"Loyalty, Disinterest, Patriotism"

Deep-lined Plutarco Elias Calles, ex-President and strongest figure in Mexico, keeps a jealous eye on his country. Fortnight ago he was to all intents & purposes a private citizen. At last week's close he and President Pascual Ortiz Rubio were the entire Cabinet.

The crisis came without warning. Early in the week President Ortiz Rubio summoned an emergency cabinet meeting which lasted almost without a break for 48 hours. At the end of that time it was announced that because of "a fresh and greater lack of tranquillity in the capital" the entire Cabinet had offered their resignations and General Calles had consented to emerge from his retirement and accept the posts of Minister of War and Marine and Minister of the Interior.

First ministers to resign were the four Generals in the Cabinet: Joaquin Amaro (Minister of War) ; Lazaro Cardenas (Interior) ; Saturnino Cedillo (Agriculture); Juan Andreu Almazan (Communications). Able Finance Minister Luis Montes de Oca and the other civilians resigned some hours later, but rumors persisted that they would soon go back to their posts. It seemed evident that yet another military revolution had been brewing, a brew chilled by canny General Calles before it could boil over. Over the cafe tables it was insisted that the father of this military miscarriage was General Joaquin Amaro, a cyclopean full-blooded Tarascan Indian, who until he quarreled with General Calles six months ago was always considered the least ambitious, most loyal and efficient of Mexican Generals. Last week General Calles did his best to stop these rumors with a statement:

"The motive behind my acceptance of the office of Minister of War and the act of loyalty, disinterest and patriotism on the part of General Amaro is to facilitate the path of the Government of the Republic in solving a political crisis."

Knowing the ways of Mexican politicians, the world kept the rumors alive. On the week's news, pesos dropped to 2.90, closed at 2.78 to the dollar (par is 2.01 pesos to the dollar). Later came relief. Mexican bankers, hard pressed for bullion, bought gold in the New York market for the first time in years. A shipment of $2,114,700 arrived at Vera Cruz for Mexico City.

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