Evening star., 1944-10-22

pIO-AxlS ArgenClne government OF zen
Edelmiro Farrell continues to be the
No. diplomatic dilemma facing the
State Department. 1t is situation
which, in its very nature, may erupt
into fresh and dramatic action any day.
AS of this moment, the Argentine and
United States governments are at this
impasse: Secretary of State Hull refuses
to recognize the Farrell regime until it
has ended the pro-Axis espionage and
propaganda activities which the State
Department insists are being carried on
from Buenos Aires-a step to which he
holds Argentina is bound under the Ha-
vana and Rio de Janeiro declarations
of the American states Farrell, on his
side, refuses to act until his government
has been recognized by the United
States, Great Britain and the other
American republics.
Yet, from the viewpoint of officials
here, this situation cannot remain static.
That is true, they hold in the first place
because Of the dynamic expansion of
Naziism from its new stronghold in Ar
gentina into some other nearby repub-
lies, situation that must become in
creasingly alarming to the United
States and one to which Mr. Hull has
pointed publicly.
Included in Solidarity Plans.
Secondly, the Argentine situation is
bound up closely with Cd the whole
system of Inter American solidarity
upon which the Roosevelt administra-
ton has pinned such great faith and
(2l United States relations with Great
Britain, so far as they affect the West
ern Hemisphere.
In order to understand fully the COM
plexity and bitterness of the present
United States Argentine impasse it is
necessary to go back many years before
the present war For, although the
present situation is unprecedentedly
dangerous because of the war and the
rise of Naziism, antagonism between
Buenos Aires and Washington is MOTH
ing new.
During most of the 10Th century the
attitude of the United States and Argen-
tina toward each other was one of off,
Lldl buCIlOo hliCo Ol1CI-
tated its cultural life toward Paris, its
business activity toward London. Since
about 1890, however, the two nations
have become increasingly aware Of each
other as result of Cd expanding United
States foreign trade in manufactured
goods and CD the era of United States
imperialism when this country built the
Panama Canal and established tenn
porary hegemony throughout all Gen.
trail America-much to the alarm of the
Argentinians who began to fear the
southwark march of the Colossus of
the North"
Two Policies Irritate.
In this period, two specific policies
Zone could more accurately be called an
attitude) came to annoy Argentina. One
was the embargo on Argentina's prin-
cipal export, beef, officially because of
the recurrent epidemics of hoof and
mouth disease there, but motivated in
part by the insistence of American cat
tle-raisers. The second was the wide
spread belief here, reflected in United
States newspapers, magazines and the
movies" that all Latin Americans
we're backward peoples, romantic and
interesting, perhaps, but not completely
"civilized."
The pride of the Argentinians, many
of whom for decades have been edu-
Gated in the best European universities
and have enjoyed high standard OF
living NC Incy,1u ad hv-t 1,a
ency In American thought which
Jumped them together with, say, the
mestizos of the upper Amazon valley.
Even II years of the Roosevelt good
neighbor" policy and all the efforts of
the co-ordinator of American af-
fairs, have not wiped out in Argentina
the bitterness caused by this dual af-
front.
Yet the State Department is on sound
legalistic grounds when 1t declares that
the Argentine government made a def
mite commitment at the Havana Con-
ference of 1910 and the Rio de Janeiro
meeting of 1912 to join with the other
American republics in a united 'front.'
against European or Asiatic attacks
upon the political independence or terri
torial integrity of any of them. The
American foreign ministers at Havana
declared:
Ramirez Regime Ousted.
That any attempt on the part of a
non-American state against the integ-
rity or inviolability of the territory, the
sovereignty or the political independ-
ence of an American state shall be con-
sidered as an act of aggression against
the states which sign this declaration"
After Germany and Japan declared
war on the United States, this pledge
vas implemented at the Rio conference
il January, 1912 Almost Immediately
{ f-tcrward all the American states, ex-
ccps Chile and Argentina, either de-
cared war on one or more of the Axis
r0wers or broke diplomatic relations
with them. Chile waited few months
to break relations. Finally, the Rami-
rez regime in Argentina did so last
January, and was promptly kicked out
to make room for Farrell and his sup
porting 'colonel's clique"
Both State Department reports and |
documents published by the Emergency
Advisory Committee for Political De-
fense of the American Republics made |
a strong. factual case against Argentina
for having co-operated, and continuing !
to cooperate, with the Axis This case
falls under four main headings: Espio- |
mage, psychological warfare, economic
and POLITICAL They can be taken up |
most lopicallv al seriatir,,