SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8,1963
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
U A W «r 'M w
i Z
PAGETHRE
Peace Corps Faces Indian Problems in Peru
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
Associated Press News Analyst
LIMA-Mrs. Leone Jackson, a
peace corpsman, is one of hun-
dreds of North Americans work-
ing here on the problem of the
Indians, trying to tring them
peacefully from the stone age to
the jet age in a generation.
This is one of the great human
and political problems of South
America. The way it is solved can
make or break modern Peru.
A few mornings ago Mrs. Jack-
son showed up as usual at 7 a.m.
to help supervise the feeding of
1,000 school children from a
sprawling hillside slum, the bar-
riada of El Agustino. The black-
eyed boys and girls, some scrubbed
and some with grimy cheeks, lined
up under a shed beside the El
Agustino Public School. Hot wheat
gruel, milk and rolls were doled
out by a committee of the Indian
mothers.
Mrs. Jackson and other Peace
Corps volunteers watched, made
an occasional suggestion and
talked with some of the children
to ease their shyness with
strangers. At 69 Mrs. Jackson is
the oldest woman in the Peace
Corps in Peru.
No Hope,
"The terrible thing about the
Barriadas," she said, "is just this.
A boy who lives in one of these
places finds nothing to make him
think he can ever get out of it."
But the schools, where they
exist, and the free breakfasts
from United States food surpluses
-giving contact with the outside
world--do offer some hope of es-
cape, and the children as they get
older seem to grasp at that hope.
Mrs. Jackson said they learn well.
What they do not have is a good
start at home in the huts of il-
literate parents, in their play in
the filthy streets. Another thing
they are unsure of as they grow
older is what they will do with the
education they get.
Divided Country
Peru is a strangely split up
country. The narrow coastal strip
in the Pacific is well developed,
industrialized, productive. In this
strip a fourth of the population
of 100 million produces well over
50 per cent of all that Peru makes.
The workers are mixed Indian and
white: they fare reasonably well.
Far more than half the people
of Peru live in the mountains and
they are almost entirely Indian.
Their agriculture is extremely in-
efficient. The productive wealth
of the region is found in such
minerals as copper, zinc and gold.
The Indians are left over from
the ancient empire of the Incas
which was smashed by the Span-
ish 400 years ago. They have lived
in poverty, frequently in serfdom,
ever since. They are illiterate.
White Control
Agriculture, business, commerce
and politics are controlled by
Peru's white population, which in
turn is dominated by a relatively
few extremely wealthy families.
About two per cent of the people
of the country own 75 per cent ofj
the resources, including most of
the good soil. The great haciendas
in the back lands are measured
not in acres but in square miles.
While the government operates
on a balanced budget and foreign
trade is balanced, the internal
economy is very uneven. Per cap-
ita income for Lima is $600 a
year. That for Cuzco, an impor-
tant mountain city, is $40. An
Indian day laborer in Puno de-
partment can earn at most eight
or nine soles (about 35 cents) a
day., If he has a small pot of
hacienda land, he must work on
the hacienda three or four days
without cash earnings just to pay
the rent. Thus the cards are
stacked against the Indian in sev-
eral ways but there are signs of
a new deal to come, peacefully or
violently.'
Missionaries, reformers, auto-
mobiles, Communist agitators,
transistor radios, Peruvian politi-
cians have awakened the Indian
to his plight the last few years.
The slowly expanding road system
and the airpldne also are spurring
his emergence from the dark past.,
Land Invasions
One reaction by the Indian has
been to step up land invasions.
The Indians have always claimed
the lands really belonged to them,
not to the white man. Sometimes
there are violent clashes with,
police.
Another Indian reaction has
been to migrate to the city, seek-
ing work at higher wages. This is
what creates the 'barriadas. Even
when the. Indians get jobs-even
when they have learned skills and
gotten better jobs in the second
generation - they usually can't
find decent housing. The problem
is not discrimination; the housing
simply doesn't exist.
Many groups are working with
the Indians, in the mountains and
in the barriadas. President Fer-
nando Belaunde Terry, the United
States - trained architect who
heads Peru's new reform govern-
ment, has projected broad scale-
and costly-programs for radical
change. Millions of dollars worth
of United States assistance are
going into farm improvement and
road construction projects. Robert
Culbertson, the respected United
States aid chief in Lima, spends
much of his time on the Indian
problem.
