of Moscow in par
ticular are trying to breathe the
breath of life into the old bogey-
man, "the Colossus of the North"
Yankees Exploited
But the fact is that today's crop
of pistol-packing strongmen and
agitators in Nicaragua and the
Dominican Republic, in Venezuela
and Colombia, in Martinique and
the others are of purely domestic
origin. The Yankee imperialists
and gringo exploiters" have long
since become anachronisms. In
fact the yankees and gringos"
are not the exploiters but the ex-
plotted.
Warmongering President Rafael
Trujillo. whose Dominican Repub-
lie is his private and exclusive do
main. is true son of that section
of the island of Hispaniola where
Douolas