Evening star., 1939-06-26
Looms to Latin America

President Roosevelt's latest good
neighbor plan, to lend $500, 100000 to
Latin American governments for
financing of United States exports to
the sister republics on either side of
the IsthmuS of Panama, is now the
subject of legitimate debate in the
Senate.
Ths experiences of our investors in
latin American securities during the
irresponsible twenties justify the
fullest exploration of the wisdom of
pouring half billion dollars of Fed
eral taxpayers money, through the
Export Import Bank, into a field
richly sown with the seeds of default
and reputation. Senator Borah ad-
vanced the thought that the admin
istration's proposal would merely
provide funds for South American
politicians to play with" While there
may be a measure of truth in that
observation, the fact remains that
the United States is confronted by a
condition, and not theory in Latin
America.
That condition is the fact that the
totalitarian states, notably Germany,
are engaged in ruthless, systematic
effort to undermine our trade with
the sister Americas. One objective of
the undertaking is to strengthen
themselves for military adventures.
To that end, the Nazis are openly ex-
plotting their barter and blocked
mark currency system. Only on
Saturday, while the loan project was
under discussion at the Capitol, the
Reichsbank at Berlin announced that
Germany is unable to abandon the
unorthodox commercial and flnan-
cial practices which avowedly aim at
demoralizing the Latin American
economic structure, to the particular
disadvantage of the United States.
If there we're any remaining doubt
of Hitler's purpose to combat Ameri-
can trade at every stage, it would be
dissipated by the Dutch govern
ment's announcement that, under
German duress, the Netherlands is
compelled to break off negotiations
for exchange of Dutch rubber and
tin for American cotton and wheat.
Holland is economically so dependent
upon her powerful neXt-door neigh
Dor for both export and import needs
that The Hague authorities feel they
have no alternative but to submit to
Berlin's bidding. Washington has
been officially notified to this effect.
The pending plan to establish
credits for Latin American CONNER
cial purchases in this country is the
outgrowth of the recent Lima con-
ference. Its frank purpose is to en-
ploy the money power of the United
States to combat the subsidized ex-
port practices of totalitarian govern
ments. Our delegation at Lima OBJ
tanned ample evidence that heroic
measures are necessary if the United
States is not to let the Germans,
Italians and japanese make progress
sive inroads in the Latin American
market at our cost, and perhaps
ultimately at the expense of world
peace.
If the $5OO,OO0,O0O fund is to be
considered as a sort of economic
weapon to be used against the total
itariarS in an effort to block one
phase of their preparations for the
war which may yet come in Europe,
the plan has a possible value which
should be given serious study. This
is especially true if the money lent
would be spent in this country for
American-made goods.
But if that is what the President
really has in mind he should present
1t to the Congress on that basis, and
not as self-liquidating recovery
project which is at best an example
of optimistic self-delusion.
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