Unique Venture
But the role of the Peace Corps
is unique. For, as in the case of
Mrs. Jackson and the free break-
fasts, the Peace Corps volunteers
work directly with the Indians
and often live in their communi-
ties.
Take the case of the new school
for the barriada of El Ermitano.
The Indians petitioned the Peace
Corps to put up a building for
them, saying the ministry of edu-
cation would then provide a teach-
er. Peace Corps director Frank
Mankiwicz declined to build the
school, but made a counteroffer.
His people would help with a de-
sign and with advice on methods
if the Indians would act on their
own. The Indians agreed.
The joint effort produced a mud
block building with a thatched
roof, and the Indians, having
learned to profit by committee
action, then kept after the minis-
try of education until it assigned
a teacher. The school runs grades
one through five and the sign on
the wall outside says "Avnida Pro-
gresso" (Avenue of Progress).
Rugged Conditions
Rugged as are conditions in the
barriadas, Peace Corps volunteers
live well by comparison with the
100 young men and women of the
Peace Corps who share the com-
munity lives of the Indians in the
mountains. But Mankiewicz says
none of his 369 volunteers is both-
ered by hardship. Some, however,
are bothered by the inability to
get things done, and occasionally
become so frustrated they have
to be sent home.
Mankiewicz estimates about 20
have been sent home "for all
kinds of reasons" mostly related
to frustration. The Peace Corps
in Peru is the second largest in
the world-the group in the Phil-
ippines being larger. Members
here teach school, work on adult
education, but most of all, they
try to help the Indians solve prac-
tical problems while learning the
importance of cooperative action.
Back in the moutnains are Ku-
yochico and Kuyogrande. Both
needed water for drinking and ir-
rigation. The Indians themselves
organized a work group to dig a
ditch from a water supply about
two miles away at a higher alti-
tude.
Project Lags
The diggers worked more or less
faithfully and the Peace Corps
worked with them until they
came to an outcropping of stone
500 yards across. Discouraged they
let the work lag and were about
to abandon it.
At that point, Mankiewicz ob-
tained $700 from a special United
States foreign aid fund author-
ized for unusual projects. He spent
the money on a second-hand pow-
er hammer. The hammer cut holes
for dynamiting the rock barrier,
the diggers got back to work, and
the two towns are now close to
completing their project. The
leaders are talking about raising
money for a small dam and elec-
tric generator since their canal
has a steep gradient.
"Nobody will ever sell those
people anti-gringoism," Mankiew-
icz said.
The history of the Peace Corps
and United States aid missions
here are full of such incidents
which are slowly helping to
change the ways of thie Indians,
reduce their misery, and prepare
them for more productive lives in
the expanding Peruvian economy.
Whether the change will come
fast enough to head off major
violence, however, is anybody's
guess at this point.
U
CONSTITUTION:
Legislature May Alter .Terms
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the
second in a four-part series on the
implementation of the new Michi-
gan Constitution.)
By THOMAS COPI
One of the major issues facing
the second special session of the
Legislature is the proposed ex-
tending of terms of elected county
officials.
The proposal includes a mora-
torium on elections for such coun-
ty officials and clerk and auditor
until 1966. The major reason for
House Debates
Ballot .Forms
By The Associated Press
LANSING - The old political
controversy over incumbency des-
ignations on the ballot came back
to haunt the Legislature Friday.
Rep. Albert R. Horrigan (D-
Flint) objected to one of the bills
implementing the new constitu-
tion because it limited the incum-
bency designation to "any elected
incumbent judge."
Horrigan objected because it
failed to include appointed judges
coming up for election for the first
time. But later, warned that Re-
publican Gov. George Romney had
appointed about 20 judges, Horri-
gan withdrew his objection, only
to have it raised by GOP floor'
leader Robert Waldron (R-Grosse
Pointe).
71
Under the auspices of its Faculty group
H ILLEL announces a lecture by
this is to avoid having a "bed-
sheet" ballot in presidential elec-
tion years.
The new constitution states that
county officials must be elected
for four year terms, which would
make their elections fall on na-
tional election years.
Extension of Terms
Gov. George Romney has said
that he would prefer "some differ-
ent approach" than the proposed
extension of terms and that he
does not oppose the election of
county officials in national elec-
tion years.
