Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-10-16

tually bring profitable returns K
United States industrial enter
prise.
Exporters find that the lack o
dollars, or hard exchange, make
it impossible for the Latin Amer
lean countries to pay for the fin
ished goods they want or need
Those who in former years set VI
their own industries or loca
branches of United States facto
ries in the different nations art
meeting with such severe nation
alistic restrictions. labor Difficult
ties and other local problems tina
1t is impossible to operate profit
ably. even If there we're dollar
available to send out their earn
ings. Thousands of stakeholder
of such firms in this country have
been languishing for years withou
dividends, while the prices of theil
stocks have been sinking love-
and lower.
Others who organized Jointly
owned or participating firms with
local investors are confronted
with these same and other diff
culties. The Americans are mo-
only unable to get their share Of
the earnings out. but their native
colleagues are trying to edge then
out. One of the most serious diff.
ficulties is the fact that native in
vestors are seldom willing to gel
along on reasonable profits. al
least on the percentages that have
become basic earning standards ir
the United States.
Want Bigger Profits
A 5. 10, or even Is per cent
earning is to the average Latin
American businessman mere
chicken feed. He insists on Is
SO and often over 100 per cent
return. This can only be done
at the expense of upkeep. replace
ments of machinery. efficiency
and experiences of production and
personnel. So that the American
contingent of the management is
always at loggerheads with the
local participants.
In other words. exporters can't
continue to send goods to these
countries unless the importers
can pay them in dollars. The
importers can't pay in dollars
and therefore can't get more goods
so they are finally compelled to
close shop, and thus both ex-
porters and importers lose. In
vestors won't put in more money
If they can't get out their earn
ings, and they can't get out earn
ings because there is not enough
dollar exchange for the govern
ments to take care of their own
obligations and also allow ex-
change for foreign owned or semi
foreign-ow owned industries and
companies.
In most Of the countries govern
ments either own many of the
largest business enterprises, OF
completely control them through
monopolies or other devices. Loans
from private sources are becom-
ing a thing of the past for all
these and other reasons. So far as
the United States is concerned
the only other sources of loans
are our various governmental
agencies. and the World Bank to
which we contribute 70 per cent
of the capital. Meanwhile the
American taxpayer is already be-
ginning to rebel against having
to furnish the money to finance
foreign governments and trade.
On top of all this, extreme
national pride. not to say extreme
nationalism, in the majority OF
the countries is growing at such
a rate that the foreigner meets
with blighting opposition in all
quarters. He is taxed exorbitantly
He is hamstrung by anti-foreign
and radical labor organizations
egged on by local politicians. In al
least a dozen of the Latin Amer
lean countries his property, if II
can be classed as a public utility
and in most of these countries
any kind of a business whether il
furnishes electricity or manufac.
lures shoes can be classed as such
is threatened with naturalization
or confiscation. In addition every
leader and citizen, even the
humblest peon, is ambitious, ane
Justly SO, to see his own country
his own government, or at Least
his own people own and operate
the principal business and indus.
trial plants.
Businessman's View
AS one important American
businessman in Mexico expressed
to me the other day, eff we insist
stubbornly, in trying to carry or
the export of finished products, a.
grandfather used to do, and as hi.
forbears in England used to do be.
fore him, then there will be little
trade. Obviously this does no
mean that all American product.
can't be exported. But it doe.
mean that under present monetary
systems, and any substitutes fol-
them presently in sight, tn,
preponderance of manufactured
products are in the future, goine
to be produced within nationa
boundries, by nationals, and moi
imnorted."
I'm the face of such a -situa.
tion." he told me, "the only al.
tentative left is for American in.
dustry to lease or rent out it.
know-how, it's patents, formula.
and trade marks. This means. ,
he went on, that at first we will
sell the processing plants, the fac.
tories and the equipment thai
goes In them. It likewise mean.
that in the more industrially back.
ward countries considerable United