Evening star., 1941-05-04

Pdn-Americdn messenger OF good
1UiH. A. P. Photo.
say publicly what they express privately.
They say that the program has been too
slow in getting started; that Mr.. Rookie
feller has surrounded himself with dol
lar-a-year businessmen who think in
terms so conventional as to make their
judgment all but worthless in the present
emergency. They credit Mr.. Rockefeller
himself with complete sincerity and tire
less zeal.
No one seeing him in action could
deny him this last. Beneath his pleas
ant, smiling manner Is passionate de-
termination to do the difficult job he
has undertaken. He knows that the old
dollar diplomacy will not do. Pressure
upon him has come from every side.
The pressure was for action. Do some
thing, Mr.. Rockefeller was told, do some
thing at once to win the good will of
the Latin Americans. On the other
hand, persons long familiar with Central
and South America were afraid that a
suddenly expanded program would make
us suspected once again as the colossus
of the north. The Latins would say, as
they said after the last World War, "Yes,
you court us when you think you need
us, but after the danger has passed.
then you forget about US"
Radios and Movies.
Mr.. Rockefeller is pressing for action
on half dozen fronts. Experts have
been drawn in to make use of the movies
and the radio in cultivating Latin Amer
ican good will A sum of $650000 has
been set aside for advertising the scenic
and industrial greatness of the United
States in the press of the Latin Amer
lean republics. Goodwill missionaries
are being sent at Government expense
to the great cities of South America.
An exhibit of North American art is
being assembled to send on a Latin
American tour.
And for the present, of course, Mr..
Rockefellers central task, and the field
in which he can make the greatest con-
tribution, is to insure that manufactured
goods will continue to move to the Amer
icas to the south. For weeks he has
been working with Admiral Land, chair
man of the Maritime Commission, with
President Roosevelt, with William S.
Knudsen of the defense organiza ton,
pleading, cajoling insisting that goods
must be delivered to the American re-
publics.
Mr.. Rockefeller is keenly aware of the
explosive economic situation that exists
south of the border. Huge surpluses of
raw materials are piling up in each great
port. We can take only small portion
of most of those surpluses, since we also
produce wheat and beef and cotton and
our powerful farm blocs guard narrowly
the entrance of even token or goodwill
amounts of such produce. At the same
time, Nazi agents in South America are
constantly stressing their desire to buy
vast quantities of raw material, even
going so far as to promise in advance
payment of more than the market rate.
In recent weeks two German ships have
slipped through the British blockade with
airplanes and other machines in token
quantities.
Financial Measure.
Not little of his time has been spent
in cutting through the underbrush OF
the. past. He has worked with banks
representing bondholders, along with the
State Department, the Treasury and
Loan Administrator Jesse Jones, in an
effort to resolve dead claims on the Latin
American economy. With the aid Of
/ banking executives in New York who are
close to the Rockefeller family, he has
worked, and successfully, to get the pri-
vate bankers behind the American
Bank which was set up with $115,000,000
to advance loans to Latin American
countries.
Conspicuous among the executives
whom Mr.. ockefeller has brought into
his organization is Joseph C. Rovensky,
a vice president of the Chase National
Bank, who is director of finance and
industry for the co-ordinator. Another
is John Hay Whitney of the wealthy
Long Island family, who is director of
the movie division of the communica-
tions section. Another is Don Francisco.
formerly head of the Lord & Thomas
advertising firm, who is planning the
advertising campaign in Latin America
as the recently appointed director of the
communications section.