Evening star., 1941-09-18
Arqentinu Speaks Out


movement of protest and preventive
activity against Nazi intrigue. 1t is
as significant as it is gratifying to
see Argentina abreast of this current
trend. Argentine public opinion has
been increasingly angered by rev.
elationS of NaZi activities made
by congressional committee headed
by Deputy Raul Taborda. Its investi-
cations have implicated not only
German residents and local Fascists
but also the Reich's consular and
diplomatic representatives, including
Ambassador Won Thermann himself.
The Argentine House of Representa-
tives undoubtedly voiced the over
whelming opinion of its constituents
when it voted almost unanimously
a series of resolutions explicitly CEN
suring the German Ambassador and
demanding the dissolution of Ger
man societies in the republic. These
resolutions, sent to Acting President
Castillo, constitute formal and
urgent congressional request for
executive action.
This threatens to precipitate a
political crisis. President Castillo
and his Foreign Minister, Ruiz
Guinazu, consistently have adopted
policy of strict neutrality, and
critics have alleged that the Taborda
committee met with covert executive
opposition in it's investigations. The
administration can hardly sidestep
this congressional demand. If 1t
does nothing, it risks an explosion OF
public disapproval. If it accedeS, 1t
must at the very least declare the
German Ambassador persona non
grata and compel him to leave the
country, which would cause an acute
strain in diplomatic relations with
the Reich.
The present situation in Argentine
politics can best be visualized If we
imagine President Roosevelt and the
State Department to have been
strongly "isolationist" in face of an
increasingly anti-Nazi Congress and
public opinion, stirred especially by
the revelations of the Dies Commit
tee and by the tactlesS actions OF
the German Ambassador. Under
such circumstances it would seem
unlikely that any administration
would stand out against the two
fold pressure thus eXerted. 1t is rea-
sonable to conclude, therefore, that
Argentina will adopt a sitter official
attitude toward Germany and will
tend to fall in line with the policy
of Pan-American solidarity which
most of the other Latin American
republics already have adopted. Such
a shift in foreign policy on the part
of the largest and most powerful
Spanish-speaking country in this
hemisphere would intensity every
where the current trend toward
curbing Nazi schemes and co-operat-
ing Fundamentally with the United
| States.
In Argentina, as elsewhere In
Latin America, German diplomacy
has shown itself amazingly short
sighted. Germans are wont to boast
that they have studied carefully the
psychology of our southern neigh
bors and know how to handle them
Yet the arrogance displayed by Ger
man diplomats and agents in Argen-
tina, Mexico and many other OF these
| countries has touched to the quick
the national pride of those peoples
and has done more than anything
else to make the Germans lose ad-
vantages gained by long and patient
effort. German prestige in Latin
America was founded largely or
fear and popular belief in German
victory in the present war. Now that
Latin Americans see that the Reich
is not invincible and that its chances
are at least dubious, resentment al
Nazi attitudes and practices ha'
freer play. Everything seems to por.
tend that, throughout this hemi-
sphere, the Nazi star is rapidly or
the decline.