Evening star., 1932-02-07
Sees Nothing Alarming.

onJ W NtlCllN IIIC INVESTMENT boIlhClo
for their methods, nor to excuse the
greed of officials who sought loans with
which to make their governments pop
ular through great public works pro-
grams. But the battle of the bankers
for opportunity to issue the Latin
American loans was not to force them
on the governments. but to get the
bond issues away from a competitive
banker-no more. And in the final
analysis, the difficulties in Latin
America can be described very prop
erly as investment indigestion. In
reality. this is a periodical complaint,
cured by time and a good digestive,
and no more permanently damaging to
the internal machinery Of the countries
than too much Thanksgiving turkey Is
to healthy boy.
For the last 100 years these countries
of Latin America have lived alternately
IN feast or famine of foreign invest
ment, and they have learned, without
teacher or precept, to take it when the
taking is good. The approximately
$4,000. 100000 which has gone in, since
the close of the World War, from this
country alone, was the largest Thanks
giving dinner to which Latin America
ever sat down, and uncles and auntS
certainly stuffed the goodies down the
expectant throat. It is hardly to be
wondered that there was indigestion
and not all of it without one of the
unhappy acCompanimentS Of indigestion
a rather nasty resentment toward the
uncles and auntS who did the Overfeed-
ing Not to mention what the uncles
and aunts think, now that the party is
over, about the table manners of the
nephews and nieCes
In the final analysis, however, Latin
America has put an astonishing pro-
portion Of the investments to work
astonishing, certainly, if we judge by
what people say she did with the money.
Here is the asset side Of the ledger
Nearly 100000 miles of excellent
roads, including the famous Cuban
Central Highway.
More than 100 fine power houses,
from immense hydro and steam de-
velopmentS to we'll planned small units.
Half dozen fine port developments,
worth from 100000 each, down.
Some notable railway electrifications
and important railway improvements
and extensions.
Public buildings, from the superb Gu
ban capitol and the unfinished reStora-
tion Of the Palace Of PiZarro in Peru to
a fine list of concrete school houses.
No armaments-With the single eX-
ception of Bolivia, which spent a, large
Wad of our American investments for
arms bought in England
Only a few balanced budgets"
form of boom time finance that was far
less common than believed-although
certainly not unknown.
A remarkably small amount Of graft.
While government officials received
some of the gravy the loss was In
flnitesimal in the great total.
Very few scandals in the issuance.
Some not too savoy bits are likely to be
unearthed In investigations, but the
record is generally clean.
Expects Loss to Be Cut.
Not all the wisdom OF todays hind
sight was used by the investment bank
eue but the most serious general charge
seems to be that they made the loans
60 satisfy the market demands up here
and not becadse the countries or the
projects on which securities were fioated
were thoroughly judged as to their
ability to use or to pay for the service
Of the money lent them.
Yet when the clouds are cleared
away, and the re-establshment Of
credit Is carried through-as it will be
IT is safe to predict that there will
evolve certain sound values and far
more than the holders of those same
bonds now dare to hope for. 1t seems