Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-01

action. It now remains for other in
dividual banks or combinations thereof
in different parts of the country to en-
ter the same field on greater or
smaller scale. There is no more reason
why the banking business should be
confined to one bank or to one center
Of the United States than that the great
manufacturing export trade OF the
should be confined to one firm or one
section of the United States. If the
present. though somewhat limited,
banking facilities, which have been or
been in full operation at the time of it's
outbreak pan-Amerfcan commerce
would have experienced a far less
shock than it actually did and there
coverey from the unfortunate depres-
sion which characterized many of the
Latin American countries for over a
year following the beginning of the
war.
There is now coming to the atten-
ton Of the great financial. banking and
commercial interests of the United
States the Unreasonable Importance of
the investment Of United States capital
in Latin America, to take care of the
legitimate and worthy demands of the
various government and private under
takings. Unless United States capital
meets this demand at an emergency 1t
cannot be expected that the United
j
should in pan-American commerce. Up
to the time of the war nearly all of the
government and private loans of Latin
America were placed In European cap
itals. This source Of supply OF money
has been cut off since the war and prob
ably will supply very little capital for
many years after the war. 1t is. there
fore, absolutely necessary that the
financing of Latin America in the mat
ter of foreign loans should be almost
entirely cared for by the financial in
terests Of the United States II this is
done in the right way it cannot fail to
have a most beneficial effect upon trade
relations of the United States with its
exaggeratfon to expect that IL the
United States would invest $500. 000, 900
In the twenty countries of Latin Amer
lea during the next five years. this in
vestment would result in a correspond
ing increase in pan-American trade.
Prejudice Must Be Overcome.
THE banking interests of the United
States and their bond-buying con-
stituency must be educated in the Sc
curity and quality of Latin American
loans. The prejudice against Latin
American investments must be over
come. Today there prevails through
out the United States such ignorance
of the conditions of Latin America and
such mistaken ideas about revolutions
,, and instability that only small per-
centage of banks and bond buyers Of
the United States have been willing to
invest in Latin American loans. They
must be educated to understand that,
whereas a few of the Latin American
countries may be characterized by rev.
olutions and instability, two-thirds of
Latin Americas vast area and great
population has known no serious rev.
olutions in the last quarter of a cen
fury. and that the whole tendency of
good order In this connection it is
interesting to note the fact that dur
ing the last 100 years there have been
five times more international wars
among the nations Of Europe than
there have been among the twenty
countries of Latin America. The rec
ord. moreover, of the Latin American
countries for defaulting upon bonds
and foreign Investments is so favora-
BILE. compared to the total foreign
money invested. that 1t is almost a
negligible consideration.
AT this point of the discussion II is
highly important to correct one sad
! impression that is too general through
out the United States. namely, that the
| United States has been way down the
line In the competition for the trade
of Latin America and that II has al
ways been a laggard instead of a lead
err in building up trade with its sister
republics. Ten years ago the United
States was far in the rear, and so much
1 emphasis was given to this situation
that scores of writer's, speakers and
individuals in general are still under
| the influence of that earlier situation.
not realizing the progress and change
| that have come in the later years
Through the efforts of the Pan-Ameri-
can Union anu other governmental and
private agencies. The manufacturers.
exporters and importers of the United
States may not have done, by any
means, what they should have done for
the building up of pan-American trade,
land there may be noticeable faults in
their methods of procedure, but the
truth still stands out that in the year
1913. the last regular year before the
| European war broke out. the United
States bought and sold, in its trade
with the twenty Latin American coun-
] tries. a far greater commerce than did
| either of it's two principal rivals, Great
britain and Germany