Intervention in Dominican Republic protects profits of U.S. monopolies |

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The following article, slightly abridged, is by a leading U.S. eco- nomist.In his article he describes the major U.S. monopolies which have been operating for years in the Dominican Republic, and who have

conspired to prevent democracy from coming to the Island Republic.

By VICTOR PERLO

General Smedley D., Butler said, “I brought light to the Dom- inican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916” and-his suctessors are doing the same a half century later.

Then the Marines acted openly as collection agents for Wall Street bankers, unable to get all the. super-profits of U.S, sugar companies and repayments on usurious loans out of the poverty stricken country,

That U.S. occupation lasted 18 years, Marine Col, Richard M, Cutts trained the “gorilla” Tru- jillo and arranged for him to. *seize power” in 1930. Trujillo established a U.S.-supplied local armed force, capable of sup- pressing the people, before the Marines left in 1934, During his

rule. tens of millions of *back debits” were paid the U.S, bankers,

The Commerce Department published an incomplete estimate

of U.S. investments in the Dom- inican Republic of $108 million in 1962, . The figure of $250 million given by Dominican offi- cials in 1961 is more realistic,

The South Puerto Rico Sugar Co, is the largest U.S. investor there. Despite its name, two- thirds of its sugar comes from the Dominican Republican, one- third from Purerto Rico (aside from a new acquisition of Florida cane,) Since the Cuban revolu- tion, this company is the sole remaining really large U.S, owner of sugar plantations out- side U.S, territory.

Next in importance is Mellon’s Aluminum Corp, of America, Supplementing its supplies from Surinam, Alcoa opened a bauxite mine in the Dominican Republic in 1959, and obtained 852,000 tons from it in 1963,

The United Fruit Co, has 2,366 acres of banana lands there, a small amount for that company, But recently it contracted to build a railroad and port so as to expand its investment,

The First National City Bank, chief Wall Street collection agent during the first round of Carib- bean invasions, has a branch in

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“Every night when I turn out the lights to sleep, I ask my- self: Have I done everything I could to bring peace to this

world?” — LBJ

Santo Domingo, There arelesser investments in hotels, breweries, and other enterprises often nom- inally owned by Dominicans,

N.Y. Times correspondent Tad. Szule wrote from Santo Domingo. of the “legion of carpetbaggers who descended on this city from the U.S. after the overthrow of Trujillo in 1961,” (9/2/62).

The Marines and Trujillo made eastern Hispaniola one of. the happiest hunting grounds for U.S, corporate giants, Commerce De- partment statistics for 1955 show employees of U.S, companies in the Dominican Republic receiving lower wages than in any other Latin American country for which separate figures are shown and less than one-third the average for the entire area,

After the assassination of Tru- jillo, Dominican workers organ- ized and gained some improve- ments, Sugar workers fought bitterly against company thugs and local armed forces, Their bargaining power increased when the post-Trujillo regime banned import of Haitian field workers, who had been used to beat down wages,

In 1962 the South Puerto Rico Sugar Co, complained of many strikes among its 20,000 peak- season workers, Strikes and stoppages alternated with nego- tiations from December, 1962, to August, 1963, when a two- year contract was signed, retro- active to January 1,

It provided for a 30% wages increase and other benefits, The company complained toits stock- holders about a supposed 100% rise in labor costs, despite a continuing rise in its profits,

The state of affairs where workers could organize and gain improvements over adollara day wages, galled the U.S. sugar and bauxite chiefs, The U.S, Navy kept vessels offshore, ready to intervene momentarily should the revolution take too progressive a turn, U.S. military missions “beefed up” the armed forces and gave them anti-Communist and anti-labor indoctrination lessons,

In November 1963, the N.Y. World- Telegram reported on Washington’ s dissatisfaction,

‘printed its extravagant charges against President Bosch and al- leged “Castroite” influence, and predicted the Bosch regime “may not survive the year, Sugar pro- duction, backbone of the economy, is down sharply, Consequently, dollar earnings this year will drop sharply, Economic analysts point to labor unrest — some Communist-inspired — and mis- management at the huge govern- ment-owned sugar complex as the main reasons for the production plunge,” (11/23/63.)

Almost immediately after- wards a gorilla coup deposed Bosch, Then the U.S, sugar “eompany attacked the workers, and succeeded in revoking some earlier concessions.

Doubtless the resentment of the workers against the wage- cutting

Rockefeller groups’ Corn Pro-

MARINE GENERAL SAYS: : ‘| was a muscle ma for big business’

By GEN. SMEDLEY D. BUTLER a “(Quoted from ‘‘War Is a Racket” written by the late Marine Corps genet i “TI spent 33 years and four months of active service a member of our country’s most agile military force —! Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from? 2nd Lieutenant to Major General. And during the period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle mal fot Big Business, for j Street, and for the ers. I was a racketeer capitalism ...

fot |

Tampico safe for Ame can oil interests in 194 I helped make Haiti a™ | Cuba a decent place { | the National City f boys to collect revenu® in... I helped purify Ni caragua for the inter’

tional banking house © | Brown Bros. in 1909” 1912. ‘

“I brought light to th? Dominican Republic { | American sugar interes G in 1916. I helped make Honduras ‘right’ for American frat ‘ companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped to see to} that Standard Oil went its way unmolested .. .

GEN. BUTLER

“Looking back on it, I feel I might have given Al Co | pone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate” | racket in three city districts. We Marines operate ot three continents!”

‘ committee, The company’s? f

firm is headed by ex-gov. TRON EK, Dewey, life-time political 4 vant of the Rockefellers. cha Manhattan, of course is the tran t fer and dividend paying 2

U.S. companies contributed to the revolutionary upsurge that threw out the militarists before the newest U.S, invasion,

While not among the corporate giants, the South Puerto Rican Sugar Co, is a significant unit in the group of extremely profit- able sugar companies, tied in with shipping and banking interests, owned by top Wall Street families, and generally dominated by the very aggressive Rockefeller in- terests,

Of course, direct profit oppor, a tunities are not the exclu motivation for the U.S, invasioN In such cases there is alw@ a mixture of economic, milital? and political considerations. —

The Pentagon maintail® ; rt guided missile tracking station? 4 Sabana de la Mar in the SoU 4 eastern part of the country:*) its present invasion is, in eff@?? an attempt to adda more comP hensive base to its Caribb network,

President G,D, Debevoise was formerly with J.P, Morgan and Co, Other members of the exec- utive committee include Alfred W, Barth, head of the overseas department of Chase Manhattan Bank; Edward M, Carey, a di- rector of the Rockefellers’ Com- monwealth Oil Refining Co, (Puerto Rico); and James A, Moffett 2nd, Standard Oil heir and retired president of the

Finally, by flaunting thee power and ruthlessness, the ‘te imperialists wish to inti all the peoples of Latin Ameri@’ | and other continents as well as that they will fear to resist drive for world conquest W the Johnson administratio®

Standard Oil heir F, R, Pratt so blatantly and recklessly — is chairman of the stock option vivified, ey)

6-2

May 14, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Pag

ducts Corp,