REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES DECLASSIFIED Authority Statele Her Wahl B; ML NARS Cate 24981 Enclosure No. 1, Despatch No. 132, Karch 19, 1948.
American Embassy, San José, Costa Rica.
RESTRICTED Page himself was implicated since it was possible that the moving spirit may be Col. Arana. However, he said, through Arevalo excessive preoccupation with the idea of a Central America Union, it was possible that he had become involved. Mora said that Costa Rica, which had always up until now been a peaceful country with no revolutionary movements of any importance, was opposed to the idea of Central America Union, largely because it would drag Costa Rica into the troubles so constantly arising in those other states where revolutions were more or less frequent.
In regard to the social laws of which he spoke, More discussed the minimum wage law which he felt had been beneficial but which he said was not completely effective since any effort to read just wages was bitterly contested by the coffee growers. He said that the average wages of a peon in the coffee fincas in the Central Plateau probably averaged four colones a day, and in the southern part of the country where coffee production was much less effective, the wage would be only 50 colones a day. He said that he felt efforts should be made to devote this marginal coffee land to some other crop for which it is better fitted, but there had been considerable opposition and no progress had been made.
With regard to the distribution of lands, he said that the agrarian problem was not acute in Costa Rica since there was no necessity for the division of large landed properties as the Government still has sufficient vacant lands from which it could distribute as much as 500, 000 hectares. He said that during the Picado administration 30, 000 hectares had been distributed and that the problem was mainly one of obtaining funds to open roads to reach lands not now connected with the road system of the country. In this connection ho referred to the bitterness which had been aroused by the enactment of an income tax law to raise revenues partly for road building and settlement of landless peons. It had been proposed instead that customs duties be increased.
He said he had actively opposed this course in Congress since it would increase the living costs of the masses, and had been instrumental as head of the Finance Committee in putting through the income tax law. This not unnaturally had made him many enemies though he felt that the law was very mild and said that the maximum payments would amount to about 12 annually.
With reference to the Social Security systém, he said it had not yet been fully developed since only sickness and maternity benefits are now in effect. He said approxima tely 40, 000 people were covered and that it was gradually being extended, though with some dirficulties. With regard to the criticism, that its y services RESTRICTED