The Washington herald., 1912-05-08
AMERICAN
TRADE AWAITING
THIS G0UNT TRY
Knox Tells Caliiornians In
creased Business Means
stopping Wars.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
4wsst Has Greater Problems Than
Building an Exposition Cab
met oaiesr Tells Diners,
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

san Francisco. May T.-secFetsry Of
state Knox tonight asked support from
the people Of the Pacific Coast for his
Central American policy. asserting that
his efforts, IN seeking to develop the re-
sources and commerce OF those countries
through extending them financial aid
would furnish TO Pacific Coast exporters
valuable market
The Secretary spoke At the annual ban
auet Of the California Development
Board. He urged californians TO give
their attention in the next three years
to other problems than the sole one OF
building an exposition. since. he tnlo
them. IL they wished TO celebrate mot
merely a rose-tinted prospect Of future
trading advantages" they must set their
asents TO work now in the Latin-Ameri-
can countries and must furnish trans
portation facilities for the increased
commerce which the opening Of the canal
VIII offer them Secretary Knox said:
.1t will not do for you far Westerners
TO relax your preparative activities and
cit IDLY amid the splendors OF your great
exposition. watching your alert competi-
tors responding instantly to the knock
Of opportunity"
ket which the opening Of the canal VIII
give Pacific Coast exporters. Mr.. Knox
was enthusiastic, but Of the prospect for
immediate and practical opportunities
there, he said: Can you expect an i'm
poverished. perturbed. and embarrassed
community to throw open wide the door
Of practical opportunity? Do men gather
grapes Of thorns or fgs Of thistles?"
Financial Aid Means Peace.
Only financial regeneration. made pos
sIble through aid given them from this
country. said the Secretary, could bring
peace. permanent governments, and
prosperity to those countries in Central
America which are now so heavily bur
dened with alien debts. That such as
sistance would place them on the read
to sound commercial development, de-
cIared Mr.. Knox. had been proven be-
yond all doubt by practical experience.
He pointed to the Dominican republic
as an example Of the difference In value
as a market between country over
burdened with debt and a country with
a sound financial system. In that eoun-
try, said Mr.. Knox. the United States
had. simply by relieving It Of its in
debtedness. 80 stimulated its commerce
L1Al IN eIAnL years u MdQ NIEDlCls Ac1D-
ing from sE,oo0.o0o In 1eo3 TO more than
SIS, oO0.0 900 In 1911
TN those countries Of South America"
he continued. where fraternal strife has
left its scar (and / do not now speak Of
all OF them) we find practical paralysis
Of natural resources. The native agri-
culturalist does not dare produce more
than the amount actually necessary for
his own consumption or at the most that
Of his nearest neighbors. for the fear OF
conscription in time OF war and the
subsequent inevitable destruction or ap-
rropriation of his property. Regions OF
incalculable fertility now lying idle viii
soon hear the stimulating caI Of Inn
proved transportation facilities for their
products. II only domestic tranquility
and financial stability enable them TO
heed that call.
Wars Hurt Business.
Foreign merchants resident in these
countries cannot, in the face Of impend-
ing revolutions" continued Mr.. Knox.
with prudence commit themselves to
mercantile purchases for future delivery,
which may arrive when the country is
in the throes of such conflicts. Their
trade is therefore limited, their negotia-
tions relatively small, and their credit,
uuQCI buCn EtIlOu6lI dHGCAGQs
while present steamship facilities are in
adequate. freight rates are high. and
time of transit unnecessarily protracted.
1t Is inconceiyable that such local con-
ditions can longer be suffered TO restrain
the economic development of certain Of
these countries. particularly when they
find themselves ideally situated upon the
highway OF commerce between two hem
ispheres.
Your thoughtful public men should
realize the vital interest our vast body
Of producers and consumers have IN the
stable prosperity of their neighbors, and
see TO 1t that no act, no thought, or
speech on their part shall run counter
to the earnest efforts of this government
to make true international friendships
Of respect. good VIII, and justice, and
to aid certain less fortunate Common
wealths at our doors 70 guard them
selves from the embarrassment OF
foreign Indebtedness, to build up their
credit on the firm foundation
Of responsible good faith In an their
transactions with the outer world, and
to free themselves from the carkinK
malady Of domestic insurrection. These
efforts. exemplified in the Nicaragua and
Honduran conventions, are not mere
academic theories.
1T Is indeed time for the manufac-
turers, merchants, and exporters Of this
country to consider the tremendous
possibilities that the construction Of the
great waterway between the two oceans
by the United States has placed within
their grasp" concluded Mr.. Knox, and
TO consider. also, as directly Affecting
their interests, the diplomatic and COM
mefeiaI policies by which their govern
ment Is striving to serve them"