Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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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

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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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who deemed the conference of so great importance that he attended it person- ally. and Charles Lindbergh went to allay the fears of the Latin Americans against the growth of another imperial- ism. Their attendance strengthened our position and dispelled all fears of us. The advent of the Good Neighbor Policy exorcised the last vestige of hate and imperialism. The institution of our Good Neighbor Policy was simul- taneous with the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt. In his opening message he allayed the fears of Latin America with a declaration of our in- tentions: we would seek no more land, wc would not force sales by dollar diplomacy, and we would not interfere with the internal affairs of any country. Further evidence of our receding im- perialism was the abolishment of the hated Platt amendment and the planned liberation of the Philippines. Roose- velt made a special trip to Buenos Aires in 1936 to assure the Peace Conference that “America will protect the hemisphere from all aggression. This precedent of an American administra- tion supporting so ardently a Pan American Conference was very pleasing to Latin Americans. The one device, however, that has done more for encouraging friendlier relations than doctrines and protection is the reciprocal trade treaty which was proposed by Cordell Hull together with his broad interpretation of a clause in the Smoot Hawley Tariff. This tariff was originally designed to raise duties. This clause allowed the President to raise or lower concessions on the goods of another country if we received similar concessions from that country. So we made treaties with each country reducing greatly the import levies and simultaneously the bitter feling against us. The industries of South America are booming now that the United States market is open and our war pro- gram calls for increased production. The people of Latin America are in sympathy enough with us to drive out enemy spies and break relations with our enemies, and the sympathy is a direct result of reciprocal trade. New, through the efforts of Cordell Hull, Sumner Wells, and other pro- gressive statesmen, the United States enjoys a closer harmony of governemnt, business ,and friendship with the people of nearly every country in Latin Ameri- ca than any other nation has ever re- ceived. As time goes on, more people are being converted to Pan American unity and cooperation which will prob- ably blossom into a Western Hemisphere coalescence. But significant is the example to the world of what can be done when sincere peoples unite to ad- just their differences and to work to- gether for their mutual benefit. 26