American Notes Cities

The letter asked whether Vienna, W. Va. (pop. 13,000), had any motorcycles, hospital beds, sewing machines, wheelchairs, buses or other equipment to spare. After Mayor William Owens finished reading it, he did what any skeptic would do: he tested the signature by running a wet finger over it. The name Jose Duarte smudged. Says Owens: "It was real." The solicitation was one of more than 100 that El Salvador's President Duarte, himself a former mayor (of San Salvador, the capital), has sent to American cities requesting assistance for his war-ravaged nation. Though many of the mayors contacted by Duarte expressed sympathy, most had responses similar to that of Portland's Mayor J.E. Bud Clark. Said a spokesman: "We understand that other people have problems. But Portland, like every other city, is having to swallow hard and really look at its own finances to see how we can best serve our own people." Duarte's request is a slight embarrassment for the State Department, since El Salvador is already receiving a sizable chunk of American aid. Indeed, in fiscal 1986 the U.S. has plans to send that country $350.6 million in economic aid, as well as $132.6 million in military assistance.