The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-06-17
rHE pAN-AssERlu,N nAp-
PROCUREMENT.

American republics u that 81 an In
terchange Of credit BY the eoyem-
ment 81 the United states win the
governments embraced IN the Pam
American Union. This could be ef-
feeted. u Is pointed out. ny taking
from a South American nation lts OBJ
isyntion bearing four per cent Interest
nnd giving such q country a like
amount 81 Emitted stnscs bonds bear
ms three per cont interest. our gov
eminent. however. instead Of making
tho one per cent difference In inter-
est rates, would devote his to the
amortization 81 the south American
bonds. which by Investing .hs sinking
fund az three per cent would be ao-
complished In a. years"
The justification OF such an arr
~rangement. according 10 its sponsors.
resides In the fact that the develop
ment of & number Of south American
republics has been retarded BY the
lack OF sufficient credit 10 enable
them 20 borrow on reasonable terms.
some OF the countries in question, It
II declared. being obliged to pay as
high a. 5 per cent for loans. MOre-
over. Il Is ursed that this discourtee-
ment OF national Initiative Is harm
ni not alone to the south American
countries out 10 the people Of the
United States, on the ground that
what checks the economic activities
Iof the purchaser reacts adversely
upon the seller. That every dollar
wisely spent In the development %
those countries would yield benefits
90 ourselves Is almost too obvious to
call for argument.
Though admitting that such a plan
In beyond the conventional In govern
ment finance and that its adoption
would be attended with many diff
|cuities. the National city bank de-
clares that q is by no means lmpcs-
sibie ~ realization. Il Il mo farther
removed from the authority Of pres
edent." says that institution. than
some Of the recent measures OF Da-
Ivid Lloyd-Gcorge. whsch while Gre
ating establishment al first have since
caused the entire financial community
OF England - do him homage and 10.
protest against his retirement from
the position of chancellor Of The OK
chequer."
one OF the principal difficulties
which the adoption OF the arranse
ment would involve would be that OF
prescribing the terms on which the
various South American loans would
be acceptable 90 our own government.
for Of course no one would suggest
that this government should be pre-
pared TO exchange It's bonds for those
Of It's sister republics without frs,
laying town stringent rulas for the
guidance OF the latter in their bor-
rowinEs. Yet the difficulty would by
no means be insuperable. for private
Lenders TO governments as well as to
individuals are constantly making
rules 10 govern the financial affairs
Of borrowers.
Whether or not the plan In quos-
ltion be ultimately ldoptcd. the fact
that II has beer tentatively put for
ward by representative Of the United
states government Is indicative OF
the rapprochement between the Unit
cd States ~ the republics ot south
America that has been gathering
force since the outbreak ~ tio pres
ent war. No observer uf current
events can Rave failed Ia note not
only the unaffected oarnestness Of
the expressions OF mutual good will
that have marked recent meetings OF
the representative of the Tnited
states and the various South Amer
iican countries but also the feeling of
k%indlness aud esteem Tor the repuh-
lllcs of south America that mas nesun
TO manifest itself here outside ~
purely governmental ana diplomatic
circles. The menace OF q world Nnr
has done more 20 draw the Amc.i-
can republics closer together tLan
all the effort hat has been previous
ly expended upon dipomacy. south
America a at length awakened "
the fact That territorial asgrandizo'
ment ~ her expense Is seriously CON
ltemplated hy no sensible person H
the United states and that The foi.d'
est hope which any south American
can cherish b. that this countrs will
always have the power 20 enforce res
spect for the Monroe pocuune On
the other hand, this countge on ip
own part has AZ length begun &" opor
its eyes 70 a fun realization Of ths
dazzling commercial opportuniue'
that lie south OF the Isthmus. Ncyei
before nave American bankers, man
ufaeturers. exporters aud even stu
dents evinceI 80 keen an interest ~
the affairs OF those republics as the'
b.