The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-07
AR Imperialism of United
States IN Latin America


United States to Mexico. Recently
the same company opened an air
mail service from the United States
to Panama via Havana and the Cen
trail American states. Both these
steps are part of the United States
campaign to obtain control of COM
mercial aviation in Latin America,
large part of which is in the hands
of European companies.
The Germans Already In.
The first air line to function in
Latin America was established by
the Sociedad acknowledgements de
Transportes Aereos, company
founded in 1920 by the Kondorsyn-
dikat of Germany. This firm, gen.
orally known as "Scadta," operates
five passenger and mail air lines in
Colombia and has extended its serv-
ice to Ecuador. 1t plans to extend
its operations southwark to Peru.
Similarly, the German group has
obtained concession in Peru for
establishing air lines with neigh
boring states.
A German firm, the Aero Lloyd
Voliviano, also controls Bolivia's air
service; while German firms shipped
10 airplanes to Brazil in 1928 for
the air service between Rio de JAN
GIRO and Rio Grande do Sui. Plans
are under way for extending the
Brazilian service to Montevideo and
Buenos Aires. Toward the close of
1928 the Deutsche Lufthansa an
nounced plans for establishing regu-
lar passenger and mail service by
air between Germany and Argen-
tina.
The French, Also.
The French, also, have obtained
valuable aviation concessions in
Latin America. In 1925 Chile
granted a French company an ex-
elusive concession to operate air
lines. The United States attempted
to prevent exclusive concessions of
this nature but was unsuccessful.
The French have also established a
mail service by ship and airplane
from Paris to Buenos Aires, via
Dakar in French Senegal and Per-
nambuco.
Alarmed at the rapid advance of
European aviation in Latin Amer
lea, the United States attempted to
establish its own hegemony in this
field at the Pan-American CONNER
cial Aviation Conference of 1927.
The attempt failed owing to the OPP
position of most of the Latin Amer
lean countries, led by Argentina.
Trick Didn't Work.
At that conference, the United
States proposed resolution provid-
ing that 'for the purpose of engag-
ing in international air navigation,
no aircraft shall be entered on the
register of any of the concerning
states unless the ownership thereof
is vested in a national of such con-
tracing state, or partnership or
corporation under the laws of such
contracting states"
Since the United States is the
only country in the Pan-American
Union manufacturing airplanes, it
would have given the United States
a monopoly over Latin American
aviation. This resolution would have
excluded the French, British and
German lines from the Americas
and would have resulted in the can
collation. of present air concessions
to European countries. The con-
ference, however, rejected the reso-
luton.
Subsequently, the United States
won a victory at the Havana con-
ference which adopted convention
on commercial aviation providing
that any two countries may make
treaties excluding commercial avia-
ton companies of other countries
from passing over their territory.
U. S. Against Germany.
This provision was aimed primar-
lily at Scadta. The conflict between
German and American interests
reached a crisis when Colombia
under Scadta's pressure, refused to
let American companies enter South
America via Colombia, while the
United States INSTRUCTED Scadts
from extending its services north
ward, preventing it from securing
landing rights in Panama and Cuba
Without such landing rights Scadta
was forced to restrict itself to South
America; while without the right
to fly over Colombia the United
States could not hope to establish
direct air service between North and
South America. For while there
was q deadlock.
Recently, however, the State De.
partment revealed that an agree.
ment has been reached whereby
American air lines will be per-
mitted to enter South America via
Colombia, and in exchange Scadts
will be permitted to fly it's airplanes
over the Panama Canal. This was
done only after Pan-American air
ways were sufficiently organized tc
start a fight for Latin American
air control, and had already opened
an air service from the United
States to Cuba.