REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES DECLASSIFIED Authority State Letter 2 e me NARS Czte 2498 espatch no. 194, April 22, 1948, American Embassy, San José, Costa Rica.
RESTRICTED Page seemed unable to organize or direct its forces with anything approaching efficiency, Vanguardia called up its supporters and put in the field as frankly Vanguardia as opposed to government troops. Botla publicly and privately Mora insisted that Vanguardia members were in arms, not as a party, but as citizens coming to the suppe their government; and both publicly and privately he oriticized the Calderonistas for not doing as muoh as the Vanguardistas. Although they may have been acting as individuals volunteering for the defense of the Republio, the Vanguardia and CTCR membership showed a remarkable unanimity, and by a strange coincidence found themselves uoted into all Vanguardia units led by Vanguardia leaders. They even had their own headquarters and staff, detained their own political prisoners, and planned their own strategy. Also, when the peace terms were agreed to, they were the first to turn in their arms and demobilize.
There is good reason to believe that the Vanguardia units turned in only the rilles issued to them by the government, retaining automatic weapons for purposes not disclosed.
Throughout the peace negotiations, Mora spoke with authority and dealt privately as representative of the government with Figueres representative. This he did with the knowledge of the President and to the manifest distaste of Dr. Calderon Guardia. He maintained the position in all discussions that his partisans were defend. ing the constitutional government and would lay down their arms whenever it should order them to do so, but that they would strive to have inoluded in any peace terms allequate guarantees of the social gains of the Ploado and pievious Calderon administrations. The night after the peace was signed he went on the air and publicly restorated substantially this same thesis.
In all my many talks with Mora, both at meetings of the conciliation committee and privately, he has improssed me as a lo headed and intelligent leader of a party dedioated to a liberal and unobjectionable 300 lal logis.
lative program. In his politioal maneuvers in support of this program, on the other hand, he soons to let the end justify the means and uses all of the well known teohniques of international communian. His nowapayor, Trabajo. ringe all the changes on Yankee plutooratlo roletionary Imperiallam bio radio station Intersperses in.
passioned appeals to the proletariato to rise in defense of its rights imperilad by Nazi Talangist oppressors with the Marseillaise and stirring maroken; his partisans are adopt at mass demonstrations and the olenoked fist salute.
He has been donoribed by one of his bitterost onomies a unobjeotionable ideologioally but ansorupulous politioally.
Mora RESTRION