Evening star., 1949-10-02

vention Of any one nation In the
purely internal or external affairs
of another" emphasizes the i'm
portance of the stimulation of
private effort" which means
among other things respect for
private enterprise, private prop
erty and private initiative" and
extols the principle of freedom
of information and freedom of
exchange in all fields" The last
two points stress the Importance
of cooperation in carrying out
regional and international obli-
cations" and promoting the $50
cial, economic and political well
fare Of the people" Of the entire
hemisphere.
While these 10 principles are to
guide our general relations with
our neighbors. the new statement
of policy is very specific on certain
subjects. 1t pronounces as "re-
pugnant to the fabric of the Inter-
American system" the plotting Of
dictstors and ambitious presi-
dents and militarists in Latin
America. In fact, no government
in recent times has spoken out
with such scorn of the would-be
little NapoloenS and Hitlers of the
Caribbean and other countries.
Such men as Generalissimo Ra-
fael Trujillo of the Dominican
Republic and Anastasio Somoza Of
Nicaragua can find no encourage
ment in the new Washington
statement, even though it also
condemns those who plot against
them. Nor can Strong Man Peron
of Argentina or the military
cliques who rule Venezuela, Peru
or other countries CLEAN one shred
of comfort in it. The refurbished
good neighbor policy condemns
any and all whose actions and
behavior could promote unrest or
conflict in the Americas. AS Mr..
Acheson puts it. 1--WE are waging
peace in this hemisphere"
Private Capital Stressed
Through the Export Import
Bank we will continue to give, on
a limited scale and on a purely
business basis, assistance to pro-
ductive projects and developments
in these countries, when such as
istance is not in direct compete
ton with private capital invest-
ments, and only when it contrib
utes to the welfare Of the people.
the general population. More
technical and scientific assistance
will be made available by Presi-
dent Truman's proposed point
four program, when and II 1t u
adopted.
But if the department means
what it says, and if the admin
istration backs it up, this Gov
eminent will lend no further en-
couragement to the socialization,
or naturalization of private en-
terprise in any Latin American
nation. It would go even further
and insist upon treaties guaran-
teeing legitimate private invest
ments by our people. Mr.. Ache
son even delivers lecture on the
Importance of private capital.
This country" he says, was
built on private initiative and ii
remains a land OF private initia-
tive"
It is not easy to see how this
all squares with the efforts Of
certain Representatives and Sena-
tors, as well as with Mr.. Truman's
continual insistance that = large
sum of money be lent to the Mex
ican government oil monopoly,
Pemex, for the rehabilitation and
development Of the oil industry
below the Rio Grande. Either
the President has reversed him
self, or his various statements
that he is in favor Of such .
loan were mere gestures Of good
will toward President Miguel Ale
man personally. He certainly
must have seen the Acheson
speech before it was delivered.
At any rate. the departments
opposition to placing "the Gov
ernment's public funds in direct
and wasteful competition with
private funds" will not be re-
ceived with enthusiasm by Mex
lean or any other Latin poll
ticianS.
Soft Pedals Industry
Nor will Mr.. Acheson's views on
industrialization Of Latin Amer
lea be popular in the majority Of
the nations to the south Of US.
Every government and almost
every responsible leader from
Mexico to Argentina has been
insisting upon immediate indus
trialization, and nearly all Of them
have either sent emissaries to this
country to inquire about the
prospects of big loans with which
to do it. In recent visits to vari-
GUS capitals have seen the most
elaborate charts Of proposed new
industries and enterprises. In
some of the countries. like Brazil,
Chile, Mexico and others, these
projects are of such scope that
it would require q sizable indi-
vidual Marshall Plan to carry out
any one of them.
The Secretary of State bluntly
says, we do not necessarily be-
lieve that rapid industrialization
is good per se." He goes on to
say that Sin many countries,
large and small, the greatest i'm
mediate progress toward material
well-being may be made through
modern and diversified cultivation
of the land. Irrigation, the use
of agricultural machinery, the
restoration Of old land through
fertilizers may do more to raise
the standard Of living than .
dozen new industries"