"LA BANDERA ROJA"

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 284, 27 August 1919, Page 7

"LA BANDERA ROJA"

THE RED FLAG IN ARGENTINE AND. PRESIDENT IRIGOYEN ■ It is no.fcasy matter to explain in few words the apparent obstruction displayed by President, Irigoyen and his Ministers to anything like a return to normal commercial conditions in the Argentine (says the special correspondent of tho New York "Evening Tost," writing from Buenos Aires). That in some respects Irigoyon is a strong- man cannot bo denied, and he has the Argentine peoplo with him to the extent that they are extremely jealous of nny foreign criticism, savo when couobed in very measured terms; That President Irigoyen seeks the advantage of Argentina first, iast and all the- time, appears to be true; where his policy differs from that of many people is in res>sct to his attitude towards labour trouble and also towards the international situation. Ho is apparently convinced that by allowing things to take their course the capitalist clement, largely composed of foreigners, will bo compelled to improve the conditions of the worker, and htf' either cannot or wili not see that at tho present time, while the demands of labour are in many eases excessive, the return upon invested capital is, taken as a whole, loss than it has ever boen in the republic. Tho officinlisation- of tho port services was 'designed to show the employers that they were in tho wrong, but it has had tho somewhat unexpected offect of proving the dirdct contrary, since the handi ling of goods and shipping is at tho present moment costing about two and a half times ns raucli as was the case under the old regime. The differenco must, in the long run, come out of the taxpayer's pocket, a fact which is becoming patent to the taxpayer and which he docs not liko. In matters international there is evident the belief in a resumption of profitable commercial relations with neutral Europe and the Central Empires. That thie is due to the influence exercised upon the President by pro-Gorman advisers cannot he doubted, and tho recent wholesalo removal of iirmß from tho black list, together with the certainty that all such restrictions will disanuoar with the signing of peace, is held in certain quarters to afFbn' proof of tho wisdom of President Irigoyen's policy. Nevertheless, it must siot be forgotten that, in course of time many of« these difficulties that now loom so large will, in all probability, adjust themselves, while, provided that Argentina and her rulers can keep themselves free of European entanglement, events must prove to them tho unsubstantial nature of their fears concerning Anglo-Saxon hegemony in South America, or anywhere olse. , That tho Government policy in labour matters may lead to trouble is, however, true. Apart from tho great port strike, •which many people believe to be but temporarily settled, '.here_ may have been numerous smaller strikes in shops, banks, cafes, and the many little factories that go to make up the industrial lifo of Buonos Aires. Shorter hours and better pay have in nlmost every case been conceded almost at once, but a far more serious situation prevails in the rural districts where the farmers, who have suffered severely from their inability to sell their produce, are calling for reduction in rent to the tune of some 40 per cent., plus improved conditions of tenure gen-' erally. The subject of land tenure in Argentina is too complicated to be gone into at length, but qno may say that the whole question hinges on the fact that, with only a two-year leaso, in which are clauses stipulating that the whole area rented must be sown with grain, the rest being paid in kind, the agriculturists life is not only hazardous as regards result, but is also most unsettled. Throughout the whole of tho cultivator lives for the most part in a mud hovel of one or two rooms, for the 6im.ple reason that all buildings and betterment in general go to the landlord at tfie end of the lease, a state of affairs which tends neither to content nor to good farming. The oultiva'.ors threaten that unless their demands are conceded by the landlords they will neither reap the coining maize crop nor, in the cases where the ground has been already cleared, will thev till the soil for fresh sowing. That this agitation has been fanned by outside elemonta '.here is every reason to fear, for directly or indirectly, Maximalist teaching has been imported into Argentina. At least two frankly revolutionary papers have been founded ■in Buenos Aires, one styled "La Bandera Eoia," which means "The Eed Plaß," and the other "Spartacus," in addition to which there is a large is3uo of pamphlets giving translations of speeches by Liebkneclit, 'iehichirine, Trotsky, and otiier leaders of the movement. That they are fanatic in touo and pass all ordinary bounds in their incita'.ion to what they term "direct action" is to put it very mildly. Liberty of the Press one applauds, but it is generally felt that such literature circulating openly among an almost illik erate proletariat' must cause unrest and lead to serious trouble. It raav bo but part and parcel of the great world agitation through which all nations are passins, but at the same time it is a disquieting symptom, and if by the simple exnedient of stopping publication it wero possible to check expressions such as tho-o of ono leader writer in "The Bed Flag," | wlui frnnkly daclnrci? that there is no uso' in stating principles or enunciating a policy un'.il Revolution hns cleared tho ground for the new jtruc'ui'o, then the sooner the closure is applied the better for Argentina.