Evening star., 1928-11-18

Expansion of American trade and ex-
| tension of American investments In
| foreign lands, especially in Latin Ameri-
ca. are being freely forecast by close
observers of business and political
events. The election of Mr.. Hoover to
| the presidency will bring to that once
| the most widely experienced man in
| world business who has ever sat In the
| White House. Some OF our earlier
Presidents had been diplomats before
| they entered the White House. Adams.
Jefferson. Monroe and John Quincy
| Adams especially had seen much OF
Europe. All of them. however. had
been abroad as diplomats. None had
ever roamed the world over as busi-
ness and professional expert as Hoover
| has done.
prior to the World War, Great Brit
ain was the world center of trade anC
money. For hundred years the capital
| to develop the natural resources of
newly opened lands came from Eng
land, and the men who led the de-
velopment and the ships which car
| ried the new products were British.
. This was SO generally true that when
Herbert Hoover found great oppor-
tunity for developing coal property ir
China. he did not hasten back to the
United States, where he had powerful
friends In the mining professions, but
went to England, where he knew that
| financiers were in the habit Of adj
ancing money to develop mines in far
on lands.
Seeking Capital in London.
ANY one who thinks back few years
about our American habits Of investing
money will realize why Hoover was
perfectly right, in business sense. 30
| years ago, to seek mining capital In
London and not in this country. Had
| he come to New York at that time seek
! ing million dollars to develop coal
mines in China. he would have prob
ably been unable to find a single in
! ternationally-min banker who knew
| anything about coal In China. or cared
| about it either. There was plenty o1
opportunity to invest all the available
| American money right here in the
United States. That Hoover, a young
mining engineer, could take his maps
and statistics and documents Of title
to London, right on the heels OF the
Boxer uprising, which had frightened
the whole world about China, and there
raise the money to put new machinery
into the mines, open up transportation
facilities, and start production which
later enriched his hackers, shows clear
ly that British capital was, and fol
generations had been, thoroughly alert
to foreign investments. Britain had
grown rich from foreign and colonial
investments, and the British navy was
maintained as guarantee Of the safety
of those investments.
It is quite natural that today, with
Americas first entirely internationally
educated President about to take over
the reins Of office, American business
Is looking more and more to foreign
fields, and to development in our own
scattering, but inherently rich, terri
tories.
Since the World War the center Of
world finance has shifted from London
to New York. There is more surplus
wealth now being produced every veal
In the United States than can be invest.
ed In the United States with assurance
of ample profit. American money 1.
going abroad for investment in increas.
ing volume each year. but only a part
Of 1t is going into any business con.
trolled by Americans. Most of 1t Il
going out as loans to foreign govern.
ments. or to municipalities or to for
eign-owned companies.
Opportunities Still Plentiful.
In South and Central America, and ir
| the American colonies such as the
Philippines and Porto Rico, American
investments are much more likely to be
more strictly American enterprises, and
not merely banking transactions Here
there are opportunities ont only fol-
American money. but for American men
to handle the money and develop the