Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-21
WAY TO USE NEW RESOURCES
'Jndson c. WeiIiver In Washington Timc.I

Down under tho surface OF inc Pan
American Fiscal Conference that IL TO
be held in Washington next week.
some very importan, business is ike
" To he transacted.
The biz proclcil Of spreading .,orth
american credit and financial re-
sources over the whole Western Hemis-
nhc!c so ms 10 finance the leccs. ties
OF the new world. will come before the
conference 1t will be talked about in
IN" public meetings. hut tho real bust
ness VIII not be done there.
Rather. series of subcommittee
meetings VIII attempt 10 deal with
this question in its practical working
details There Will he speechmaking
that viii deal with the large antics,
but hack OF this will be meetings OF
groups and committees OF bankers and
.".i."s" .nioEehts, lnukine to the So
luton Of present, actual. and very
world
In these private sessions o, groups
the effort will De made 10 work out
practical plans for using the financial
reserves Of America in some sor. OF
cooperation. in order that the erna nd.
imposed by the world war may be met
South America is face to face with n
condition which the neople OF the
United states have thus far only
vaguely visnalized The United States
must help II out--if II gets out The
Federal Reserve Board the Treasury
authorities. and the banking interests
OF the United States are anxious to
provid" every possible facility for
amciioration OF the conditions in the
Latin American countries The ques-
ton is, what can they do"
Not great deal has been published
concerning tho inncrTnost purposes and
ambitions Of the men who arc organtz-
ing this conference OF tho nnancicrs OF
all the Americas. II is known, how
n
McAdoo has n most ambitious purpose
in mind. He is declared by associates
10 regard this gathering as his oppor-
tun!ty TO iDauGuratc new relation
ship among the American countries
and among tho business men who
guide their affairs. that will through
the generations OF the future be a
monument 10 his constructive capacity
Indeed those who know best the larger
purposes that are just now moving the
secretary believe that he has design
which, IT IL can be realized, VIII write
his name very high among tho admin
istrators of the Treasury.
Field for America.
Europe is pulling for American
money. American credit. the activities
of American manufacturers. with all
the power IL can bring TO bear. 1t has
the advantage Of long established re-
!ationships. and of assured credits. 1t
is ahle to give the pledges Of govern
ncnts whose bonds are like gold in a
vault: of commercial relationships and
of concrete wealth which represents a
very large proportion OF the quickly
available assets of the whole world.
II is using every induCement possible
to secure credits in the United States.
on which supplies Of every sort may
be purchased TO keep the activities of
the war going at full speed.
South and Central America have not
these things. They need an introduce
ton, and after that they must present
their financial statement and get tho
@. Is. OF American financial authority.
But over on the other side is the fact
that they present field of business OPP
poriunity for the future that is proving
attractive to American business, and
that has appealed powerfully to the
imagination of Secretary McAdoo.
South America has been cut off from
many OF its relationships with Europe
by reason of the war. The countries
there have all been debtor countries,
and, for that matter. the United States
has been one, too. Probably the United
States owes 0Oo,000.000 of debts
abroad, which is as much as all South
America owes there. according to tho
best estimates that can be secured at
this time. But on the other side is the
big fact that the United States has
twice the wealth of any other country
in the world. and that its credit is tho
best and its resources vastly the big
geSt. Among all tho countries that
have real developed wealth, none has
anything like the proportion Of unde-
vcIoped commercial and financial op-
portunity. Moreover. no country in the
world has so much gold in its physical
possession as the United States at this
time.
Opportunities Opened.
Our whole relationship with the
worlds foreign trade Of the future may
he changed according as we handle
ourselves in this time" said man who
is part of the most potential fiscal
organization of the government; a very
important part, too. The new bank
ing system of this country has opened
the way for us to make every dollar
of our wealth, of our credit, and OF
our gold. do very much more work than
it has been able to do in the past. The
outside world knows this. 1t seems to
know it rather better than we seem
to realize it,
The United States would have had
a financial panic such as the world
never saw, before this time, II tho
emergency currency act and the Fed
eral reserve law had not been passed.