Evening star., 1933-12-17
BY GASTON NERyAL.
LII reports coming from Monte
VideO agree that the nIltStand- :

A LII reports coming from Monte
~ video agree that the outstand-
"A ing feature of the Seventh In
4 a ternational Conference of
American States is the lack of
hostility toward the colossus of the
North" and the absence of any appar-
ent grouping of Latin American dele
cations against the United States.
This is something new in Pan -Ameri-
can conferences. Generally speaking
the previous continental gatherings
found the Latin American republics
more or less allied in their condemna-
ton Of policies and practices Of the
United States in the Caribbean zone
which were inimical to their sovereignty
and their right to self-government. No
matter how varied their views were on
the political and economic subjects dis
cussed the Latin Americans always
showed relatively united front in de-
nouncing what has been termed United
States imperialism in the Western
world.
At some of the conferences in the
past, this prejudiced attitude of sus-
picion, and even resentment, of Latin
America toward the United States
caused much harm and prevented any
fruitful agreement At others. it was
overcome only through laborious diplo-
matte skill.
OF course, to the person familiar with
the strange story of inter-American re-
lations, such an attitude could not be
surprising, even though the average
newspaper reader were at a loss to un-
derstand 1t. Nevertheless, without 60
ing, once more, into the reasons for.
and. the background of, that Latin
American antagoniSm toward the
United States which reappeared at each
n-American conference the fact re-
mains that for the first time its absence
has been noted. from the deliberations
OF the current conference at Monte
video.
Delegation Feels Welcome.
1t is trus that-as these lines are
being written-only the preliminary
discussions have taken place and ma ior
differences will not come up until the
reports of the several committees are
presented to plenary sessions of the
conference, but in the atmosphere of
the meetings Itself, and in the prevail
ing mood of the delegations a remark
ably changed attitude has already been
reported by impartial observers The
New York Times correspondent has
cabled This is the first time in a
quarter of century, if not in the en-
tire history of -Americanism, that
United States delegation has been
able to feel itself welcome member of
the Pan-American family"
That statement may seem slightly
exaggerated certainly the United States
would have felt itself very welcome at
Bolivar in 1926, If it had cared to at
tend it, but it is impossible to deny
that this is the first time, since the
present Pan-Ar<erican movement began
with Blaine) that the United States
delegation IS not confronted at PAN
American Congress with the task of
overcoming suspicion and distrust be-
fore setting itself to work.
What does that prove? Simply, that
the previous Latin-American antag-
onistic attitude had justification in
prevailing conditions and that, as soon
as these conditions have been modified,
a corresponding change In Latin Amer
ican sentiment toward the United
the record has only began to be mended,
even though only the first steps in the
right direction have been taken, even
though there is still much to be cor
rected and much to be eliminated be-
fore the errors and abuses of the past
can be forgotten, the United States al
ready finds-at least in official quar-
ters-an atmosphere of friendship and
confidence in the Southern hemisphere
New Policy Is Cause.
Which are the reasons behind this
change? In the first place, the So
called new Latin-American policy" of
the State Department. Beginning under
the Hoover-Stimson administration
and more decidedly under the present
one-an entirely different standard Of
conduct toward the Latin republics has
been developed at Washington. The
hishlights of this new policy have been:
A reluctance to intervene in their do
mestic affairs either for political or for