REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES DECLASSIFIED Authority Stateletter lahz äy ME, NARA Date 2498 quoted in DTARIO DE COSTA RICA ON February 3, 1932 as saying that communism in Costa Rica offered little peril because the structure of the country prevented its propagation, while the social set up of Salvador, on the other hand, where wages are extremely low and land is concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy families, deliberately invites violent attempts at readjustment.
The irresponsibility of the elements forming the 80 called communism was emphasized by Colonel Robles, who stated that they were for the most part unscrupulous opportunists, ambitious laborers and professional tramps. He stated (in contradiction to what LA TRIBUNA reported, see above) that he had been unable to trace any complicity in the circulation of communist literature and the teachings thereof to the Itinerant peddlers (polacos. in Costa Rica; and that even if that charge were substantiated, ciroumstances of a political nature would make it impossible for the present Government to proceed energetically against them. This, according to Colonel Robles, vould be a task faced by the incoming administration.
An interesting article on the mpolacos appeared in yesterday morning LA TRIBUNA, signed by René Picado Michalski, a Costa Rican of Polish origin and the son in law of a wealthy coffee grower, a copy of which is enclosed. It will be noted that he vouches strongly for the industry, integrity and character of these peddlers, who pay all taxes and license fees, sell good merchandise at cheap prices by convenient house