U.S. Subsidy to Liberal Latin Gov'ts Would keep All Latin America From Nazis
Weyl, Nathaniel
U.S. Subsidy to Liberal Latin Gov'ts Would keep All Latin America From Nazis By NATHANIEL WEYL ?- * - % (Co-author of "The Reconqwest of Mexico") ¦REPRESENTATIVES of twenty-one American republics...
...If and when such sacrifices are really needful, neither ?t?'Vf* unions nor the masses whose interests they represent will refuse, Tfa&fi with eight or ten million workers not normally employed, w™Wfif production of goods and services is as large as it was at the peak HO^P> no one is justified in proposing any lowering of labor standards...
...What faith could anyone have^n Jean Ybarnegaray, one of the leaders of the Croix de Feu and an intimate ffiend of Fascism...
...experience with the suckling pigs demonstrated pretty conclusively that the people will not tolerate the planned destruction of wealth...
...ATI the attacks were reserved for Russia and Communism, all the excuses for flitler...
...There may be disagreement as to whether the danger is likely to become acute within a few months or not for two or three yeara There may be disagreement as to which is the better method of defense—to wait and let the enemy choose his own time for attacking us on this side of the water, or to strike him where he lives and while he has his hawk full...
...Hidebound by routine, deprived of any form of imagination, tJiey assessed the war of 1940 on the basis of the war of 1914-1918...
...This inter-American cartel would buy up the surplus raw materials of this hemisphere at guaranteed prices to producers...
...Gigantic exports of United States capital goods would (serve to develop an iron and steel industry in Brazil...
...interest, and dividends show themselves as loyal and as brave lajpJlwB and in endurance as those who depend on daily wages for their Wets, and there will be no ground for misgiving or reproach...
...For eight months I have beei?, nof...
...I Between Cancer and •Capricorn, there 'is virtually no modern industry...
...Meat exports from Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil dropped 50 per cent in six months...
...The United States must export capital through a governmental agency and in terms of an inter-American plan for hemisphere development which would concentrate on fostering those industries deemed crucial to the well-being of the Latin American people...
...It was the Blum government which demanded and, in fact, obtained from parliament massive credits for national defense purposes.j J , If, when ?hosig credits were shared out among the Servic.cs, the riart|alIotted to the air arm was too small, the responsibility falls upon the Ganenf Staff...
...Either destroy them or barter them with Nazi Germany...
...Ford Denounced in Canadian Parliament...
...We must use it against our enemies...
...With one-ninth of the earth's population, this hemisphere produces three-fourths of its oil an<};.disproportionately large quantities of its food grains, its meat, copper, lead,!zinc and cotton...
...And the hard-pressed American farmer, who is being tractored and gullied off the land, who faces renewed distress as a result of collapsed export markets, is fighting furiously against competitive Latin American crop imports...
...redoubtable surprises in store for us...
...THE U. 5. PLAN AND ITS DANGERS TPHE United States plan, as worked out by Assistant Secretary of State Adolf * A Berle, involves the formation of a $2,000,000,000, U. S.-financed export corporation...
...billions is immediately in view-and that is only a beginning...
...Persons in a country where all| classes of society are united against the Nazi aggressor cannot understand htW far the Fifth Column had penetrated into the French bourgeoisie...
...You can beej|ure3that the Popular Front and the Socialists w*ere not responsible for the French shortcomings...
...Let those who live;*Jli Wit...
...The pattern of the continent today is a pattern of land monopoly...
...A call on the revolutionary sjpirit could not be expected to appeal to General Weygand, a Fascist of foreign.origin...
...hundreds of capital ships, thousands of tanks, tens of thousands of planes, billions of dol?an, two continents to guard, and two oceans to patrol...
...Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil have permitted Nazi Fifth Columns to grow and luxuriate lest Berlin retaliate with commercial boycott Thus German trade is a political weapon.- It is the prelude to treason, internal rebellion and eventual conquest...
...will rest the responsibujtT i* sabotaging in advance the frank and active cooperation between a democratic government and a democratic labor movement which ought t* exist at all times and which is indispensable in times of stress...
...may well ask why it was thought necessary to introduce into the Reynaud Cabinet iien who were bound to show their hands at the very biomcnt when defeat began to assume catastrophic proportions...
...Henry Ford...
...What is unbelievable is that good Frenchmen, good Social Democrats^ did not understand their danger...
...Of course,.it is difficult to distinguish between the real traitors and the dupes...
...We do not always realice last each billion means more than seven dollars, on the average, from etfi man, woman, and child in the United States...
...They are these: * The inter-American cartel must do one of two things with the billion^xid dollars worth of raw material surplus it will acquire each year...
...Today, these countries are in a perilous position...
...England's raw material purchases in the Latin lands are seriously affected by blocked sterling and imperial preference policies...
...It is proposed that we chip in a million dollars to induce Brazilian and Central American peasants to grow rubber...
...We are where we are...
...i ? Neither in France nor in Great Britain have the workers stOM •* and bargained with the state as to the terms on which they would cOB»**l to defend the nation...
...One may safely assume now that these French Fascists were not without' contact with their counterparts abroad...
...In the same way, you are right not to lose faith in tie French army as a whole...
