Evening star., 1943-11-26
Butler Raps U. 5. All
To Latin Americans
As 'BoondoggIing'
Continued From First Page

Oceu announced, the Ne0raSkan eSt1.
mated this country has poured $6,-
O00, ,000, 900 into good neighbor"
countries through loans. subsidies,
grants and outright gifts. Instead
of resultant good will, he said he
found:
!. At least one country is using
lease-lend armaments to prepare for
war on Its South American neigh
bors.
2. Many countries are openly play
ing us for suckers and American on
cials told him United States cash is
finding 1t way into local graft.
3. High wages on American prof.
ects are looting local businessmen
Of workers, causing labor unrest and
forcing imitation in some countries.
Postwar Competitors.
4. United States Government
money is being used to industrialize
nations which intend to compete
with us for postwar markets.
5. When good neighbor spending
ends, we will reap the blame for any
unemployment and economic chaos
that results.
Senator Butler turned his report
over to the Truman and Byrd Com
mittees.
"Nonessential expenditures by the
Federal Government in the United
States have been drastically reduced
or wiped out as part Of the process
nf stio1f foniY,n ha1fc' m coiI
but not SO in Latin America There
host of little WPAs, PWA's FSA's
and AAAs have been spawned by
the New Deal during the past two
years. 1t is clear that the New Deal
program has been neither abolished
nor adjourned, but merely trans
planted to Latin America.
Built 500 Airports.
Harry Hopkins, as chairman of
the Munitions Assignment Board,
gives away the lease-lend materials;
Howard Hunter and David Saposs,
two Of Hopkins former right-hand
men in the WPA, have found new
worlds to conquer in Latin America"
He estimated the United States
has built or financed 500 Latin
American airports at cost of $780,
000, 900, with no agreement on post
war operation or ownership, and
added:
I'VE are actually charged landing
fees to use some of these airports
that we built In other countries"
| I'VE not only are making confu-
sion worse confounded," he told the
committees, "but we are creating
debtor nations In debt to us who
won't like us when we stop spending
or stop making loans; when we leave
them highways to maintain which
they can't afford"
Much Propaganda Worthless.
Much of the United States propa-
ganda undertakings. designed for
good will, he said, are "of such
ridiculous character that they are
practically worthless"
He asserted that 100.0Oo,000 of
Latin Americas 125.0O0,oOO people
have no rights they can enforce.
He added:
Usually, these 100 million can
vote, but provided that they vote for
the Government in power: they can
pray. If they pray in the proper
church; and they can pay taxes.
That Is about all the rights they
have.
These people - are bound by
ignorance, frustrated by political OBJ
livion, weakened by disease, filed
with lassitude from decades Of poor
diet, indolent from habit. and for
gotten or ignored by their leaders,"
he continued The other 20 million
fare very well. 1t is of them that so
much has been written, of the sor-
did 100 million little has been said"
Some Progress Seen.
He praised work done by the
Rockefeller Foundation in stamping
out disease and said education had
made marked progress in number
OF countries. But. Senator Butler
said in his report:
Il was repeatedly informed by
United States Ambassadors, by
businessmen and by foreign busi-
nessmen throughout Latin America
that graft was common among the
ruling cliques OF those governments
and that high officials got their cut
on much Of the United States spend
ing. Sometimes working through
contractors, sometimes getting kick
backs sometimes by not accounting
to their own people for the manner
Of distribution of United States Fed
eral aid, they graft to an alarming
degree.
Even now, while we pour millions
into their laps, they say behind our
backs, This means conquest or
The North Americanos are up to
something or They are suckers; we
will take their money -
They laugh at us for being
suckers"