Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-03-03
Teor-Gassed President

Mr.. Eisenhower has put the best
face on the hostile demonstrations
which he encountered in Montevideo-
demonstrations which brought a few
WhiffS of tear gas to the PRESIDE as
Uruguayan police tried to quell the fist
shaking students
Through his press secretary. the
President said he hoped everyone
would understand this did not repre-
sent the opinion of the vast majority
OF people" in Uruguay. This plainly is
true. For the most part, Mr.. EiSen-
hover was warmly and even enthuSi-
aStically welcomed.
Nevertheless, it does not seem to us
that this calls for looking the other
way, or turning the other cheek, with
respect to the hostile students, whether
they be Communists or just garden va
riety ScreW5allS. Tin cans and rocks
were thrown at the procession as the
President rode by. None hit the PrcSi-
dents car, but his automobile doubt
less was the intended target.
Our feeling about this business
stems from the proposition that Mr..
Eisenhower is the President of the
United States. An affront to him is
an affront to the Office he holds. Rock
throwing demonstrations against Pres
1dent would not be tolerated in the
United States, and we do not believe
a President should expose himself to
them outside the United States. If
local authorities, in Montevideo or else
where, cannot or will not take adequate
measures to prevent these hostile mani
festations, the President should solve
the problem by staying away. The
United States has put up with a great
deal of abuse from crackpot elements in
Latin America. And we do not think
that any more should be tolerated.
With this said, it should be en-
phaSized that Mr. Eisenhower'S trip,
taken as whole, has been a useful
experiment, in the course of which the
President has done much to improve
relations between the United States and
our South American neighbors.
He has done so by taking pains to
straighten out CommuniSt-foster mis-
understandings about our country'S pol
icieS in relation to the rest of the hemi-
sphere. And he has been especially
effective in making clear to the people
Of Brazil Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
that it is altogether erroneous to accuse
the United States of being so preoccupled
with Europe and Asia as to be indifferent
to Latin America and its problems.
IN this Ioftor Y1oint Mr.
has spoken out in manner that must
certainly impress all our friends to the
south. Thus he has reminded them,
notably in his address to the Joint session
Of the Chilean Congress, of how our
country-wholly apart from its private
inveStors-haS been working through
several important agencies, such as the
World Bank, the EXport-I Import Bank
and the fledgling Inter-American De-
velopment Bank, to help the American
states finance key projects designed to
promote agricultural modernization and
industrial progress as swiftly and on as
large scale as possible.
Further, the President has empha-
sized that the United States is solemnly
committed under the 1947 Treaty of Rio
de Janeiro to defend the Americas
against armed aggression from any
quarter-a commitment enabling them,
If they so wish, to cut down on arms
expenditures and invest the savings in
nonmilitary economic development. OF
course, as indicated by Uruguay's leftist
students, Latin America is infested with
trouble-making minority elements dedi-
Gated to the task of spelling relations
with our country But the vast majority
of the peoples south of us are still our
friends, and Mr.. Eisenhower's visit
among them undoubtedly has helped to
confirm them in that feeling.