The Foundation Hardens

Argentines last week found out what they could expect from their military government and from the "Colonels' clique" which dominates it. Said tall, dark Colonel Juan Peron, Under Secretary of War and President of the Labor Department:

"The Argentine Army has 3,600 officers all of whom, with the exception of 300, are sworn [to support the regime].

"I am disposed to end all labor difficulties in the country. ... I will not allow any action by elements of dissolution and agitation which in the majority of cases are . . . aliens who do not know how to respect my country.

"We are not anti-capitalists but we will not allow capital to dominate us. ... Foreign capital is mistaken if it believes that it can dominate the national Argentine spirit. ... If the gentlemen with money believe that we are going to fall they are wrong.

"We Argentine militarists are playing a daring card, the most daring now existing. . . . We will not tolerate impositions on the international order and much less on the national."

Upmost Caudillo. Belatedly, Colonel Peron and the Government tried to tone down the interview after they saw it in cold print in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. Peron claimed misunderstanding and misuse of off-the-record statements. Said a canny Argentine: "He doesn't say he didn't mean it; he says he didn't mean it to be published."

El Mercurio also quoted President Ramirez: "The great majority of Argentines are in favor of a democratic victory, but that does not mean that they are rupturists [i.e., in favor of breaking with Germany]. The sentiment of Argentina is Catholic. Catholic propaganda is of peace and love toward nations. . . . The present policy [neutrality] will be maintained until external circumstances indicate convenience to modify."

Argentines knew, and President Ramirez knew, that these were the words of a President who had become a figurehead. El Mercurio put the spotlight on Argentina's real leadership--the Army clique behind Ramirez. It said: "If the tide flows on as now and if there are not international complications, Colonel Peron can be, in a short time, the upmost Caudillo of the Argentine Republic. . . ."

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