Evening star., 1928-01-15
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

II
cards. face UP. on the pan
American conference table ir
~ Havana or court continued
mlstrust and disfavor in Latin
America. President Coolidge may
make as eloquent declarations as are
within him and Charles Evans Hughes
as chairman of the American delega
tion, may supplement them with other
persuasive words as the conference
progresses. But unless the Central and
South American states quit Havana
next month in possession of concrete
categorical North American assurances
ON certain specific points affecting the
future. the Sixth international Con
ference OF American States VIII have
been an idle, time wasting event. II
will leave pan.American relations not
merely where they were before. Ii
will aggraVate them and fill them with
undesirable possibilities.
This writer sets down this prospect
not upon his own responsibility. but
upon the strength of careful inquiry
in authoritative Latin American quar-.
ters al Washington. In those quar-
terS hopefulneSS. a : TO results at Ha'
vana. is registered. not pessimism.
Immense satisfaction is derived from
President Coolidge's expedition 10 the
enhiitered Latin American front.
Spokesmen of the sister republics re.
gard his personal attendance at the
opening Of the conference almost as a
guarantee that before the conclave is
over something definite. something
worth while. will come out of it. What
here follows is an epitome Of what GER
tain qualified spokesmen Of Latin
American opinion are saying. When
they were asked to say ii. they were
urged 10 forget that they are dipio-
mats on duty in Washington, and to
talk the language Of their hearts and
OF their real feelings.
Nicaragua Is Issue.
Nicaragua. il is clear from what
these Latin American mouthpieces
tell one, is the sore thumb Of the sit.
uation at this moment. 1t would have
achieved that distinction at Havana,
even if Gen" SANDING had not
chosen the moment OF the confer
ence's assemblage 10 necessitate the
dispatch of another United States ex.
peditionary force TO Nicaragua. The
Nicaraguan mess. il appears. has two
distinct angles. from the Latin Ameri-
can standpoint. The angle with which
this country is most familiar is that
our armed intervention in the Diaz.
Sacasa factional warfare in 1927.
flied all Latin America with alarm
that the Marines were at the outset
of an ali-conquering campaign that
so,ne day would take the Stars and
Stripes all the way 20 Cape Horn
That's an exaggerated way Of putting
II But il is not wholly an unfounded
picture Of things as they looked in
many Latin countries
The angle which America knows
considerably less about 10 that our
military and naval opeEaticns In ard
off Nicaragua have caused us to be
laughed at ali over Latin America
The Marines reputation lis high and
well established in the rest Of the
Western Hemisphere. The Navy's
reputation is a big one. too. But
when the United States last Spring
found IL necessary 10 rush 5000
leathernecks and squadron Of a
dozen or more fnen-of-war to Mica
rsgua TO compel the poorly armed,
wretchediy disciplined and small
sized armies" Of the Conservative
and Liberal factions to make peace
and disarm, Latin Americas coacep-
ton Of the Colossus OF the North"
underwent a change. Our prestige
suffered. II did not collapse But IL
sagged. Prestige is a tremendous
thing among Lstins. IL is as potent
Q factor in international relations.
frDin their viewpoint. as material
force. II affects diplomatic negoti-
et!ons
Brought Down Cificism.
so the Nicaraguan business subject.
ed Uncle Sam TO criticism and suspi-
efon from three entirely different as.
T,ects-4li our motives in being In Mic.
sragua we're challenged. ~ our elsb-
0rote military measures spread alarm
end tyi our failure 10 make those
measures effective promptly and drss-
tscslly struck serious blow at our
prestige. Today. az practically mind.
ea people. Latin Americans, who re.
sent our whole attitude toward them,
concede that We are too deeply com
f93iied" in Nicaragua 10 pull out. as
wc might have done with profit, they
cay, long time ago. But the fact
that they see the United States en-.