Evening star., 1950-07-16

els were IOlU Dy tIlelT ROVeTIlLueut
that it was their patriotic duty to
do so. She continued to supply
us on that basis long after the
war was over.
Affronted by Peron Loan
We still guarantee our farmers
a profit on practically everything
they grow. We have bought and
stored potatoes, eggs and other
products, so that they do not lose
But when the Brazilians. for the
first time in several years, have
been able to make profit and to
buy, from us, desperately needed
machinery, such as trucks. culti-
vators and so on. to replace equip
ment worn out during the war
and afterward, not to mention
being able to pay their plantation
workmen a little higher wages, we
have not only objected. but some
| of us have been particularly Of
fensive about it. Incidentally,
the Brazilian farm workers wages
still averages only a little more
than q dollar O day in United
States money. Compared to the
$12 to SIS a day which is paid
to many Of our coal miners, 1t is
very insignificant wage.
Meantime, Brazilians have not
overlooked the fact that our Gov
ernment, our industrialiSts and
investors in general have been
putting hundreds of millions into
other countries Of the world, some
of which were even our enemies
in World War II. Regardless Of
the circumstances which prompted
us in doing so, they have taken
our recent loan of $125, ,000, 900 to
the Peron government of Argen-
tina as an affront, not to say an
insult. Even if the main purpose
of the loan was to enable Argen-
tine importers to pay their debts
in the United States, and thus
save our exporters and business
firms from going bankrupt, the
Brazilians insist that it amounted
to bailing out a dictatorship which
had deliberately become fouled in
its own economic net. AS one of
the most prominent Sac Paulo
businessmen put it, ''yet it was
Brazil and not Argentina that
supplied you with coffee and ire
mendous quantities of other raw
materials during the war. And it
was Brazil that lost its entire mer-
chant marine to NaZi submarines
while Argentine ships sailed the
seas unmolested, unless by acci-
dent, because the Peron govern
ment was neutral"
The Brazilians have also seen
Marshall Plan dollars, and even
before that lend-lease dollars, by
the hundreds of millions, used by
the British. the French and others
In developing new enterprises in
Africa and elsewhere. Private
United States capital has been
flowing into the Near East. periled
though 1t is by possible Commu-
mist aggression. Vast sums are
going into the Belgian, French
and British African possessions.
Worse still, in Brazilian eyes, is
the fact that some of this money
Is being used to develop African
cacao or chocolate, coffee and
other agricultural crops in direct
competition with similar crops in
their own country.
Vargas Runs Again
Adding insult to injury, one of
our United States Senators, and a
Democrat at that, suggests that
because coffee prices have risen,
we ought to curtail all our invest
ments and financial assistance to
all the Latin American coffee-pro-
ducing nations, which means some
IA out of the 20. This when most
Of them, and particularly Brazil.
have received only a trickle of in
veStmentS, loans or credits since
the war, in comparison to the tre-
mendous amounts we have put in
to other parts of the world.
All Of this has played directly
into the hands of the Communist
propagandists in all the Latin
American countries, but particu-
larly those in Brazil. Not only
that, but we have handed the
comrades this juicy morsel just
as we are rushing soldiers and
equipment to the battle front in
Asia. and in the midst of the most
critical election campaign in Bra
lillian history.
Today Brazilian political parties
are badly split, so that no conserv-
ative or liberal group of itself
stands chance of electing a re-
sponsible government. There is
at this moment, a strong posi-
bility of the December elections
resulting in a stalemate, or a re-
turn to power of former Dictator
Getulio Vargas. Vargas is>already
the official candidate of two of the
most important minority parties,
and has the support of the gov
ernors Of several of the states, in
cluding Gov. Adhemar de Barros
Of the State of Sac Paulo, the
New York of Brazil.
Vargas. who finally cast his lot
on our side in the last war, is no
longer friendly to us. He holds
Washington, through Adolf Berle,
then our Ambassador in Rio, di-
rectly responsible for his over
throw. At least he has convinced
himself and his friends that in
1945 Washington instructed the
Ambassador to make the now his
toric speech calling for elections
which inspired the army to spring
a coup d'etat.
Not only that, but Vargas is play
ing with all the leftists and the
Communists of the country in his
effort to be elected. Actually he
is their candidate. Those 800, 900
Communist votes that went to