Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-14
SOUTH AMERICAN
PROGRESS DEFINITE
Governments Are Making
Rapid Strides Toward Eco
nomic Independence.
ri REX COLLIER.

Stan Correspondent of The Star on the
Hoover South American Good VIII Trip.
Popular fiction has painted an err
roneous and unjust picture OF Latin
American governments.
Writers of the Richard Harding Davis
type have left In many minds the inn
preston that a South American gov
eminent Is about as stable as Humpty
Dumpty trying to sit on wall. Per-
haps the picture thus drawn was fairly
true to life in some of the Southern
republics in their earlier days. but I'M
fortunately the picture seems to linger
in these days Of governmental progress
in South America.
President-elect Hoover and his party
left Latin America with very different
perspective in their minds. The pic
ture impressed upon their memories Is
much more prosaic than that drawn
by the novelists, but Is is a portrait of
which Latin Ameriia we'll may be proud
AS a student of government, 1t may
be assumed that Mr. Hoover appraised
this picture by applying certain eco
nomic tests. Such tests would involve
inquiry as to whether the governments
under observation have balanced bud
gets. stable currency, an ability to meet
national obligations, a national bank
affecting loans from outside capital.
Progress Notable.
Judged by such standards of ap-
praisal. governmental progress in Latin
America during the past five years has
been notable. On the whole, the re-
publics are making remarkable strides
with their budgets, their currency, their
interest payments. their banking sys-
TENS and their other financial prob
lens. Some of the nations still are
backward in certain respects, but there
is a decided trend toward moderniza-
ton of the whole system of government
finance below the border.
Latin America is taking lessons from
Uncle Sam in government finance.
Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador al
ready have adopted our Federal Reserve
banking system, thanks to the advice OF
Prof E. w. Kemmerer Of Princeton,
who was called in by those governments
to reorganize their financial programs.
Other nations have emulated us in pro-
mitigating a scientific budgeting system
for balancing their revenues and ex-
penditures.
Venezuela, Brazil. Paraguay. Uruguay,
Argentina, Colombia and Costa Rica
boast of carefully balanced govern
and Guatemala are we'll on the road to
that goal All of these nations are on
a stable financial footing. The only
republics that have been unable to bal
ance their budgets are Bolivia. Panama,
Nicaragua, Honduras and Salvador.
All but Peru and Guatemala have a
stable currency and before long these
two will be in a position to join their
sister republics in this respect. Two or
three years ago the currency situation
in general was anything but encour-
aging.
Keep Up Payments.
AS for foreign obligations and do
mestic debts, all of the countries are
keeping up interest payments and max
ing inroads into the principal with the
exception of Nicaragua, Paraguay, Bo-
livia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Hon.
duras But even these are attacking
their problems hopefully. Nicaragua'S
internal troubles have initiated against
her in a financial way, but with the
smoothing out of her political difficult
ties it is thought she will be able to give
more attention to her obligations.
All things considered, South Amer |,
ica's foreign debt problem is less acute |
now than at any time in the past quar-
ter of century.
Nine governments have modern and
entirely satisfactory banking systems
and three others are recognizing their
banks along Federal Reserve or national
bank lines. The nine countries with
modernized banking systems are Sal
vador, Nicaragua, Costa RIGA, Panama,
Colombia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and
Venezuela. The trio effecting banking
reorganization is composed of Brazil,
Bolivia and Ecuador.
The remaining nations have sound
banking systems, but they cannot be
said to be modern. In this group are
Paraguay. Argentina, Guatemala, and
Honduras.
The final test Of governmental sta