Another portion of the consti-
tution which will have great af-
fect on the state, although it in-
volves little controversy, is the abo-'
lition of statewide spring elections,
held in odd-numbered years.
This abolition comes mainly
through a re - definement of
''spring elections,' where the law
is made to read "spring elections
means the local election to be
held in the spring."
The new constitution includes
as requirements for electors that
they be 21 years old and have
lived in Michigan for six months,
leaving all other specifics to the
legislators for implementation.
MaJor Difference
This section illustrates one of
the reasons thenew constitution
was drafted, and one of the ma-
jor differences between the new
and the old constitutions: in the
new, the section on requirements
for electors is 60 words long,
whereas the similar section in the
1908 constitution is 580 words long.
One reason the new constitution
was drawn up was to take out
specifics and use laws in place of
constitutional detail.
Thesection on elections in the
new constitution also limits voting
rights to property holders and
their spouses on "ad valorem tax
assessment rate increases" (mill-
age rate increases).
Also under "elections" in the
1963 constitution are definitions
and explanations of procedure for
initiative and referendum. Al-
though the new constitution does
not differ to a great degree from;
the old here, it does state that1
much of the detail is to be im-I
plemented by the Legislature, and
that any law adopted under the1
initiative may be amended or re-]
pealed by a three-fourths vote of
the members "elected to and serv-I
World News
Roundup
By The Associated Press j
LA PAZ, Bolivia-Three United
States government, a Peace Corps1
volunteer, 16 Bolivian technicians
and one German were seized at
dawn yesterday by anti-govern-
ment miners and are being held asI
hostages for the release of three
Communist labor leaders.,
BERLIN-The East German re-
gime rejected last night a West
German offer to negotiate issuance1
of passes to West Berliners want-
ing to visit relatives and friends
in the eastern sector during the
holidays.1
ROME-The Italian left-leaning1
coalition of Premier Aldo Moro I
held its first cabinet meeting last |
night while the Communist party |
vowed to fight the new govern-
ment.
ing in" each house of the Legisla-
ture.
Judicial Branch
In the section on the judicial
branch of the state government
the number of supreme court jus-
tices is fixed at seven. Although
there was no number set in the
1908 constitution, eight are pre-
scribed by law. However, the num-
ber will not decrease to seven un-
til a vacancy occurs.
Also in the "judicial" section a
new intermediate court of appeals
is set up. The appellate court will
have nine judges, but the number
can be increased by law.
The jurisdiction of the court of
appeals has to be decided by the
Legislature in their present spe-
cial session, although the court's
practice and procedure will be de-
cided by the supreme court.
Must Be LicensedE
Requirements for judges set up
in the new constitution include
the precept that all judges must
be licensed to practice law in
Michigan, whereas under the old
constitution, this was required only
of supreme court and circuit court
judges.
Also, the offices of circuit court
commissioner and justice of the
peace are to be abolished five
years after the new constitution
goes into effect, although they can
be abolished before this time by
law. Until they are abolished, the
jurisdiction, compensation and
powers of the offices will remain
as provided by law.
Fauri Claims
Aid Not Used
Dismay that less than one-third
of the states have in operation
an Aid to Dependent Children of
the Unemployed (ADC-U) pro-
gram was voiced recently by Dean
Fedele F. Fauri of the social work
school.
"It is an indictment of legis-
latures in states with depressed
areas that they are not willing to
provide at least three dollars a
month in state and local funds to
obtain $14 in federal funds for
each dependent child and needy
parent in families where the wage
earner cannot obtain employ-
ment," he said.
Dean Fauri spoke to the Ameri-
can Public Welfare Association in
Washington. He said that state
inaction would be acceptable only
"if the states had constructive
general assistance programs" of
their own.
He hailed the 1962 Federal Pub-
lic Welfare amendments-extend-
ing the ADC-U program and in-
creasing federal participation in
community work and training pro-
grams - as a "significant mile-
stone."
But most state legislatures have
not taken the necessary steps to
implement fully the provisions of
the amendments.
Dean Fauri said that the Mich-
igan legislature "passed a bill
earlier this year, but it was held
to be out of conformity with, fed-
eral requirements because of its
discriminatory provisions."
He explained that the Michigan
bill "fails to provide equal treat-
ment to needy families in exactly
the same circumstances, living in
the same community. It would set
up two classes of needy individuals
and provide payments only to
-those already receiving benefits
for 26 weeks."
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