033.1110 Wallace, Henry A./119: Telegram
The Minister in Costa Rica (Scotten) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 21—8:25 a.m.]
248. Reference my telegram 246, March 18th.14 The newspapers on March 19th continued to give the majority of their space to the visit of Vice President Wallace. Pictures of his arrival, of the procession from the airport to the Legation, of the reception by the Costa Rica Congress, and the official banquet last night were prominently displayed on both front and inside pages as were the speeches of the Vice President and those of the President of Congress and President Calderón welcoming him to Costa Rica. These speeches will be forwarded later by despatch. The Diario de Costa Rica headlined their March 19th edition with a press interview given by the Vice President. This interview stressed the sincerity of Mr. Wallace, his simplicity, lack of formality, his magnetic smile, and direct and exact method of speaking. They quoted the Vice President as saying, “My message is one of faith, hope and joy” and gave prominent place to Mr. Wallace’s statements to the effect that the postwar world must eliminate existing inequalities, obtain sufficient food without which it would not be possible to enjoy the fruits of labor, and eliminate all possibility of wars in the future. The Vice President was asked whether he would be a candidate for the Presidency and whether [Page 62] President Roosevelt would run for a fourth term and to both he replied, “No soy un politico”. The newspapers estimated that from 25,000 to 40,000 persons greeted Mr. Wallace on his arrival and the procession which followed. The most conspicuous element at the airport and in the procession were the labor syndicate groups carrying placards and the flag of the Soviet Union. Mr. Valverde, head of the anti-totalitarian front, and Mr. Buzman, General Secretary of the Union of Labor Syndicates, both spoke for about 10 minutes at the airport in welcome to the Vice President before the procession from the airport.
- Not printed.↩