Siege in Argentina

Argentina's internal political turmoil was blanketed under a state of siege suddenly ordered by Acting President Ramon S. Castillo. "I wish that no one speak ill of anyone," he said.

The decree, suspending Article 14 of Argentina's Constitution (patterned after the U.S. Bill of Rights), gave Acting President Castillo unchallenged power to prohibit meetings, suppress newspapers, order arrests--but not to inflict punishment.

First guesses were that Castillo would use his new powers to strangle the tendentious German Transocean News Service, to stomp out Nazi propaganda agents. But German Ambassador Baron Edmund von Thermann, whose deportation was asked three months ago by the Chamber of Deputies, continued as active as ever. Two henchmen representing the Federation of German Cultural & Beneficent Societies turned Castillo's "speak-no-evil" policy to their own advantage, refused to testify before Deputy Raul Damonte Taborda's "Dies Committee" on the spending of more than $4,000,000 during the past year.

Because the decree forbade publication of "statements affecting the neutrality of the Argentine Republic ... or its friendly relations with other countries," the pro-Axis newspaper Pampero discontinued its anti-U.S. cartoons. But irrepressible Horn carried a social note: "Monday morning von Thermann visited Castillo," embellished the story with a cartoon of Thermann's head on a hog plastered with swastikas.

Never considered necessary in World War I, the state of siege raised suspicion among the Acting President's Radical (liberal) opposition that Ramon Castillo was using the war to entrench his Conservative clique more firmly in power. This suspicion was strengthened by Castillo's cancellation of a great pro-Ally mass meeting scheduled to be held in Luna Park. Sponsors, the pro-British Accion Argentina and Buenos Aires' most respected citizens, had expected that 50,000 people would turn out to cheer as U.S. Ambassador Norman Armour read a message from President Roosevelt.

Ramon Castillo regretfully explained that his decree affected all nations and sympathies alike. No doubt he hoped the U.S. would remember his friendly gesture of declaring the U.S. a nonbelligerent. His suggestion that President Roosevelt's message be broadcast by radio was turned down by the meeting's sponsors.

Obviously it was scarcely fitting to have the President of the U.S. thank the people of Argentina for a manifestation of good will that had not been allowed to take place.

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