Evening Star Newspaper, November 7, 1927, Page 6

LATIN AMERICAN TRADE WONBY U.S. Overwhelming Predominance Established, Export and Import Figures Show. Fote: This s the icfes written by D ashington 1 axeblatt. for T can Newsnaper lo “was _pub! iforial Se interviewed opinion and stnd BY DR. MAX JORDAN. The outstand tn biased observer is lik while traveling in Latin day is that of the ov dominance of American out the Southern continent A -fleld which before the war ajmost exclusiv 1 by ropean finance and commerce is gradually being conquered by the United States. One could figures to show that this cont is fully justificd. Exports from the United Staies Latin America amounted durin Jast vear to almost $300.000.00 United States imports from the L American countric n few years about two-fifths of of Central and South is the more significant 2 trade of these countries increasing. But even without statistical help a traveler covering the immense terri tory between the Rio G and Aa gellan Straits will be impressed by the steady progress American com- merce has made since the war. There is no need of emphasizing that recent political events in Ce tral America have influenced a good deal the trade exchange of the two continents. This is felt particulacly when one is traveling from South. The nearer the country to th United States, the stronger the Ame can influence appears. greater the distance, the more likely to encounter suspicion trust on the Latin Ame ression an control! the total exports America. ‘This the cxport noticeably against North American expansion, | and in consequence a lesser influence | of American trade. Just now it Iooks as though Brazil were the Latin American country where America is strongest. I do rot want to mention any of the Central American countries in this connection, except Mexico, because the unsettied conditions still prevailing in Central America do not justify definite ass tion. Good Feeling in Brazil. But just as South America is al- ways speaking for Latin America in general, one ought to concentrate spe- cial attention on public opinion south of the Panama Canal. In this South- ern realm Brazil, no doubt, offers spe- cial advantages to American trada ex- pansion because the Brazilian people are meeting Americans in general with a sympathy I found to be sin- cere, and dictated by the feeling of a eommunity of interests. On the west coast Peru can be called the other stronghold of American in- fluence in South America. President Leguia, a statesman of exceptional ability, to be reckoned with =s an in- tellectual power, is frankly co-operat- ing with the United States. He real- ises that only with American assist- ance, especially in a financial way, can the ambitious program he has devised for his country be carried out. President Leguia is virtually the dicta- SEE AMERICA FIRST You’ll enjoy every minute of your trip to or from California via the Great Northern’s clean, cinderless Adventure Land route; affords a choice of steamer or rail trip along the Pacific coast without extra fare. connections at Seattle with America to- | orth to| | management ~are ia, political bickerings are | ing the progress of the country, which, apart from this, is sufficiently handicapped through its unfavorable cographical and climatic conditions still, Bolivia realizes how much Amer- ican assistance Is needed. | The picture changes { when one goes farther south. Chile, as well as Argentina, is openly an‘ag- | onistic to the United States. This an- tazonism is not in Ay AgEres- " depend upon the ude of the I'n'ted States if a o of sentiment is to be brought altogether char hout 1 hive spoken with one of the lead- n business men in Chile, ere for many years. Per- disposed In a most 1 the Chileans He their diseipline ! -, and he and | enjoy living | family ~ sincerely imong them Chile Distrusts United States. o of this,” he told me, “I unable so far to establish < based on real confidence wl sympathy. Chile frankly ed States” ons the f o« copper, | a l part of exploited by Amert: . have up till now not | \d to the development of the complain that of their raw ma- gn inter n capital, ex i the finishing proc- | also resent most | for a certain num ber of ve: naking profits, and Wving country, without 2 made any permanent contribu to its progre 10y t leave us flat,” is way many Chil | eans express their feelings. ! The experience Chileans have had | with British German residents | is different. Citizens of those nation are be ssimilated more eas A lavge percentige are mak- homes in Chile permanent. Economically the important conse- quence of this process is that the revenues proceeding out of the work | of these foreigners are kept in the country, They can be used for its development, increasing the national | wealth. It is true, on the other hand, that a tremendous amount of American capital is being invested in Chile. nd that thousands of laborers are employed by the American companies. t it is pointed out by Chileans, that all the big plants under American providing their with all the necessities |of life by importing them from the United States. So the principal |aim of the present government, the upbuilding of a home industry, is not being furthered, and new resent- ment is the consequence. Bitter Feeling Over Nicaragua. The two other reasons for the an- tagonism of Chile are commonly known. One is the bitter feeling en- gendered by the American policy to- ward Mexico and Nicaragua. The other is the break-up of the plebiscite in Tacna-Arica. American motives in each Instance have never been explained satis- factorily to public opinion in South America. This task is up to diplo- mats and journalists. In Argentina conditions are es- sentially different. British capital still holds a strong position through widespread investments, particularly in the railroads, which were built by the British. Only a small percentage of railroad mileage in Argentina is in the hands of the government. In Argentina, especially in fts metropolis, Buenos Aires, the casual observer finds American influence most strongly shown in retail trade. There, even more than in Peru, Bolivia and Chile, American auto- mobiles, electric signs, traffic signal devices and radio apparatus can be seen. The American commercial traveler rich and then | employes « « Direct steamship TilE NING s proceeding with great aggressive- ness, which makes for h 1cces I3ut this aggressiveness is resented by many. One of the leading bankers of EV. feeling to me in the words, “They are too rough.” The average Argentine—and the business man does not make any ex- ception to this rule-—has inherited a zood portion of the old Spanish dignity and formality. He puts a areat effort into good munners. Family tradition counts heavily. I'or all these reasons there is quite often occasion for' antagonism and con- trasts between Americans and Ar- gentines. The Argentine finds it difficult to assimilate