Saturday
Dear Phil & Ben
This week-end brings the presidential compaigning to its climax. All over the country and in almost every window are the posters of candidates and radio trucks screeching up and down the streets. Dr. Rhee seems quiet and for all obvious appearance is do no campaigning at all.
His opponents are campaigning for a "free atomsphere" and all are campaigining for some improvement of the economic crisis which has reached proportions as to crush almost everybody and everything I am decoting myself entirely to this and feel that it can and will be solved.
A part of this situation has caused panic among the missions and you should know about this. On July 17 the Bank of Korea issued an order which stopped missionaries selling their dollar checks to traders. They had been getting \24,000 for their $1 and by the new rule were reduced to \6,000. They have been trying to get some relief and I assume that before long you will begin to get reactions there. I have the feeling that although the rate they were re eiving was somewhat shocking, that it did not contribute to inflation and in a number of ways benefitted the country, that the action was taken on the basis of a wrong principle, but with the right purpose. Anyway, a good deal of missionary work will have to be curtailed and the whole incident will do few people any good- including the country.
The real problems involved in control of the inflation are (1) to get $ payments to cover the won UN advances and (2) to start production. The President in embarking on a campaign to achieve these ends and I think in time he will be successful. I am getting all these things together for you in a memo and think you will find it helpful.
The President is in very good health, has some worries about the Prime Minister, The assemblymen, who were arrested, have as you know by this time been acquitted, but the trial of the seven communists goes on.
Here around Pusan there has been no rain and the rice is shriveled up.
Unkra is bringing in a lot of new teams to make new reports, but as yet I haven’t seen them do anything.
Lots of Japanese technicians are being brought in by the 8th army.
So much for the week’s report.
Paul
