The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-14
EXPORTS OF MEN
URGED BY EXPERT
Latin America Not Bad Place
for Enterprising Young
Americans.
by A. IT. BALDWIN,

Asststdnt Manager. Foreign Trade Bu-
| redu, Guaranty Trust Company Of
Nep York.
| Specially ,critfen for the Latin A mertcon
Section OF THE STU.
A recent letter in q contemporary
| daily paper by an American who has
| spent ten or twelve years in Latin
| American countries strikes a somewhat
d!scouraging note about the dlsadvan-
| tages OF life In that part OF the world.
He emphasizes particularly the lack In
some regions Of those comforts and con-
veniences. and especially OF good sani-
| tary conditions, which are SO universal
In the United States.
! The writer also declares that the char
acter Of the social life and the bust
ness conditions are so different that the
| North American Is unlikely TO ilnd per-
m lnent satisfaction in career which
| involves long exile from the attractions
OF our own country. He suggests that
! the ability required for success in bust
! ness with the nations to the south OF
| us would be better rewarded at home.
among more congenial and sympathetic
surroundings
While We may admit that such a
point OF view may be taken honestly
enough and that II also may be wise TO
warn young Americans of these aspects
OF this subject we might sti!l urge that
It is not by following such suggestions
that our country will Ill the generous
and helpful role toward the rest OF the
world to which our power and wealth
lmpel US more and more each day. We
should be Sinking our great opportu-
nifty II We now wrap ourselves in our
Snug provincialism and rest content to
let the young men of other rival M
tons show the coura,le and enterprise
il 1T . y,tr han oil f~sNgtA
their home surroundings, no doubt just
as attractive to them as ours. Surely
there are not lacking scores OF young
Americans who will not shrink from
the breaking OF established habits Inn
piled in service in foreign parts.
For hundreds OF years young English
men have been seeking fortunes abroad,
and solitude. difficulty and discomfort
have not weighed heavily on their
spirits. 1t is one of the clements OF
Great Britain's power this willing spirit
~ adventure OF her sons, and mono OF
her exports has paid greater dividends
than this export OF men" Are we Ia
admit that our youth have not an equal
sturdiness of character that IL not TO he
discouraged from undertakings because
:hey involve the sort of difficulties that
are described as inherent In life in parts
OF South America?
Surely tho past two years have proved
beyond any doubt that our young men
are as ready and eager for adventure
and as indifferent TO hardships IS any
youth In the world. That they should
he deferred from serving in the develop
ment OF our foreign commerce because
the plumbing OF some Latin cities Is
stu primitive or because the people in
those cities differ in customs from our
own Il difficult To believe. They will
go, We believe. willingly enough and
stay long enough to play a great part
Z OF alone In building up our trade rela-
tons but also In improving the very
conditions we are discussing.
Colonies OF alert minded young North
Americans In progressive capitals like
Rio. Buenos Ayres, Santiago and even
in tho primitive towns Of the interior
will carry the spirit of our people with
them and will be missionaries. in fact,
OF far more than American trade alone.
We cannot but feel that they will be
sustained also by the belief that they
arc carrying the torch OF American
progress and American ideals, and that
this conviction will make the discom-
forts and other disadvantages OF life
abroad seem OF trifling or negligible
con seuuenCe TO them,