Evening star., 1951-05-16
A Police Chief Operates on q Surgeon
By Belmont Fories

Il n II. AES1AO, OuSGGu dS
~ President of Panama last week for
the second time in decade. is in jail
instead of in the Presidential Palace to-
day because of one fundamental mis-
calculation.
The Harvard trained surgeon, who has
been a stormy figure in Panamanian
politics for nearly a quarter of CEN
tury, forgot that he was President only
by courtesy of the chief of police.
AS leader of the Authentic Revolution
ary Party, the tall and handsome Arias,
dynamic politician of the rabble-
rousing school. had large popular fol-
lowing co-ordinated by a hard core OF
fanatically loyal party workers. He even
had his own secret police.
But Panama, which has no army. does
have well-armed, well-trained national
police force of about 1000 men, and
they are completely loyal to their COM
mander. Col Jose Antonio Remon.
If there were ever any real doubts
about who is boss In Panama when the
chips are down, they should have been
dissipated by Col. Remon's 1949 coup.
The chief of police, dismissed by Presi-
dent Daniel Chants for his activities in
connection with SlaughterhOuse and bus
line monopolies, forced out the President
in defiance of both the Supreme Court
and the National Assembly, and put DR..
Arias in his place. =
DR.. Arias, said the police chief, was the
legitimate President because he had
really won the election of 1948. Whether
or not he had-the results were so close
and the counting so questionable no one
will ever know-Dr Arias moved into
the Presidential Palace with Col.
Remons blessing. The Supreme Court
and the Assembly quickly ratified the
police chiefs choice.
The chief, who is irritated at American
news stories referring to him as strong
man" or president maker" apparently
has no political ambitions of his own
if he were president some one else would
be chief of police and ex-officio strong
man.
To DR.. Arias. proud and headstrong
man, it must have been a difficult sit
uation. He quietly took such steps as
he could to strengthen his position, in
Guiding setting up his secret police force.
The first hint that all was not well be-
tween the president and the chief of
police came in comic opera incidents of
national police arresting secret police
who were attempting to arrest opposi-
ton political leaders.
There can be no doubt about the
strong popular reaction early last week
when DR.. Arias abrogated the 1946 con-
Stitution, reinStated his own conStitu-
ton of 1941, dissolved the National AS
sembly and put the nations highest
courts on temporary basis. Thousands
of Panamanians protested his acts as
dictatorial, and general strike para
lyZed Panama City.
The police could have put down the
rioting, as they had suppressed demon
stratlonS for President Chants in 1949.
But this time they were on the popular
side. When the National Assembly voted
to remove DR.. Arias from office, Col.
Remon took day to think the matter
over, and then sent his helmeted police
to arrest the defiant doctor, barricaded
with his followers in the presidential
palace.
The Staying of two police officials, ap-
parently in cold. blood, set off brief
struggle. DR.: Arias. disheveled and
blood-spattered but unhurt, was taken
to jail by police who had to protect him
from mob violence. 1t was quite a differ
ent scene. for him, from his first venture
into revolution in 1881, when the young
doctor gun in hand, led a revolt in
which about 90 persons were killed and
100 injured His older brother Harmodio
became president then.
The Arias brothers were not members
of the small group of wealthy families
Nf SY1oY1 c11 yry1NA ifIyfn
mas ruling class. Partly Indian, they
were born of poor family in the inte-
rior. Harmodio, brilliant student, was
sent to Cambridge by the Panama gov
ernrent. Later a successful lawyer,
he sent his brother to school in the
United States.
Arnulfo attended Hartwick College
and the University of Chicago, took his
medical degree at Harvard and interned
at Boston City College Returning to
Panama in 1927, he plunged into poll
tics and soon had formed new political
party.
With Harmodio installed as President
in 1881, Arnulfo served as director of
public health, an important political
post. since it controls the national lot
terry. In 1884 he turned to diplomacy,
going to Europe as Minister to Italy. It
was there, his enemies say, that he
learned to admire some aspects of totali-
tarianism. Later he was Minister to
Great Britain and France.
DR.. Arias returned to Panama in time
to run for President in 1910. He won
by landslide vote, though there were
the usual charges of fraud. And his
program of Panama for the Panama
mans" gave promise of rallying all fac
tions behind him. The Panamanians
are a proud people who cannot help
resenting the fact that their fortunes
are linked with those of more powerful
neighbor. In country that lives off
the canal, batting the United States is
at times almost popular sport.
DR.. Arias proclaimed Panama's atti-
tude toward the war in Europe one of