Evening star., 1928-11-18
HOOVER TO SEEK
FACTS ON JOURNEY
Main Aim of South American
Tour Seen as Gesture
of EarneStneSS.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Enough time has elapsed since an
nouncer1ent by President-elect Hoover
that he is going to South America to
cain an impression of what will be the
international significance of the trip.
The purpose of Mr.. Hoover. first OF
all. was to get rest from the labors
Of The campaign. First he thought of
A fishing trip. then 1t was suggested he
might 60 to Hawaii. He knew that the
pressure in the e-inauguration period
would be intense and that most OF the
things asked of him he could not pos
sjblv do until after Inauguration, any
how. The idea of going to South Amer
lea appealed to the President-elect as
a means of spending couple of months
or so away from the politicians, and at
the same time doing a constructive
piece of diplomacy.
Competition Keen.
Mr. Hoover has insisted throughout
his administration of the Department
of Commerce that the American manu-
facturer and exporter should LOOK to
his markets south of the United States.
where the competition with Europe is
keen. Before the World War, America
Jagged behind European countries. Ship
ping facilities were lacking and credit
machinery was inadequate And Eu-
ropean capital poured into South Amer
lea. Since the war. the American in
vestments have gone up by leaps and
tNl
made which have given several countries
stimulus to development leading
naturally to purchases OF American
raw materials and manufactured
products.
The aScendancy of the American In
the markets of the Central and South
American countries has excited the
competitive element once more and
while the anti-American effort is not
as pointed as 1t used to be In pre-war
days, so far as inspiration from Eu-
ropean business men resident in South
America is concerned, it nevertheless
shows signs of being revived. Coincident
with this is the growth of anti-Amer-
ican sentiment in political circles in
South America as revealed in the Pan
American conference at Havana early
this year.
Fresident-elect Hoover feels that
Affirmative acts are necessary in
diplomacy and that if American trade
is TO continue to grow it must have a
better foundation in political relations.
The Nicarauguan episode and the early
troubles with Mexico have been used
by anti-American publiciSts as excel
lent material for their arguments. Mr..
Hoover plans to stop at Corinto,
Nicaragua, where the election of Gen.
Moncada, Liberal, the man who
fought against the Diaz government
that had been recognized by the United
States, is regarded as proof that Amer
lea is not really interfering with the
electorate but merely helping to safe
guard its sovereign rights.
Morrow Lessons Prejudice.
Ambassador Morrow's job in Mexico
City, which may yet bring him the
portfolio of Secretary of State as re-
ward, has helped overcome some Of the
prejudice on the subject of Mexico, but
the era of good feeling is too recent TO
Judge its permanent effect on South
America.
Mr.. Hoover's trip to the other re-
publics of this hemisphere Is really a
continuation of the task which the
Pan-American conference left unfin-
lshed. There we're sores revealed then.
Some of them it will be for the Hoover
administration to heal. Mr.. Hoover has
set out more on a trip seeking first
hand information and facts than as an
effort to DO any placating Of anti
American sentiment Immediately. He
knows it's a problem that cannot be
quickly solved, but If he can only indi-
cate to South America the earnest spirit
in which he seeks to tackle it, South
America will meet him more than half
way. And Europe will understand that
the United States is not going to be a
passive onlooker in the competitive
markets of South America. but actively
will guard her own interests in the po-
litical as we'll as the commercial field.
(Copyright, 1929