The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-02-22

PAN AMERICAN DISUNIONI
Wall Street Dictates Policy at Havana
By SCOTT NEARING, (Fed. press) |

sents the United States, not Pan
The headquarters of the
union is an imposing building in the
city OF Washington. The director of
the union was professor of political
science in one of the most conserva-
tive universities of the United States;
was in the employ of the y. S. treas
ury department and has held other
positions under the U. S.
The meetings of the union are notI
with power to make and
enforce decisions, but conferences at
which administrative details are
elaborated and fundamentals are
avoided. The Monroe doctrine, for
example, is not subject for dis
cussion at meetings of the Pan
American union. AS one of the U. S.
put the matter: ''The
Monroe doctrine is not an agreement
between the various American gov.
ernments, but statement of U. S.
policy"
The Pan-American Union is also a
statement of U. S. policy. How long
will the Latin American republics ac-
cept it?
Wall St. Diplomacy.
The question arose at the Havana
conference on the subject of inter-
yention. During the past 20 years, the
United States has sent gunboats and
marines to Cuba, Haiti, Honduras,
Santo Domingo, Mexico, Nicaragua;
has forcibly dominated the internal
affairs of these countries, and in sew
eral cases, NOTABLY in Haiti, Mexico
and Nicaragua has shed much blood
before it could impose it's will upon
the local populations. In certain
cases--Cuba Tor example-provision
for intervention is made by treaty.
Is this right? Should the United
States, with a population Of 100000
900 and big army and navy inter
vene in Nicaragua, with its 650,000I
defenseless citizens?
Whether right or not, it is done.
While the Pan-American conference
was meeting in Havana, U. s..
marines on Nicaraguan territory
were shooting Nicaraguan citizens
who dared to resist the Intervention
of the U. S. military forces in the
internal affairs of the country.
Overlook Murders.
The complete U. S. domination of
the Havana conference is shown by
the fact that delegates did not even
mention the Nicaragua murders when
they discussed intervention, but
talked generally of outlawing inter
vention under international Law.
Everyone was thinking of Nicaragua.
Not delegate mentioned it.
There is suspicion that under
lying the reorganization of the Pam
American Union is a revival of the
suggestion that there may ultimately
develop an arrangement for the for
nation of Latin American Union
which would not include the United
States," cabled the N. Y. Times CORE
spondent. He adds that Mexican and
Argentine delegates at the conference
actively champion the cause of the
weaker Latin American states against
by the United States.
Business interests.
That is the heart of the matter.
The Pan-American Union is made of
two unmixable elements.
One member, the United States, is
richer and better armed than all the
other members of the union COM
bined. Furthermore U. S. business
interests have $1,000, 100000 invested
in Cuba, 81, 400, 100000 invested in
Mexico; $4,500,000,000 in the whole
of Latin America. The other 20 men,
bers Of the union are relatively poor
and unarmed. With their resources
and public utilities mortgaged to the
business interests of the United
States, they always lie under the
guns of L. s. battleships.
For the moment the Pan American
Union may continue, at least in form
But in the long run, the United
states will line up on one side, with
the debtor countries of Latin Americ,
ranging themselves on the other in
an anti-U. S. Pan-American Alliance.
If this can not be done openly, for
fear of the United States, it will be
organized secretly, like any other
suppressed movement.
Pan-A merican relations are I'M
stable. Almost any critical event may
divide them into two classes: on the
north the Yankee peril, as it is des-
cribed in Latin America; on the south
the territories and peoples that are
being exploited and absorbed by the
American Empire.
NM ~ - ~