Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-21
BY CASTOR NERVAL,
Authority on Latin American Affair

authority on bdLln American hHaHS.
TINE material progress of a people
is measured by the number of
miles of railways and highways
Il in its territory. The countries
which stand first in the world
today are those which first and most
wisely solved their problems of means
of communication. Those which have
not yet solved those problems cannot
yet say they have reached the begin
ming of true progress.
In the boundless prosperity of the
United States roads have played most
important part. Probably no other
nation has a more complete or more
modern system of roads than the United
States. And to these are owed the
ample facilities here for carrying on
business, the enormous profits of domes-
tic commerce, and the benefits accruing
from tourists and interstate trade and
countless other factors that go to make
up material progress and prosperity.
Peoples Drawn Together.
But this problem of roads has still
greater, a wider importance: an inter-
national significance. Roads draw
peoples closer. They are the means
for forming practical economic bonds,
and at the same time higher ties, for
the spiritual distances between ma
lions. Closer bonds, mutual knowledge,
and mutual understanding are the
three necessary stages of friendship
between peoples. The three are init
mately related, for 1t is impossible to
attain the last, which is the high ideal
sought in international policies, with
out having passed through the first two.
Highways and railroads offer facilities
for these first stages: hence the high
Importance we give to the solution OF
road problems as means for closer in
ternational relations.
If the Pan-American movement.
which is the most interesting political
tendency of our day. has not yet at
tanned more complete success, it Is
because the factor of international
communications between the peoples of
the North and of the South has been
neglected. There have been held many
congresses, many plans have been made
to solve the Pan-American problems
by endeavoring to remove, little by
little, grounds for dispute or divergences
of opinion between Latins and Saxons.
but little has been done to draw closer
the material ties between North Amer
lea and Central and South America, by
means of railways and highways which
would facilitate, at the same time, both
the commercial interchange ana the
better mutual knowledge Of their peo-
pie. We have stated before that to this
lack of knowledge is almost entirely
due the misunderstanding between the
Americans of the North and those OF
the South, which are more spiritual and
intellectual than political.
Potentialities Of Air Service.
1t may be that aviation is bringing
the solution of this problem. Air serv-
ices have already been established, al
though not yet with much regularity or
permanence, between the United States
and Latin America, and since their es-
adjustment the cause Of Pan-Ameri-
canism has made more progress, In
months, than during years of the past
decade. It is easy to understand the
great benefits which will be felt when
commercial aviation is fully established
throughout the hemisphere, and the
air service shall have reached stage
when tiey will compete with maritime
transport. Being able to carry out
business negotiations in "a or 48 hours
will be In truth great progress over
present services, which require two cor
three weeks between New York and the
more important commercial centeH OF
South America. However, the problem
| Of air TRANSPORTATION Is not yet solved