Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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feeling built up against us by their countrymen reduced our sales, we forced their sales by bringing government pres- sure to bear on the delinquent country. This policy whereby the government pushes our commercial relations is called “dollar diplomacy.” This policy cost us many years of strained relations and slow recuperation. Through our blunders in the past, however. United States merchants may profit and may in the future enjoy better business relations and more friendly connections with the people to our South. Besides combatting the effect of our earlier business methods with Latin America, it was necessary to hew down the tariff barriers which had so insidi- ously grown from the protection of immature, struggling industries to the huge levies to insure big businessmen that they would receive no competition from outside nations. Once any na- tion’s products are overcharged at the customs, it will immediately retaliate with a higher tariff. Imports dropped as nearly every country made a tariff to keep out every other country and to encourage the plan of self-sustaining. Under this plan, a country would not only try to supply all her own needs, thus shutting off all imports but would try to sell her surpluses on the foreign markets. This system, of course, could reap nothing but bitter hate for all the countries who taxed imports so high that it would be ridiculous to try to sell to them. Since the United States was the biggest country in the Western Hemisphere with a reputation of fabulous profits reaped from trade, we were the center of their hate and abuse for so unscrupulously restraining foreign trade. The bitter memories of those times will require an enormous amount of good will to counteract the jealous hate for the American business- man. Our early trade relations and our duels with tariff barriers are of little importance compared to the tremendous obstacle we find in the internal affairs of the Latin American countries and their inter-relationships. Each of these countries has built up a nationalism that is identical in all of them. Their conflicting ideas and policies have left violent jealousies and bitter hatreds so that instead of twenty countries living in peace and harmony our first Pan American Conference found many sul- len and unwilling to confer with their neighbors. This scheduled Pan Ameri- can Conference was postponed because of a boundary dispute which started a minor war. (Ironically enough, the purpose of this conference was to dis- cuss ways and means of preventing wars.) This national jealousy has obstructed many of the Pan American resolutions. It was this spirit which we ha d to overcome before any real progress could be made toward further unity and cooperation of American nations. Our Good Neighbor Policy instituted by President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull broke down this 24

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have to be razed, and the spirit of pro- tection must be crushed and destroyed forever. With the death of these age- old pirates, and the birth of reciprocal trade treaties, free trade in the Western Hemisphere and even throughout the world will not be far off. No longer shall we need to use our diplomatic staff and government pres- sure to force our surplus products on Latin America. No longer will Latin America be a good field for rich profit and exploitation. But with the advent of this new internationalism, we shall enjoy enduring prosperity and happi- ness together. But the most important need which must be present if both economic coop- eration ,and hemispheric solidarity are to be successful is a closer understanding between the Latin Americans and the people of the United States. The ruler of each country must have public opin- ion behind him because diplomatic con- tracts and international agreements cannot be terminated successfully if the people of the countries do not agree on their compromises. We must let the cultural forces of Latin America have free play so that we may have a har- mony of spiritual aims and a practical unity of resources. If these two ob- jectives are achieved, the perfect union of people, cultures, and trade relations will be in sight. The best way to pro- mote our Good Neighbor Policy is to act neighborly and to get acquainted wfth our neighbors. Through the ex- change of literature we may become better acquainted with our Latin Ameri- can brothers. Only an intimate know- ledge of their desires, shortcomings, successes, and failures and everything else that describes them as real human beings will make the Latin Americans seem more human and alive. Many impediments have fallen in the path of Pan American progress. We have tripped over tariffs, we have stumbled over imperialism, and we have often been entangled with disputes and revolutions. Some of these impedi- ments were the direct results of our foreign policies; others were unavoid- able. But we must assume the blame for kindling the hatred that has burned against us for many years. We have allowed our mad ambition and lust for wealth and power to obscure our con- science while dealing with trade in ruthless, cunning ways. We have looked on our Southern neighbors only as good prospects for exploitation. We have disregarded them as a cultural or in- telligent people; we have considerd them ignorant and crude, fit only to be dominated and swindled; our only in- terests were benefiting our own busi- nesses and amassing great fortunes from the Latin American market. The main obstacle to Pan American- ism is found in the corrupt practices that we employed to sell our products at high prices and to crowd out any competition. We have exploited their resources and have persistently held the Latin American market in our powerful autocratic hold. If competition or ill- 23

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last barrier that for so long had kept nations apart. Although our progress in Pan Americanism started rather slowly, it has gained momentum with each con- ference. We have been converted from a nation which believed in taking ad- vantage of every other nation, exploit- ing its resources, and abandoning any enterprise that involves any risk, to a country which treats smaller countries as equals, which helps them with their problems, and which offers protection from any aggressive force. The bit of progress we made was in gathering the representatives of the different countries and actually working out recommenda- tions of paramount importance. The first few conferences pioneered in liberal plans for hemispheric union. An arbitration commission, where all dis- putes between countries were to be settled, and a Pan American Customs Union, which would start the flow of trade again, were among the many plans the conference evolved. But the old feelings of nationalism prevented every nation from signing the adoptions. Later the Latin American countries realized their danger from European nations if they failed to support these measures. The Drago Doctrine was the first result of a unified effort of a Con- flerence. Everyone agreed to its im- portance and its creed. Under the Drago Doctrine no nation could collect its debts by force of arms unless the debtor refused to arbitrate. This pleased our Southern neighbors, and when we stopped German and British gunboats from taking over Venezuela to collect loans, they were delighted at the way we dispersed them. Another conven- tion resolution which met with much approval was the Non-intervention Policy. We supported this to the nth degree because we wanted no other nation acquiring a foothold in Latin America, and to prevent it we assumed the responsibility of foreign property. These two resolutions which we have assumed to be a part of international law have helped to drive out the mem- ories of our imperialism of former years and in the first two decades of the twentieth century our business with Latin America increased 500 per cent. This false prosperity was due, however, to the recession of European countries w ' hich were preparing for the World War. During this period we augmented our position substantially; we became better acquainted with the people, and they were friendlier toward us than ever before. These friendly ties helped defeat the Europeans when they strove for their old markets and for our new business. Britain and Germany sought to repel us by false propaganda, by dis- crediting our goods, and by taking advantage of the uneducated people. But the reputation built up during the early part of the century and the added impetus given at the Pan American Conferences defeated their purpose. We really won over many dubious Latins in the Havana Conference be- cause Calvin Collidge, the first president 25