Evening star., 1940-04-14
Unions Fifty Years Strengthen Hemisphere Sodart
Good>Neighbor Trade Policy
Born Here Half Century AGO
Beginnings Scarcely Noticed, but Developments
Have Been Rapid, With Future Unlimited
for the Western Republics
By Herbert M. Braffer.

At Eighteenth and I streets NV, so
years ago today, in the old mansion
which formerly belonged to Washing
tons Mayor Wallach, there was born
good neighbor policy of the Western
Hemisphere. The international Union
of American Republics" established In
1890 by the 10 then independent Ameri-
can nations, including the Empire of
Brazil, was to act through commercial
bureau. That bureau has since become
known as the Pan-American Union.
The creation of that commercial bu-
reau apparently was not regarded as an
event OF world shaking Importance. Re-
produced below is the modest mention
OF its birth in the first paragraph of
an inconspicuous article published in
small type in the New York Journal of
Commerce at the time, amidst reports
Of the falling of the Nile, the Treasury's
silver purchases, the status of the
Window silver bill and Mr.. Parnelrs
attitude toward the Balfour Irish land
purchase bill.
WASHINGTON, April 14.-The
Pan-American Conference today
adopted the report of the Committee
on Banking and the supplementary
report of the Committee on Customs
Regulations recommending the es-
tablishment of central union
bureau of information and statistics
concerning customs"
Many Changes Brought About.
For the average reader of this paper,
1890, was long, long time ago. To
person like Prime Minister Chamberlain.
however. the past half century is all in
"our time But, whatever way you may
view it, these so years have seen
changes which the bearded delegates to
that historic meeting would have regard
ed as incredible. What changes, then,
may not the. next so years unroll?
These so years have seen the rail-
roads parallel tentacles stretch through
jungle and towering mountain to link
remote cities with distant seaports,
They have seen steamships push into
interior waters have watched huge
canal separate two continents and wed
two oceans.
They have seen grain and cattle
countries developing industrial life, air.
planes zooming across mountain and
sea, from country to country and con-
tinent to continent. They have seen
phone conversations between exporter
and customer thousands of miles apart
become commonplace; orchestral music.
played on summer evening in Detroit.
simultaneously elating families in their
homes. thousands of miles away in the
southern winter; and other Jules Verne
wonders.
In 1890 Argentinas delegate to the
hrst Pan-American conference, Senior
Rogue Saenz Pena. had to travel weeks
to get to Washington. Today his sue
cessors may reach this city in ~ DAYS
flying.
Beef Dried for Shipment.
In 1890 Argentine export beef had
hrst to be dried. Today modern re-
frigerator ships carry not only meats.
but Latin American fruits and vegetables
to our tables throughout the year. The
lowly Caribbean American banana, ma
tive Of Africa, has become big business,
due to American enterprise and effort.
The list of such products that link the
Americas economically is long and in
teresting. Our imports from Latin
America today. as in 1890, are predomi-
nantly foodstuffs.
AT that time voyage to South Amer
lea was a real venture, not without its
romantic appeal. For South America
was weeks away, and in travel miles
much further away than it is today. To
reach Brazil and the River Plate in those
days the American traveller had to 70
by way OF England. It is only in rel
atively recent years that fast passenger
and freight service has linked the
Americas" directly.
The modern American commercial
traveller, or the tourist and his wife, may
ny IN comfort from Santiago, Chile,
across the Andes to Buenos Aires In a
matter Of 81 hours, including two stops
en- route. Not even milady's corsage
need be disturbed by the journey. Com
pare the crossing of the Andes so years
ago. Travellers" of that day were not
tourists" And when one made such a
trip through the Americas. one was apt
70 write book about it.
Wrote OF Early Journey.
Here is what one such 1890 traveller,
Theodore Child, wrote of this route:
I'm the pleasantly situated town of
Mendoza, with its broad streets over
arched with trees. spent several days in
making arrangements for the journey
over the mountains (from Argentina to
Chile. Our little caravan consisted of
six mules-one for me, one for Beningo,
one for the baggage, two spare animals
In case of accident and the yegua ma
drina, or bell mule, which all the others
follow" To cross the mountains then
was matter of days. One gentleman
whom the author met at Los Andes, had
once made remarkable trip from there
to Mendoza in SO consecutive hours,
using two horses.
One may now fly comfortably all the
way from New York to Buenos Aires in
less time than Mr.. Child needed in Mem
doza to round up his Trans-Andean
caravan.
When a storm sweeps eastward across
Argentina's pampas. the water of the
River Plate is blown toward the Uru-
guyan shore, leaving ocean vessels vir-
tually landlocked in Buenos Aires mod