The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-01-01
South America

than twice that of the United States. Of the
worlds population one person in every thirty
five lives on that continent. This is about one
half of the population of this nation.
1t contains the longest river on the planet the
Amazon, stream that stretches q thousand
miles longer than the Mississippi and Missouri
combined. At this comparatively early period of
its development it has built 1868 miles of rail
way and has under construction thousands more.
Argentine alone is vast country destined in
time to take her place among the great Powers.
Buenos Aires her capital, is the twelfth largest
city on the globe with nearly million and half
population. So well built and so beautiful is that
capital, its Avenida de Mayo is considered one of
the most famous streets anywhere The Argen-
tine is now the wealthiest nation per capita in
existence. It ranks next to Australia itself in
production in wool and has in present use $4,000
miles of telegraph.
Brazil is the worlds chief source of coffee,
cocoa and rubber and Bolivia is second only to
the Malay Federation in it's output of tin.
In 1909 the Argentine exported products
worth $3.50 ,584 900; in 1910 Brazil shipped
abroad $31O,OO6, 900; while in the same year
Chile sent out exports valued at $12O,O22,OOO.
Although the United States has more than three
times the population Of these states it's exports
were less than two-and-a-haf times as great
which shows that they export much more per
capita than
And yet these South American nations are
but in the beginning of their industrial develop
ment; in course of time when they have con-
structed their railways, their factories and have
begun to exploit their measureless deposits,
every other people will be obliged to look well to
its industrial laures. More than that, it will
stand every other nation we'll in hand to develop
to the limit its trade possibilities with the great
continent below the line.
It is in just this connection that the United
States has thus far most signaly failed in it's re-
lationships with South America. We have so
completely ignored that remarkable people that
the continent is nearer to Europe than to
They speak an Old World language and thus
are more interested in the current happenings of
Eurasia than of the United States They have
the Old World religion and so have an ideal of
character farther removed from us than ours
is from England Germany. They have bor-
rowed capital to exploit their resources and con-
sequently established trade relationships with
France and Germany rather than with the Unit
ed States. Their newspapers are mostly con-
troed by European interests and the literature
that goes to form their collective mind is inspired
from across the Atlantic. In short, South Amer
lea, owing to our own aloofness, is now nearer to
the Old World than to US.
This means danger to our civilization. With
foreign military powers penetrating the CONT
nent there is alternative but to expect that
foreign influence will reign. And the CONT
nent becomes better developed, European con-
troll will be but the more strengthened. Even if
ii never becomes European country in name
it may in fact.
And that is the menace to US. Foreign Pow
are organized on the basis of military aggres-
eign Powers many of them are definitely op-
posed to those democratic institutions which we
consider so essential to the well being of human
ity. And with foreign military Powers in control
there we have permitted our own possible enc
mics to encamp at our very door. In that event
shall be obliged to prepare for possible war
a consummation devoutly to be avoided for ii
will impose on the neck of the United States pro.
Queer the burden which now gals the European
But there is still time for us to do little
peaceful penetration ourselves Spite of the init
mate relations sustained between South
America and Europe the United States with its
democratic government and it's humane ideals
has the best opportunity
The nations of the Western Hemisphere arr
not divided from each other by such impossible
CULTS those which separate France from Rus
STA or Russia from the Sudan They have every
interest LII common ana SC8nQ or IaL CO4eCner.
It would seem that our own wisest course viii
be to hold the Monroe Doctrine in allegiance inso
far as it bears on Argentine, Brazil and Chile ant
to strive for the establishment of PAN Ameri
canism which will include those and other self
governing and sufficiently developed Latin
American countries in friendly league for tn,
furtherance of all interests common to this hem
isphere. United against Europe, co-operatin,
as with each other, in. this way alone can thu