Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1925-08-28
When Will United States
Stop Insulting People of
Latin-American Nations?
By CHESTER VI. WRIGHT
English Language Secretary, Pa

English Language Secretary, Pan
American Federation of Labor.
The United States Government has
flung another insult into the face Of
Pan America 1t began in the Depart
ment of Labor and was enlarged in
the Department OF Commerce.
Robert +. Forester, professor Of
economics at Princeton, prepared for
| Secretary Of Labor Davis a report on
racial conditions in Latin-AmeTica in
which he said that not more than 10
per cent Of the 30 million Latin
Americans are of pure white stock.
The rest are classified as belonging
to various "colored" races-NegrO,
Indian and Asiatic.
Sensing the fact that such a report
would generate deep resentment, the
Department of Commerce lets 1t be
known through the newspapers that
the report is most unfortunate and
that it is too bad to have anything
of that nature made public at time
when Latin-American trade with US
= at its highest point
So, Latin-America, while the Kel-
,ogg address to Mexico is still fresh
in the Latin-American mind, this
double-barreled affront comes along
to make matters worse.
k#A
The Department of Labor report
will be resetned, and justly 50,
throughout the Latin-American repub-
lies. The plea of the Department of
Commerce to the effect that we should
be careful of the sensibilities Of
Latin-Americans so as not to hurt
trade, will still further affront the
pride of Latin-America.
We want the friendship and under
standing of Latin-Americans, not for
their trade, but for friendship and
good will alone.
Whether Prof. Forester is accurate
in his report matters little. He prob
ably is wrong. As a matter of fact, it
would be almost, it not quite, imposs
BILE for him to be right, except by
sheer accident.
But, right or wrong the whole re-
port is piece of idiocy as a public
document. As an atfrOnt to Latin
America it ranks with the Kellogg
outburst in seriousness. This is par
ticularly true in view of the Depart
ment of Commerce Comment, with its
purely dollar point of view.
There is a marked difference to-
ward Color" in races in Latin-Ameri-
ca and the United States. In this
country all who are not 100 per cent
white are called "cololed" while in
Latin A merica there is no such dis
tinction.
For example, every citizen of MeNl-
co, no matter what his racial eXtrac-
ton, is "A Mexican and nothing else.
So also a Nicaraguan is Nicaraeuan
and nothing else, no matter what may
be his racial background.
The Government of the United
States seems determined to be as in
sulting as possible toward Latin
America.
Santiago Igesias, the Spanish Ian
guage secretary of the PAM American
Federation of Labor, calls this latest
effort the worst of all-the last word
in the way of insult toward the peo-
piles to the south. He says it is
monumental and unwarranted insult"
and he is right.
1t is time that the United States
learns to regard other peoples as free
and equal in manhood and not as in
ferior specimens to be poked about
and analysed under clinical miscros-
cope. When will this governmental
idiocy stop? When will every advance
in friendship and understanding de-
veloped by the masses through their
trade unions be combatted by the
buster and boobery of government
officials who have plenty to do in 9th
err directions? The Departments Of
State, Labor and Commerce have piled
up their insults. Who will make the
next bombastic effort? Let it be
hoped that silence will be the answer!