Evening star., 1935-03-10

BY EDWARD TOMLINSON.
TINE paradox of Washington to-
day is to be found just across
the street from the White
L House in the rambling old
State, War and Navy Build
ing Within the somber walls of this
dingy pile of sandstone the most ar
dent and yet the quietest debates OF
the New Deal era are taking place.
While the apostles of the N. r. A,
the A. A. A.. the r. F. c. and all the
other alphabetical orders Of the
Roosevelt regime flood the newspapers
and the radio with plans and pleas
for renovating and speeding up ma
tional industry and trade, embattled
experts Of the Departments OF State
and Commerce are laboring fran
tically. but without fuss or fanfare,
to retrieve some of our lost markets
abroad, particularly those of South
America.
In the effort to restore our annual
billion-dollar South American COM
merce, reciprocal trade treaties be-
tween several of these southern re-
publics and the United States are
now under consideration. Day in and
day out Secretary of State Cordell
Hull and his assistants meet with
the emissaries of Colombia, Brazil
Chile or Argentina and argue ways
and means of mutually swapping
tariff concessions.
By means of such agreements the
powers on the Potomac hope not only
to facilitate the flow Of goods north
and south. but to give employment
and income to more of our people by
more generous exchange of prod
ucts between the Americas.
Task Proves Difficult.
The task is by no means an easy
one. When the last Congress granted
the President the power to enter into
such arrangements by reducing or
raising tariffs as much as so per cent,
many ardent advocates of the plan
seemed to think it would be a matter
of only a few weeks until trade with
these countries would be booming.
And some of them are quite, impa-
tient that so little has been accom-
plished thus far.
They take no account of the OBJ
stacles. Each country with which
we attempt to deal has its own pet
Ideas, views. conflicting opinions and
ambitions as to what is or might be
good for it. Each, like our own coun-
try, is graphing with internal prob
lens growing out of the depression
and. therefore. heSitates to make out
side trade concessions or binding
agreements that might interfere with
local recovery machinery. Then, too,
many of them have already entered
into agreements, treaties and under
standings with other nations which
make additional concessions impos-
sible.
While we were completely absorbed
in the task of surviving domestic dis
aster and gave little or no thought
to outside affairs, other countries
Great Britain, France, Italy. Ger
many. Russia and, particularly, ia
pan-were making tremendous drives
for these Southern markets. The re-
suit is that today they are strongly
intrenched throughout the Continent.
And, although here and there we have
made some gains in sales during the
last year, our share of the trade is
still 8 meager portion of the total.
Nations Shun United States.
Argentina, once our best customer
in South America, to which we sold
$4,000 900 worth of automobiles,
trucks, farming machinery, radios,
textiles and other manufactures in
1928, favored us with less than $50,-
100000 worth of orders in 1884.
Even Brazil and Colombia, which
furnish us with billions of pounds of
coffee-our national drink, in fact,
as well as our largest single import
are buying comparatively little from
us. Brazil's purchases from us last
year amounted to little more than
a third as much as her sales to us.
Colombia, which is almost dependent
upon United States markets for her
livelihood, sold us twice as much as
she bought from us. Chile once
bought our products in preference to
those Of any other country. Yet in
10 months last year we sold her only
So, 1000, 900 worth of goods, and during
the same time we bought more than
twice that much from her.
In fact, our total commerce with
the 10 republics of the Continent
today is only about fifth of what
it was in 1928. The bulk of buying
south of Panama is now being done
In Europe and the Far East. Brazil,
Argentina and Uruguay are trading
principally with Europe-Great Brit
ain, Italy, France and Russia. In the
western South American markets
Japan has become the most formida-
bic of all our competitors.
Argentines and Brazilians used to
ride almost exclusively in Yankee
made automobiles. Today they are
turning increasingly to those made In
Britain and Italy, despite the fact
that several North Ameriea com.