Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-10
BY CASTOR NERvAL.

omists throughout the country
L are predicting the return OF
prosperity in the next few
months. Hard times are over, they say,
and their happy spark Of optimism ra-
| dates from the front page of every
newspaper in America.
In the meantime business minds from
the world over gathered in Washington
last week to work for economic re-
| Mobilization. At the meetings Of the
International Chamber of Commerce
more than 1000 delegates from As
nations discussed the problems Of the
most severe economic depression the
world has ever witnessed.
They did not seem so confident as
the business leaders in this country
| who have seen prosperity Just around
the corner" Therefore they were busy
trying to devise prescriptions as to the
ways and means Of bringing about
economic relief by international agree
ments and cooperation.
For a whole week these heads OF
( finance, business and industry Of As
countries were wrestling with such
problems as world depression. unem-
/ ployment, overproduction, distribution,
wages, tariffs, taxes, standards of liv-
| ing, reparations and war debts.
Whether they were justified in de-
world in such discouraging phrases as
they did, and whether they were right
or wrong in doubling the optimistic
predictions of Uncle Sam, one out
standing conclusion appears to emerge
out of this conference: The recognition
| by the leading nations of the earth that
economic interdependence Is the pre-
! dominating law today, and that the
| progress and prosperity of any par
ticular country are inevitably bound up
with the progress and prosperity OF all
humanity.
Hard Times In the South.
No exception to the rule, Latin
America has been suffering from this
worldwide depression in the last two
years. In fact, it would not be ven
turesome to say that some Latin
American countries have been the
hardest hit. One-crop countries most
of them, the decline in prices Of the
particular commodity in which their
whole national economy was centered
has cut in half the public and private
incomes, wrecked entirely the govern
ment's budget and caused a general
| business depression of unusual char
acteristics.
To the natural evils Of the economic
, crisis which swept the world at large,
another factor has added in Latin
America to this chaotic situation, and
that is the poor administration of ma
tional funds by inexpert or dishonest
regimes which were, only recently over
| thrown.
This failure Of the old regimes in
handling the economic problems, ag-
| gravated by government corruption. was
precisely the underlying cause of SO
! many revolutions on the other side of
the Rio Grande in the last II months.
In Latin America, more than anywhere
else, economic conditions influence
political developments, for the people
have special psychological ability to
make political issues Of the financial
errors of the men in power.
The sugar crisis in Cuba, the tin
crisis in Bolivia, the coffee crisis in
Brazil, agricultural condition in Argen-
| tina, financial complications in Peru,
business depression in Colombia, and
so on, are reported daily by the press.
| Only Venezuela seems to have escaped
this general slump, thanks to the over
whelming oil production, which has
| made that nation the second largest
| oil producer in the world.
Venezuela today is the only country
| with no external debt, her obligations
having been paid last December on the
| occasion of the centenary of Bolivar,
the libertator. The case of Venezuela
serves to prove the assertion that eco
nonnic reasons were behind the recent
revolutionary movements, for that
country has subsisted for years with a
regime which politically is far more at
variance with the democratic ideals of
the Latin Americans than the ones
overthrown last year In Bolivia, Peru.
Argentina, Brazil, etc.
The Four HOrSemen.
Depression has invaded Latin Amer
lea with its four terrific horsemen-
unemployment, wage cutting tax in
crease and suppression of credit.
Although not on the same scale as
in more industrialized countries, the
problem of the unemployed is giving
many headache to southern execu-
tives, particularly those of the coun-
tries more largely developed, like Ar
gentina, Brazil, etc. Bread lines have
Janeiro, Lima and other Latin capitals.
AS for wage reductions and the sup
preston of jobs by Latin American
governments, only few weeks ago I
had occasion to comment upon the
measures adopted by Colombia and
Mexico These were merely following
the course set by other southern states
men, who in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru,
Chile, Ecuador and nearly all of Latin
America have made drastic economies
in their national budgets at the ex-
pense of government employees. said
at that time that some governments
had made reductions amounting to
almost 40 per cent of the budget, and
others were looking for more weak
spots in it, where the scissors of ma
tional economy might be put to work.
A recent cable from Santiago confirms
this impression, announcing the Chilean
Government has also ordered severe de-
creases in the administration.
A hint of this policy of economy may
be found in the reduction in size and
salaries of diplomatic missions abroad.
In Washington alone, which is sup