Evening star., 1950-04-09
MiddIe-Rooder Who
Looks to Working
Glass for Support
By Edword 1omIinson

Each subscribes to q middle of
the-road, or. as their critics insist,
left-of-center. policy. Both have
leaned heavily on the professional
and working classes for support.
Therefore each in his own coun-
try has been q popular target for
reactionary as well as conservative
sharpshooters. Both have spon-
sored welfare legislation and
espoused government benefits for
the less fortunate. consequently
both have been charged with lead
ing their countries straight down
the road to socialism. If not pure
communism.
Even on the burning subject OF
communism" as one Chilean
points out, "the two Presidents
should be able to offer each other
considerable experienced advice
and consolation. Earlier in their
administrations both tried, with
bitter disillusionment, to get along
with Soviet ofhcialdom and its
local friends in their own coun-
tries"
Whatever the feeling Of Mr..
Truman, the establishment" Of
the Chilean has been unusually
bitter" Although by no means
a Communist, or an extreme left
ist, Senior Gonzalez had the sup
port Of the local" Communists
in his election. only to find them
plotting his overthrow 4 few
months later.
Tossed Out Reds
Whereupon the Chilean Presi-
dent turned on the Reds with a
deadly vengeance, and spear
headed a campaign that resulted
in outlawing9 the Communist
Party. He relentlessly purged
them from positions in the gov
ernment, and for good measure
slashed all diplomatic ties with
Moscow and the satellite countries
as well.
Not only do the two leaders
have much in common from the
standpoint of their political phi
losophy. but both have enjoyed
a meteoric rise to power. We are,
of course, familiar with Mr.. Tru-
mans progress from a judgeship
in independence. Mo-. to the
White House in Washington. On
his way to the presidency the
Chilean had an even more spec
tacular experience. which en-
braced international as we'll as
local and national politics. At 80
he was elected to the Chamber of
Deputies. corresponding to our
own House of Representatives
and one year later to the presi-
dency of that body. In this coun-
try we would have called him
Speaker of the House.
He then turned to diplomacy,
and Unsupported Ambassador to
France, in time to be present when
the Nazis marched into Paris.
From France he was sent as Am
bassador to Brazil. But politics
was his first love, 50 back home
he went and was elected to the
Senate. While serving in the
upper house he went as a member
of his country's delegation to the
United Nations Conference in San
Francisco. This mission over. he
became a candidate for President,
and at the age of Al was elevated
to the highest Office in Chile.
President Truman and his dis
tinguished guest also represent
nations that have much the same
background. The people of Chile,
like those of the United States,
are cosmopolitan and predomi-
nantly of European descent. I'm
like all the other Andean nations,
there are, according to the best
authorities, only about 10000 In
dians in the entire country. in q
population Of over million. Al
though conquered and settled by
Spaniards, Chile's George Wash
fngton was Gen. Bernardo O'Hig-
gins. son of an Irish father and a
Spanish mother. Its greatest ma
val hero was Scottish lord by
the name of Cochrane. The
founder of the Chilean Naval
Academy at Valparaiso was Ad-
miral Charles Wooster, born in
Massachusetts,.
While Yankee born Admiral