Evening star., 1950-12-24
Hemisphere
Ties Tighten
By Edward TomIinson

BY Edward omllnson
Except in cases of great world
conflicts, Or other international
emergencies, the leaders and peo-
pie of the United States have sell
dom been thoroughly aware Of
Latin American Importance to our
economy and political we'll being,
not to say our very existence. This
time it has not only taken a dis
astrous war in Korea, but the vir-
tual failure of the United Nations
to bring home even to Washington
the stark realization that there is
not much of the world left to de-
pend upon outside of the other
nations of this hemisphere.
Anyway. just after Vishinsky
had taken leave of New York City
and settled himself in his luxuri-
Gus suite aboard French ocean
liner en- route back to the Old
World, and Chinese Communist
Gen. WI had sounded the death
knell to a hope for peace in Asia.
we turned to our Latin American
neighbors to help. At the same
time, we assured them of our faith
in them. 1T is of paramount i'm
portance," the State Department
announced, that we demonstrate
to the American republics that we
have our own hemisphere relations
very much to the fore in our think
ing about the present emergency"
AS in the past. our neighbors
have responded enthusiastically
to the call for foreign ministers
conference to meet in Washington
within the next few weeks, per-
haps in February. All the
countries from Mexico to Argen-
tina have expressed their unquali-
fled approval of such a gathering.
AS the Council of the Organi-
zation of American States met to
begin planning for the gathering
encouraging news came from Bra
zil. the largest and most populous
of the countries to the south Of
us. and the only one that sent
troops overseas to fight with ours
in World War II. PreSident-e elect
Getulio Vargas. the man respon-
sible for that country's assistance
in the last conflict. and who takes
office again on January 81. spoke
out in regard to the world situ-
alton. The Brazilian leader told
newspapermen that his govern
ment would fulfill the nations
international commitments Just as
it had done when he had been
in office before.
Resources Important
Furthermore" he declared.
when I assume office I shall do
everything possible to give our re-
lations with the United States the
same realistic consideration which
was maintained both in war and
in peace when President Roose-
welt was still living. In this re-
spect," DR.. Vargas went on, II
wish to state once again that I
have every reason to trust in the
friendliness and cooperation
which the North American Gov
ernment. headed by President
Truman. has shown our country"
The Brazilian President elects
use of the phrase realistic ap-
proach" should not be overlooked.
Most of the southern governments
frankly hope that we have learned
our lesson. that in the future we
will not NEGLECT our inter-Ameri-
can relations as we have following
two other World Wars. In fact.
we will do we'll to realize before
the scheduled meeting gets under
way that this time Latin Ameri-
can leaders will not accept our
mere promises of collaboration.
We shall have to convince them
in deeds, as we'll as in words,
that when we say collaboration
it must be permanent" and it
must also be economic as we'll
as political. In fact, in the official
resolution invoking the meeting
the delegates were very careful
about the wording. While the
document voices the determina-
tion of the American nations to
strengthen hemisphere defense
against Communist aggression. it
stresses the necessity of economic
as we'll as political and military
Economic collaboration with
our neighbors is even more inn
important to us than
it is to them. 1t is imperative
now that we have unlimited
of their vast resources
of minerals. metals, oils, fibers,
foods and hundred and one
other products with which to
build and maintain the machines
Of victory in our challenge to
communism.
Our neighbors for example, can
offer us great quantities of iron
ore. In Brazil there is a solid
of iron practically un-
touched. In Venezuela there is
still another. Two of our great
steel companies are already de-
veloping new mines in Venezuela
and one is actually importing ore
to this country. In Brazil we
have helped to build a S100 mil.
lion steel plant.
Much of the bauxite (raw ma.
terial for aluminium we use in
peacetime already comes from
the South American Guianas.