Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
WASHINGTON WELL PLEASED
BY RETURN OF FELIPE ESPIL
Diplomatic Adversary to
BE Greeted FerventIy by .
Friends Here.
Ambassador of Argentina
Popular Despite Flights
Against U. S.
by WILLIAM HARD.

! Felipe Espil of Argentina is back here
| again.
When he left here last, in 1928, this
writer wrote in these columns:
Everybody in Washington hopes that
our diplomatic adversary Felipe
Espil, will some day be back here again
and as Ambassador
So here he is, as Ambassador.
We have just about as many little
ether country. Many of our more
alarmed native publicists often point
| out to us, the looming and lowering
clouds of resentment against us In Ar
gentina. Argentina, indeed, Is thought
of as one of our most eminent enemy
countries
Played Havoc In 1898.
The new Ambassador of Argentina is
greeted by the whole of Washington
with outstretehed hand and with a well
coming smile not formal but fervent.
1t gives Washington positively sort of
elatien to see Espil again.
At the n-American Conference at
Havana In 1928 he played havoc, on be-
half of his country, with our cherished
scheme for the settlement of the trade
mark question in the Western Henis-
phere. He helped greatly in that ques-
I He was then counselor of the Argen-
tine embassy here. AS an enemy"
counselor. he had endeared himself to
us. As q wrecker of our trademark
project, he seemed to endear himself to
us more. The better we knew him, and
the more he fought us, why, the better
we knew him and the more we liked
him.
He had pushed us back frightfully
on the subject of the eoloring of alfalfa
seed. That was a high subject. The
United States Department of Agrioul-
ture wanted to color Argentine alfalfa
seed red. 1t wanted to color Canadian
alfalfa seed blue. This writer seems
to recollect that those were the desired
colors In any case, Felipe Espil waged
voluminous inky war against the
country. He finally got it mitigated,
this writer seems to reeollect, from red
to orange. That was much better for
it, commercially. Felipe Espil after
long and arduous efforts, put a big
crack in the policy Of the United States
on the hues of the seeds of the alfalfa
plant. Who knows? As Ambassador he
may get red mitigated not merely to
orange but even to yellow. Who knows9
Yet even then his appearance at any
gathering here will be hailed with loud
delight by all present.
Charmed with Espil.
He makes one ponder on these In
tsrnational "animosities" His country
to us is one of the most irritating
countries in the world Felipe Espil,
whenever his country fights us, fights
us. We thereupon In way dislike his
country and in every way adore him.
Could it be that a lot of his fellow
countrymen are all right, too, If we only
knew them?
But that's going too far It's enough
for the present to be charmed with
Espil
He is a bit like our Ambassador to
Belgium, Hugh Gibson. He is similarly |
dark, vivacious, full OF laughter and full
of labofious study. He began his career
as a lawyer. He practiced law in Bue-
nos Aires year after year and then, |
each year. spent a vacation in Europe. |
In 1915, Europe being at war. he spent |
his annual vacation in the United |
States. He became intensely interested |
in our Supreme Court. Returning to |
writ of error in the United States in |
Federal jurisprudence. He had acquired !
a great enthusiasm for certain phases |
of our judicial institutions. When he |
was offered a post here as a subordi- |
nate in the Argentine embassy in Wash |
ingten, he promptly accepted 1t. Then, |
and only then, he became a diplomat
He has continued to read United |
States law. He can discourse with ap-
probation on the works of our Mr. |
Charles Warren. historian of our SUI |
preme Court. He can prove to many |
a less informed native of this country |
how great legal analyst Mr. Warren |
truly is.
At Home i'm World Thousht.
He is equally familiar with the works
of European thinkers He is at home in
world thought. He is an Argentine citi-
zen, but he is a world man. Perhaps
that Is part of the reason why his
espousal of his country's contentious
does not In any way diminish his per-
sonal popularity among us. His coun-
try Is his client in the worlds diplo-
matte forum; but Felipe Espil is of the
world itself, to which We all belong.
He sided with us in the Pan-American
Conference at Havana in 1928 on the
subject of immigration Some Latin
american countries wanted some in
ternatlonal regulation of imnigra ton.
Argentina did not. The United States
did not. We had Felipe Espil at that
monr:nt as ali ally
We have had him often as an ally
ana often as an enemy" in interna-
our efforts to keep the Pan-American
Union from having power over tariffs.
He was against us In our efforts to keep
foreign aviators from flying over the
Canal Zone.
With us or against U.S. he has always
had not only our esteem but our af-
lection. He now will be plunged into
controversies before our Tariff Commits
sion between United States producers
and Argentine producers of, for in
stance. flaxseed. The Tariff Commits
sion, it is understood, is sending inyes-
tigators to Argentina to explore the
cost there of growing fax and its seed
Argentine producers hope that the cost
will turn out to be high. so that the
United States tariff duty on flaxseed
may be reduced. United States pro-
ducers hope that the cost will turn
Gut to be low, sc that the United States
tariff duty on fiaxseed may be re-
tanned or even raised.
Felipe Espil knows we'll that the pe-
litioal opponents In the United States I