The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-03-05

zl in regard to it's undeveloped oppor-
t~unities is where the United States
was n hundred years ago. @rE
And SO the suggestion did not seem
unreasonable which was implied in his
question: How many are there here,
gentlemen, who would not. with your
now perfected hind sight, be very glad
indeed to seize ON of the opportuni-
ties that o have seen seized in the
United States and developed ?"r
1t is true enough that Brazil today
is full Of exactly those opportunities"
but what this speaker. and those who
testified with him in regard to the
commercial opportunities Of Brazil
failed to say was really what it is was
most essential for such a gathering to
know.
This was that the production Of Bra
zirs chief source of wealth rested on
an absolutely false economic basis, and
that the second most valuable product
Of the republic was slowly but surely
being ousted from the markets Of the
world by a competing product pro-
duced more cheaply n p~ropagated by
more scientific methods. Again, what
ever might be the brilliance or the at
tainments Of some of the statesmen of
Brazil, it's government had embarked
on a policy Of reckless extravaganza
which had in it plain possibilities of
serious disaster, while private enter
prise in the building Of railroads and
the supply of modern public utilities
had been guided by speculative consid-
erations rather than by those Of i'm
mediate necessity and profit. All of
this did not alter the fact that the re-
public Of Brazil is the most colossal
republic in area on this earth's sur
face today, although it did seriously
affect the amount Of commercial credit
which might safely be extended to
merchants and contractors operating
in that part of the world.
| That Europe was much more liberal
than the United States in extending
this credit finds evidence in the returns
OF the foreign trade Of Brazil; that
there r solid reasons for regretting
that liberality nay be inferred from
the deliberations Of Tuesdays confer
ence of bankers in London in regard
to Brazilian affairs. If OUT merchants,
manufacturers and bankers derived but
little profit from the boom times in
Brazil, they have the less responsibility
for helping its government to tide over
a period of adversely. Thus it may be
held that a certain attitude of detach-
ment from the people Of Latin-Amer-
lea and their affairs is, commercially
speaking, a safer n than that Of
closer Identification and sympathy.
The Brazilian vice consul complained
at the Washington conference that in
spite of all they were doing to keep
abreast of modern progress, his people
had not yet acquired the reputation of
being a civilized nation. So also at the
same time might have complained the
Peruvian and the Mexican, but in the
light Of contemporary experience, the
| general opinion OF our people on this
subject would be fully justified.
The conclusion seems thus to be a
quite plausible one that the ordinary
| North American who has had some OPP
portunity as a business man to study
the people and the institutions Of the
South American republics, has a fairly
correct estimate of both. Uufortu-
nately, his views are not Of the char
acter to lend themselves to after-dinner
| still largely sentimental kind of dis
~cussion which finds acceptance in Pan
| American conferences. It sounds very
we'll to insist On the necessity of the
Latin-American and the English-Am-
erican c~ultivating a closer acquaint-
ance with each other by exchange Wis
it's Of distinguished public men and OF
4 college professors. ,>.%
But, after all, the radical defects Of
Latin-American civilization which are
so plainly in evidence at the present
time pass entirely untouched in any
such interchange of ideas, n h mar
rowness OF our own range Of interna-
tionaI vision does not become sensibly
enlarged. The fact that more than
half the Latin~Anerical1 republics are
very crude experiments indeed in the
organization OF free government may
not be a good foundation for the all
| embracing union, society or association
but is quite an essential preliminary to
any search after the truth.