REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES DECLASSIFIED Authority Stateletter Inh2 by me NARI Date 24 18 4fluctuating curves of his mental health. As a political leader, he does not inspire confidence; as a presidential aspirant he is given little or no chance; as a minor political influence among Catholic and Reformista elements he has and probably will have a certain bargaining power that may be of value to him in the political transactions that usually accompany presidential campaigns. At the zenith of his power, in 1923 and 1924, he received only about 14, 000 votes for the Presidenoy, whereas successful candidates must normally count on obtaining at least 40, 000 votes to be elected unless the election is split abnormally. Since that time, he has lost rather than gained strength. Had he had more staying power, he might have risen to power on the strength of his Reform platform, the 18 points of which represented, when first proclaimed in 1923, a liberal program unusual in Costa Rica. It was, in effect, a New Deal of sorts which is still on paper, due, principally, to the personal failure of its leading exponent to carry it through. Today, General Volio is endeavoring to piece together the fragments of his party and to weld them into an anti Communist, Catholic movement that will proceed presumably no farther toward liberalism and the left than the conservative influence of the Church would permit. He struck a responsive chord in the past with his Reformism, however, and with a courageous and sane leader the minority to which it has appealed might