Stranica 3 [3]
OCR
- page three 4 of the Country : The Ljstemer of Monrovia. The head of the Party 1s always the President. The public authority is represented by the Liberian Frontier Force. Something between Army and Police, the LFF ís well trained, relatively well disciplined”and poorly equipped. It may be sufficient to keep up the order against lighter disorders by rioting natives. Observers nevertheless doubt whether it would be sufficient even to mest a serious domestic challenge. Financially the country is fairly well balanced, since the finances are handled by a, very able American, who prevents to much overspending by the Departments. While he has an uphili fight in the srtments? his fight is even more diffisult against the desire of the President to spend a lot on luxuries. Half the budget is paid by customs, the other half by taxes. Tye taxes are light. The payments by foreign corporations in taces are the second most important sources of revenes The ruler of the ecuntry at present is President William 8. Tubmann. He is in the upper fifties, ver black and quite well educated. He is a dynamic person, authoritarian, generous towards his friends, terrible to his ehemies. He is reluctant to do office work - some would call him lazy. He likes to spend money, and spends a lot of 4t. Most people say that he is financially interested and uses his position for the furtherance of his wealth. He is a great nightelubber, and can be found every evening doing the Hot Spote of Monrovia. His assistent and the real power in the governement is bachelor Foreign Minister Gabriel Dennis, an Americaneduceated man who 4s known as-being honest - probably the only honest man in poliyics in Lyberia. He is quite able, does most of the needed work, and is the only man of the governement, who is awake to the possible dangers to his country e Because the weaknesses of L“beria are so great, that the dangers in the immediate future must be rated very high. Obeervers on the spot say, that the country at present is utte rly unable to withstand a Communist assault from the inside for the following, almost structural reasons ! The first of these reasons is, that the population at present is composed of three classes ? the 12.000 favoured American Liberians, the citizens. They are a lazy, degenerate groupe Their number decreases steadily. Theyshy away from work. Most of them, if not all, have governement jobs. Added to them is the second class, the 80.000 assimilated natives. They have the more menial jobé in the administration. They are also lazy, and their number too is falling rapidly. The third class finally are the 1.800.000 natives, distributed in the
