Evening star., 1941-05-04
Making Friends to the South
With Best of WILL Building Latin American Friendship Huge Task
Dfarqui ".


ing created business-as-usual pattern
in the co-ordinators office. Mr.. Rookie
feller is likely to grin and reply that he
has learned something during his
crowded months in Washington about
a government-as- attitude. It was
a new experience for this young business
executive to come up against the barriers
Of red tape. One OF his difficulties has
been learning his way around the COM
plex maze of government. And as his
own organization has grown larger from
month TO month, his administrative
troubles have increased. Too often, he
has taken declaration of policy from
a high official at its face value, not
realizing that in government this is only
first step and a very small step at
that.
Within the State Department there is
doubt as to the wisdom of spending
large sums of money on goodwill in a
great hurry. Already Mr.. Rockefeller
has spent or is committed to spend
$500 900 on projects for Latin America
and approximately another million has
gone for administrative expenses during
the current year. For the coming fiscal
year Mr.. Rockefeller will ask for IS ,O00,-
600, according to reports. In the con-
servative view of the State Department
as much or more could be done with
100000 year spent carefully for five
years. Too much ballyhoo, 1t is argued,
will n1prplU convince inf oti
Americans that we are what they have
always been inclined to take us for
northern barbarians.
Government critics of the co-ordina-
ton program would restore to Govern
ment departments the major functions of
the Rockefeller Office. They would re-
store to the Bureau Of Foreign and Do
mestic Commerce the promotion of trade
with Latin America and they would re-
turn to the State Department the
responsibility for cultural relations. But
they add that If this were done, Congress
would in all probability refuse to pass
out millions for Latin American CO.
operation. Mr.. Rockefeller has been able
to get substantial congressional backing
and generous appropriations thus far for
his work.
Union Helpful Agency.
An excellent argument can be made
for making more use of existing agencies.
and conspicuously the Pan-American
Union. The union has existed for years
on ridiculously small budget. Under
the direction of DR.. Leo S. Rowe, the
union has assembled a mass of valuable
material on the American republics. In
virtually every field distinguished experts
have put together material not available
anywhere else. Too often, however, this
material has remained in the files. 1t
has not been got out into the general
channels of education and understand
ing. Too few people have been benefited.
One OF the recent Federal projects is
the drive by the Department of AgricuI-
ture to establish experimental rubber
growing stations in Latin America. Last
June Congress passed bill authorizing
experiment stations. The funds were
made available to the department in July
and already rapid progress has been
made.
There are on preview at the Metropoli-
tan Museum in New York 200 oils and
100 water colors by American artists
which will shortly go on tour to the
leading cities of Latin America. Divided
into three groups, they will be sent in
separate routes so that millions of Latins
will have an opportunity to see a sample
of American painting The pictures were
assembled under the direction of John
E. Abbott, chairman of the Committee
on Art for the Co-ordinator.
In the movie field, Mr.. Rockefeller has
initiated an extensive program for the
collection, distribution and production
when necessary, of informative and edu-
cational non-theatrical motion pictures
for use in the American republics" This
is under the direction of Kenneth Mac
Gowan, producer of many recent films
in Hollywood. Progress has been made
with the radio with the Columbia Broad
casting System working to bring about
far more extensive exchange of pro-
grams between South and North Amer
lea. Recently William S. Paley, Colum-
bias president, made a tour of Latin
America in which he signed contracts
with leading radio stations in each
capital.
Medical Aid in Offing.