Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10
By THOMAS Fl. HEALY, PHI. D.,

| ~ N September 8, in Washington.
under the auspices Of the
" Government of the United
~ States, will open an Inter-
american Conference on Ag-
rtculture, Forestry and Animal Indus
| try. In this age Of countless tnterna-
tional conferences this event OF itself
may not excite much public interest.
However, this conference is more than
usual international gathering; 1t is
the Tooth Of pan-American confer
ences. Our commercial and political
relations with Latin America have as
sumed such tremendous importance
and are being stressed so much now by
| political and economic leaders OF the
United States that 1t Is appropriate on
the occasion of this centennial confer
ence to take stock of the present situa-
ton and future prospects.
Twenty years ago our relations with
Latin America as whole were on
| comparatively limited scale and the re-
lationS that we did have were often
unsatisfactory and the source of irri-
tation and criticism on both sides. The
American people as whole knew little
of Latin America and seemed to care
| less. There was not a single direct
representative of any American press
organization in South America and the
| few Latin American items that ap-
peared in our press came usually
through European channels. Few North
Americans visited Latin America and
even fewer Latin Americans visited the
United States. American universities
as a whole gave practically no atten-
ton to Latin American studies. The
| diplomatic and trade representatives
| that were sent to Latin America, more
often than not, knew little or nothing
of the language and the country where
| they were accredited. Politically, the
average person In the United States
thought of Latin America only as the
center of frequent revolutions. On the
other hand, Latin Americans seemed
to concentrate most of their knowledge
about us in the phrase Yankee i'm
perialism." Commercially. Great
Britain, Germany and France seemed
to have cornered most of the choice
parts of trade and financial invest
ments. Direct telephone, telegraph
and radio communication with Latin
America was unheard of. Direct trans
portation was almost an imposSibility;
steamship travel between Latin Amer
lea and the United States was usually
via Europe.
Recent Startling Changes.
Truly startling changes have been
wrought in all of this within the last
few years. Last year our trade with
Latin America was approximately ST.
900, 100000. or approximately three
| times as great as 1t was 20 years ago.
In both imports and exports we had
a greater total than our three principal
competitors-Great Britain, Germany
and France-combined. Today we oc-
cupy the first place in sales to every
one of the Latin American countries
without exception. Our financial in
vestments in Latin America today are
over $500, 600, 900, or almost five
ago. The capital that we have invested
today in Venezuela alone is more than
all the capital that we had invested in
the entire continent of South America
20 years ago.
Our investments In Chile jumped
within the last 20 years from $15,000,-
600 to over $750,oO0,0o or a 1000
few years the industrial and financial
interests of the United States have OBJ
tanned very extensive holdings through
out Latin America. Important in the
economic life Of these countries are
such American organizations as the
international Telephone & Telegraph
Co, the Guggenheim interests, the
Co., the Standard Oil Co., w. r.
Grace & Co., the United Fruit Co., the
National City Bank and countless 9TH
ers. A number of important press
organizations and newspapers of the
United States now have their own
representatives In Latin America, re-
porting accurately and completely to
the American public events and situa-
tons in Latin America; the space now
devoted to such purposes In our maya
zines and newspapers is many times
greater than 1t was even 10 years ago.
From the telephones in any large city
in the United States 1t is now possible
to talk by telephone or radio telephone
to a number of the capitals of Latin
America and in the space Of q few
minutes. 1t was only in April of this
year when the first regular radio tele-
phone communication was established
between the United States and Latin
America by the opening of circuits
with Argentina. Uruguay and Chile.
The International Telephone & Tele-
graph Co., the American organization
which established this radio service,
has played the leading role in the re-
organization of the telephone systems
Of many Latin American countries.
Radio telephone communication has
been perfected so far that in July of
this year Capt. Yancey, flying $500
feet above Buenos Aires, was able to
talk clearly to both New York and San
rTdIlC1SCO WIFI IlO dcldJ
obtaining the communications
Communication Test Recalled.
AS shown by the recent historic tests
of the Associated Press, a cablegram
sent from New York can be delivered
in most of the Latin American capitals
within the space of two or three min
utes. Within the last year $4,000
miles of pan-American Always have
been established by American COM
panies over which 1000 900 plane miles
were flown. Mail and other items are
now being transported between the
United States and Latin America on
would have been impossible few
months ago. Splendid rapid transpor-
tation is being provided by an in
| creased number of steamship COM
panies under American direction. For
example. the Grace Line has added
within the last two years five new pas
senger ships of the most modern type.
only recently completed, is the fastest
and most modern ship ever built in
this country for foreign trade. The
Oriente, now being completed at New
port News for the Ward Line, is typical
Of the fast modern ships that are
rapidly being put into service between
the United States and Latin America.
The National Foreign Council, COM
prislng the leading expert interests Of
the United States, in its recent con-
vention in Los Angeles devoted much
of its attention to the development Of
trade with Latin America and the pro-
motion of better general relations be-
tween the United States and those re-
gions. It was only a few months aso
that this same organization. realizing
the necessity and advantages of pro-
noting closer trade. social and politi-