811.113 Senate Investigation/107
The Minister in Ecuador ( Dawson ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 4.]
Sir: The Ecuadoran press has devoted considerable space to reports of the activities of the special committee of the United States Senate investigating the operations of the munitions industry, and the disclosures dealing with Latin-American countries have, of course, been followed with great interest by the Ecuadoran public.
Thus far there has been surprisingly little editorial comment in the local press. In the only editorial of any interest which has come to my attention, El Comercio of Quito, while deploring the conditions revealed and the manner in which Latin-America has been exploited by munitions makers, refers to the investigation itself as a generous and purifying measure which indicates a “change of norms in the moral relations of peoples” and restores confidence in the United States.
A principal reason for the absence of more general editorial comment is no doubt the circumstance that up to the present Ecuador has figured in reports of the investigation only in connection with the alleged sale to the Ecuadoran Government of tear-gas bombs by an American missionary, Mr. Paul Young, said to be the brother of the president of the Federal Laboratories Company. In publishing the report, the press has, of course, stressed the rather anomalous activities of Mr. Young. Strangely enough, the conservative Debate has made no attempt to exploit the incident for a broadside against Protestant missionaries. It may be assumed, however, that it has made due note of the report for future reference.
Respectfully yours,