Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24

me nag is heId up TO rl0lcuIe
in foreign lands; if the natives
Il thumb their noses in it's gen.
sral direction, and If political
orators stamp upon 1t tiguratively, If
not actually, to gain their own ends,
will trade continue to follow it?
Our trade with Latin America has
shown encouraging growth through
out the years devoted to building up
friendly relations and making stronger
the ties that bind the United States to
the republics of the South. But the
course of true love never runs smooth.
Recent events serve more strongly
than ever to empha size the hairline
tlelicacy of the boundary between love
and hate. Scarce month passes
but some new event rises to furnish
more ammunition to the anti-American
propagandistS throughout Central and
South America. Have these events
decreased our trade? Are those whose
feelings have been hurt, either be-
cause of fumbling on our part or sim.
ply because the peacemaker usually
makes enemies, stopped buying our
goods?
Exports Have Increased.
Statistics give a very quick and def
mite answer. Instead of decreasing,
United States exports to Latin Amer
lea have increased. Instead of buying
less in a country whose prestige is
described often as being on the wane,
South Americans are buying more.
Exports from the United States to
Latin America increased 10 per cent
in 1926 over 1925: Germany's exports
to Latin America increased per cent,
and Great Britain's decreased II per
cent. And this took place during a
year when feeling against the United
States was perhaps more bitter in
some quarters than it is now.
Roughly. the general theory might
be set down that trade depends on
economics, and not on politics. In
other words, if the United States can
sell better quality of goods in South
America than her foreign competi
tors can sell, South America will buy
United States products. 1t makes lit
tie difference whether Marines have
slain 800 rebels in Nicaragua when
the South American merchant is in the
market for an automobile, sewing ma
chine or camera. He may not feel
friendly toward the United States. He
may have swallowed whole the asser
tons that the United States is a
greedy monster, seeking to domineer
over the small and unprotected re-
publics of the South by right of ma
chine guns and Marines. But being
human, the South American merchant
pays more attention to what his
money will buy than to what "he reads
in the newspaper"
At the same time, it would be ignor-
Ing self-evident fact to assert that
anti-American propaganda has no
effect on trade. Suppose the Republic
of Colombia is in the market for d
of locomotives. The govern
ment is to buy these locomotives. and
after getting the opinion of experts
on the relative ability of American To-
and German locomotives, it
is found that American locomotives
are better suited to the conditions of
the country. 1t might be thought,
therefore, that the Colombian govern.
ment would buy American-made loco
motives. But when the subject is un.
DER discussion in the Congress, a politi-
clan rises to his feet and sets about de
the United States from every
angle. He makes it appear that the
purchase of the locomotives involves
a question of national honor. And the
government purchases German locomo-
tives instead. Attacking the United
States for political reasons Is not diff
cult to understand. Big Bill Thomn.
son, mayor of Chicago. conducted a
successful campaign by denouncing
King George of England. The connec-
ton between King George of England
and Bill Thompson of Chicago is
rather hazy. But it worked. And pc.
litical speeches in South America work
the same way.
Colombia's Example.
Colombia affords an interesting ex.
ample, by the way, of how govern.
ment purchases, Influenced by politics,
differ from those by merchants, who
buy their goods regardless of politics.
Belgium sells the Colombian govern.
ment more than so per cent of its ma
terials. The United States sells the
Colombian government only % per
cent. Yet in private transactions, the
United States sells the people of Co.
lombia over so per cent of their i'm
ports, while Belgium sells less than 3
per cent. Government purchases, in
other words, are dictated by politics
instead of by economics.
The municipality of Buenos Aires
was about to purchase a lot of trucks
not long ago. The question arose as
to whether the trucks would be bought
States. Some one made rousing DO.
1itical speech against the United
States, and it was almost decided to
buy the trucks in Great Britain until
some one else set about exposing the
economic fallacy of such step. Fl.
nally the trucks were bought in the
United States.
Because of the unsuccessful role
played by the United States in the
Tacna-Arica difficulty between Peru
and Chile, the United States is popu.
lar neither country. Yet this polit.
tcal feeling has had no effect what.
ever upon exports to those countries.
Exports from the United States TO
Chile Increased $1,000, 900 in 1926 over
1925, despite marked falling off in
Chilean exports because of the Ger.
man nitrate industry's competition,
Exports from the United States to
Peru increased 100000 in 1926 over
1925.
In Central America, where, accord
ing to some reports, the name of
the United States is now spelled
Mud" effect on trade of anti-Amer.
lean sentiment has been negligible.
Exports to Costa Rica have decreased
pc cent: to Guatemala, they have
increased 90 per cent: to Honduras,
they have decreased 20 per cent; to
Nicaragua, they have decreased IS
per cent; to Salvador, they have in
creased about per cent. the figures
being for 1926 compared to 1925 And
in every case the decrease is explained
on economic grounds. Politics has
played little part, but the poor market
for sugar and the failure of coffee
crops caused marked changes in pur-
chasing power.
Exports to Mexico.
United States exports TO Mexico
decreased about CT per cent in 1925
over 1925. At the same time German
exports to Mexico decreased Sc and
British exports to Mexico decreased
IL per cent. But these figures convey
t;ttia unless the amount sold to