Evening star., 1961-04-05
A Start in Right Direction in Laos

plished with so much. Today
in Laos there is not one
highway which is passable
the year round. In a country
which has exactly two native
physicians, the only hospital
was built years ago by the
French. In an economy which
produces Just SIS million Of
exports each year (not count
ing illegal opium worth near
ly twice that much), not a
single factory has been built.
Instead, there are the fine
homes of government Off
cials in Vientiane and Ger
tainly more Mercedes cars per
square mile than in any other
city in the world. It has
been estimated that q full
70 per cent of American aid
dispensed in the past has
found its way into the pockets
Of the cannier elements Of
the local population. Until
1853 when a monetary reform
put a stop to the most out
rageous abuses, American aid
was the source of little more
than dazzling personal for
tunes, along with corruption
and disorganization on an
almost incredible scale.
Accomplishments Bad
Even the little that was ac-
compliShed was largely bad
in terms of the country'S
domestic needs. Today Laos
is saddled with an army and
a bureaucracy which a coun-
try of twice its size and state
of development could never
afford. AS long as there are
no roads and no idea Of
marketing, efforts to increase
agricultural output have
proved generally futile. With
no way to dispose Of their
surplus, the usual result Of
doubling production has sim
ply been to halve the acreage
planted.
Recently, a serious effort
to bring some sense to the
chaotic American effort in
Laos raised hope Of real i'm
provement. A major road
building project was mapped
out, tighter controls clamped
on the distribution Of largesse
and a program of decentrali-
zation, designed to get prog
ress at a grasS-roots level,
was begun.
Unfortunately, 1t was just
at this point that the sim
mering political situation,
marked by frequent and vio-
lent changes of government,
exploded into full-fledged,
civil war. For much Of the
time since then the facili-
ties of the Operations Mis-
sion have been mobilized al
most exclusively for emerg-
ency disaster relief - flying
food and medical supplies to
isolated villages. caring for
refugees, repairing war dam
age in and around Vientiane.
Today, most Of the major
projects have been put on ice
for the duration and even
small-scale operations have
had to be suspended in about
half the country because Of
infiltrating rebel guerrilla
forces.
If the result Of American
aid to Laos is nothing to brag
about, however, there is al
ways another side to the
coin. If no aid had been sup
piled, Laos would most Ger
tainly long since have fallen
to communism. And II the
military situation Gains down,
experts in the field are be-
ginning to see possibilities
for a development far more
rapid and sensible than any
thing that has been seen so
far.
Apart from sentimentalists
who believe in keeping the
country as a kind Of un-
spoiled and primitive museum
piece, most people here agree
that such progress is essen
tial If Laos is to stand a
chance of survival as an
independent nation in the
modern world. What is going
on on the banks of the Nam
Pa River today is at long last
a small beginning in the right
direction. The question now is
quite simply whether it will
be possible to get on with the
job, under conditions which
the fortunes Of war and the
stupidity of men impose on
this confused, unhappy land.