The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of EnterpriseFraser, John Foster
History
The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of Enterprise
Fraser, John Foster
Argentina -- Description and travel
Both in Argentina and Brazil, when I conversed with public men, I was
given clearly to understand how deep-seated is this dislike of the
United States. There is annoyance at the manner in which President
Woodrow Wilson has lectured the Latin Republics of America for granting
concessions to European syndicates for the development of their
countries. President Wilson laid it down that the growth of foreign
interests in these Republics was unwholesome, because they were sure to
influence the political life; therefore, he said, it was the duty of the
United States to assist in emancipating them from such subordination.
This was a considerable extension of the Monroe Doctrine. The
much-preached creed that the United States will not tolerate any other
Power acquiring territory in the Western hemisphere had been expanded to
mean that the United States is going to use its influence to free the
Latin Republics from being under obligation to European countries which
have given their millions of gold towards making those Republics
commercially prosperous which, so far as financial assistance from the
United States counts, would have remained practically undeveloped. At
the latter end of 1913 Mr. Page, United States Ambassador to Great
Britain, stated at a public dinner that President Wilson was determined
to assert the principle that no sort of European financial or industrial
control could, with the consent of the United States, be got over the
weak nations of America so far as this control affected political
influence.
What European countries think about this attitude of the United States
in practically warning off European financiers if the investments or
concessions have an influence over politics--which, of course, they must
have in all trading countries--it is not for me to discuss here. But
this over-lordship, this placing of the Latin Republics in a position
of tutelage to the great Republic of the north, is denounced and
repudiated by every Latin American public man.
I quite agree that it would be better for countries like Argentina and
Brazil if they were not so dependent on the foreign capitalist. That is
a view held by probably the majority of South Americans themselves. But
they are not going to accept dictation from the United States,
especially as they know that United States financiers and syndicates are
not only endeavouring to control the meat trade of Argentina, but within
the last year or so have been engaged in gigantic negotiations to secure
ultimately a controlling voice in many of the most important railway
concerns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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