The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-02
LATIN AMERICAN
REPUBLICS ARE
DOLLAR RULED
Four Billions Are Sunk
There
By LELAND oLDs.

| SFederated Press Industrial EditOr)
Your share Of our American invest
ment in Canada and Latin-America
would be $3.50 if ownership Of the
rapidly developing American financial
empire were equally distributed
among the 41,600,000 gainfully en-
ployed persons in the country. Au-
thoritative reports place the total grip
which United States capitalists have
secured on the productive enterprise
of the remainder of the two CONT
nents at S6,260, 100000.
Investment of United States dol
lars in Latin-imerica, according to a
statement by the department of COM
merce, amounts to nearly four bill.
lions-$610,0 100000 in pubic securi5
ties and $3.50, 100000 in Latin
American industries. That means. it'll
says, nearly $35 for every man, WON
an and child in the United States
without counting almost two billion
dollars in trade which affects directly
and indirectly a great number CT
Americans engaged in producing,
transporting and marketing merchan-
disc. This ought to prove, of course,
that even the humblest inhabitant of
the country has a stake in the ex-
pansion of empire.
The department discusses the
growth of imperialist interest: "Our
great interest in Latin-America," it
says, SIS largely growth of the last
ten years, almost entirely of the 20
years which have elapsed since the
beginning of work on the Panama
canal. Latin-America prior to 1904
was terra incognita to many Ameri-
cans; now manufacturers and mer-
chants, farmers, bankers and inves-
tors, shipowners and operators, trav-
elers, educators and students are
looking for all the information they
can get on Latin-American affairs.
Colleges are giving special Latin
American courses"
The department of commerce is
publishing a series of financial stu
dies of Latin-American countries.
These can be secured for Is cents
each from the superintendent of doc
uments at Washington and should be
of interest if only as an indication OF
the attempt to educate the people
Of the country into supporting finan-
cial aggression.
Consolidation of American foreign
investment is to be secured thru such
institutions as the recently organ
lied international Securities Trust of
America which is starting under the
wing of the great Morgan Guaranty
Trust with a capitalization of $685.
100000. This corporation is modelled
after similar investment combines
which have for years supervised much
of the overseas investment of the
British empire. 1t is known as the
group system of investing. The Sc
lection of securities to be purchased
by this trust is rigidly circumscribed
by conditions which Insure interna-
tional diversifcation. Among the
conditions laid down is that ''invest-
ments may be made only in those
countries where the financial history
shows stability and the protection Of
private property assured"
A recent instance of the expansion
of American investment in Latin
America is the purchase of control
of the International Railways of Gem
trail America from British interests.
This means American control of all
most 600 miles of railroad across the
backbone of Central America. The
road has contract for carrying all
the United Fruit Co.'s products in
Guatemala so that the transaction
really means a consolidation of Amer
lean control in that region.