Americans, too, while other foreigners go to the Argentine to remain and become & part of the country. Recently the Argentine Senate voted the monopolization of the oil resources of the country, an. this de- cision must be .nterpreted as a de- fensive measure against American industrial expansion. Importanec of Public Opinion. It is not to be forgotten that publi opinion never can he made by law and that imponderable influences are contributing greatly to the sentimen- tal_relations between peoples. The masses of the people in Latin America like American ice cream. American soda fountains and Ameri can movies, and even American archi tecture is impressing itself upon these countries whose preference seemed to be for French or Italian renaissance. In some instances the results of a combination of American and Latin American tastes have been remark- able. The Boston Bank has just fin- ished an imposing structure in the center of Buenos Aires. It compares most favorably with the finest office buildings of New York and Chicago. In Rio de Janeiro the southern end of the famous Avenida Rio Branco is slowly being transformed into an ave. nue of skyscrapers, with movie pal- 1ces leading in the transformation. Wherever I went I heard Americans spoken of as Yankees, but not in a derogatory sense. “Yanki” simply is the Spanish translation of ‘“‘North American” in the common language of the day, which is molded by the press. It is surprising to note in this con- nection what a tremendous influence American news agencies have attained all over the continent. There is vir- tually no Latin American newspaper which does not get a large percentage of the world's news from American sources, New York fis the distributing cen- ter, but in many instances even Latin American events, such, for instance, as the recent Interparliamentary Com- mercial Congress in Rio de Janeiro, are covered by American newspaper men for the Argentine, Brazilian and Chilean newspapers. The great journals like La Prensa and La Nacion of Buenos Aires, La Nacion and El Mercurio of Santiago and the leading newspapers of Brazli maintain their own staffs of corre- spondents at home and abroad. But a large fleld is still left for American press activities. European Business Giving Up. The situation with the press can be used as an example for the situation as a whole. Latin Americans might prefer to get along without outside help. assistance to assistance from North America. But they have to take what they can get. American superiority in the manu- facture of many indispensable prod- the country gave expression to rhis | They might prefer European |* STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €., MONDAY, NOV ucts 1s @8 overwhelming that Euro- pean firms are frankly admitting they have given up efforts to compete. American automobiles, farming ma- chinery, typewriters, talking machines and many other articles are domina- ting the South American market, ex- cluding European competitors. Only a few exceptions should be made, and they would not change the gen- eral picture. I met several prominent German business men who told me that in many instances they had to fill their stocks with American goods because they could get them faster from the United States than from Germany, and that for many of them there was no supply except from the U Stat Also. much greater facilities are offered by American firms, Unlimited investment possibilities are held out to American banks wh have capital immediately available, while Great Britain, being under the pressure of an economic crisis at home, cannot any needs, as she did before the war. American investments in Latin America just now are estimated at bout four and a half billion dollars, 0 per cent more than the tota of American investments in Rurope. ‘There is no doubt this proportion will be increased in favor of Latin Ameri- ca in coming year: A large number of English indus- trial titles are belng taken over by Americans, and new financial opera tions, even when transacted in Lon- don, as in the case of the recently negotiated Brazilian government loan, are carried out by American banks. Brazil “Too Big to Eat.” In Brazil it is true, there is not the same amount of apprehension in regard to the growing American expansion as in Argentina and C Brazilians ~themselves say Americans can't eat us up we are too big.” Br ians have a peculiar position among Latin Amej icans because of a distinct historical tradition and a different language, the Portuguese, o they are more in- clined to act independently and to co-operate with the “Colossus of the North.” There is a common ' saying in Europe that politicians and diplomats | should not act like the ostrich, stick- ing their heads into the sand. This rule -ought to be applied to the Latin American policy of the United States. Many of the leaders in politics and finance I have met in South America complained to me of the lack of under- standing Americans show for the peculiarities of Latin American life. Wrong Geographical Notions. One of the most prominent political leaders of Argentina said to me: ‘Most Americans believe that ever: thing south of the Rio Grande is hot, everything Spanish and everything colored. Hearing of the Fire Land, at the farthermost southern end of the continent, they think Tierra del Fuego is probably the hottest spot of South America, and that the people there are fire eaters!” It would be unfair to say that this characterization of the average geo- graphical notion of Americans is fully Justified. Great progress has been made in recent years. Most of the commercial travelers coming from the States speak Spanish, and part of them Portuguese. They have learned to adapt them- to the altogether different con- ditions they have to meet, but in gen- eral one must say, from the viewpoint of American Interests, that improvi ment is wanted. The two continents are by destiny ited | credit | more supply the | because | united in many respects. To make out of this union of “geographical -cidentalities,” s the President of Argentina put it, a union of real sympathles, based on peace and good will, is a great task facing all the governments of the Western Hemi- sphere. (Copyright 1 n all countries. by the North Ame! lifance.) [ n Newspaper Al - REMUS ARGUMENTS OPEN. Court Hearing Objections to Depo- sitions Before Trial. CINCINNATI, November 7 (P).— Arguments over depositions which George Remus will use in his defense for killing his wife, Mrs. Imogene Holmes Remus, were begun before Judge Chester R. Shook in Criminal Court today. Judge Shook will hear any objec- tions the State may have to gny part of Remus' depositions before the first degree murder trial opens, November 14, to Save unnecessary arguments |d\|ring the trial. Several days will be [ required tor the presentation of all of the depositions. Urged for Trade Board. 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