REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. DECLASSHED Aetherity State Leffer hr ey me NARA Da! 24 18. 11 blind faith in laissez faire, which will scarcely solve Costa Rica present and future problems. The other candidates are politicians with very few qualifications to administer a country under postdepression conditions. Two, León Cortés and Raúl Gurdián, have considerable administrative ability, but their knowledge of the fundamentals of foreign trade, banking, credit, industrial relations and social labor conditions, et cetera, is sketchy at best. It is likewise unfortunate that there are so Iew persons in Costa Rica with enough training in economics to advise the politicians who may be elected to high office. To assemble a brain trust in this country would be almost a physical impossibility, despite the fact that it is badly needed and could accomplish wonders.
The Congress has recently approved two changes in the Constitution, one, making the vote compulsory, and the second, providing that the successful presidential candidate will not have to obtain a clear majority of the votes cast, but can be elected if he receives at least 40 per cent of ballots cast. These amendments have not yet been approved by the President, but it is expected that at least the 40 per cent rule will receive his approval, since he recommended such a change in his last message to the Congress. The 40 per cent provision is expected to make it possible to keep the