...But, unfortunately, it takes ten years for rubber trees to reach bearing age...
...In the recent deba&s_on a special war revenue act, which calls for heavy increases in taxation, T. L. Church, Toronto, conservative, attacked Ford's refusal as a "menace to freedom and civilization...
...Nazi agents are aangung before impecunious Latin American governments the prospect of a reviving and united Europe which will buy huge quantities of American raw materials...
...Fascist propaganda had completely undermined everything...
...Their anger is now great...
...Everywhere it had its conscious or unconscious accomplices...
...Secretary Henry A. Wallace recently launched an American Society of Agricultural Sciences to plan the revamping of inter-American farming...
...In May, it was clear that important tactical mistakes had been committed...
...Complaints as to working--conditions arc not the only basis of conieD*"*" Concern is felt at the numerous German engineers, many of Nazi gJl>BT*!S who work at the Ford plant...
...Boycott Spreads OTTAWA, Canada...
...Before the war, Latin America sold $1,150,000,000 worth of goods to Europe and only $650,0O0,0OO- worth to the United States...
...They produce the food necessary for their own subsistence, and they produce vast quantities of crops and minerals for export...
...Subsidy to Liberal Latin Gov'ts Would keep All Latin America From Nazis By NATHANIEL WEYL ?- * - % (Co-author of "The Reconqwest of Mexico") ¦REPRESENTATIVES of twenty-one American republics are meeting in Havana to act on far-reaching and audacious proposals to fuse the economic activities of the e?tire Western Hemisphere...
...Billions of dollars" is easily said...
...utilize the vast, latent hydro-electric power of the Andes, and stud the hemisphere with smelters and oil refineries...
...This is a mighty economic weapon...
...Industrial raw materials and foodstuffs are the coinage with which they acquire *" ««aciir?p-maHp pnnHs vital to their welfare...
...Latin America can get five times as much per acre yield as the present world average...
...There is nothing in the present situation, nor in the history o/HW in the United States or elsewhere, to justify such talk...
...Nothing seemed to impress :ther...
...LONDON.—As one of the few French^ Socialists who have managed to reach London since the capitulation, I .ihould like to send a message to the workers of America...
...The truth which all should knowais that there were many French capitalists who, preferred Hitler to that which (fhey call Communism but which is in fact nothing more than democracy...
...Even in cewbtet much less democratic than our own, whenever real national JunHiti were in real danger-as ours now are-the working class is* never shirked its duty...
...I have no wish to reproach frienjds for the past...
...The infamous role playe'd by a aarge section of the press before and after " Munich canno't be sufficiently condemned...
...If 110 million Latin Americans are given the benefits of machine civilization, most of the raw materials of this continent and a half would be absorbed locally...
...Without violating its pledge aafcg intervene in internal Latin American affairs, Washington can shift its *0T away from reactionary dictatorships, which are incapable of estaWWIg* Pfc...
...A bugle call was needed to stir the spirit ^f a great people which did not want to die...
...Tens of millions of Indians and men of mixeH blood live in remote, desolate villages or else work for a pittance as virtual serfs in the plantations and mines...
...Our capital loans would be paid for in raw materials so that when our oil reserves approach exhaustion, for instance, we will have a lien on Latin American reserves...
...Moreover, if the cartel plan is to be worth its salt, it must involve the marshalling of the , economic resources of our hemisphere to strike persistently and effectively ; against fascism...
...Remember February 6, 1^34—the day on which the French Fascists in the pay of rich reactionaries triedjlto overthrow the Republic...
...Nazi agitators would tell Latin America that the burning of foodstuffs when the people are hungry is the real measuring ( rod of our democratic civilization.' But if we enter into gigantic barter deals with a Nazi Europe, we will strengthen the hands of the powerful Wall Street appeasement group, reputedly led by "Cap" Richer of Texas Corporation, James D. Mooney of General Motors and the unspeakable Mr...
...i Real France Not Fascist Generals Stopped Blum From Modernizing Army By LOUIS LEVY Leading member of the late French Socialist Party and diplomatic correspondent ¦• of the Socialist newspaper "?e Populaire," now suppressed...
...It was active in Parliament and in the governments...
...Secondly, Latin America can only industrialize if she develops her internal markets...
...The Maginot Line superstition also did us greatf haifn...
...It was in vain that, in January last, General de Gaulle tried once agai» tolkonvince the chiefs of the General Staff that the German armored divisions he...
...are compelled to think in terms of millions of men...
...In short, did General Weygand rjeaily want to resist those last few weeks...
...Colossal, semi-feudal estates (one of them as large as England) stretch from Guatemala to Patagonia...
...Brazilian cotton, Chilean^ni-trates, Andean non-ferrous metals 4»d Carribbean petroleum are in the doldrums...
...I '¦ * ' First of all, hshould like to sa»" ho*v much the French refugees here appreciate the welcome given to them byf thejr British friends...
...In many quarters there is a tendency these days to assume t$t the business interests will cheerfully do their full part and to QM doubt as to the working people's response...
...But dne...
...These gentlemen had learnt nothing, either from the lesson of Spain or the|lesson of Poland...
...The agrarian reform means the distribution of the hacienda lands to the peasantry, the reorganization and diversification of crop production, the improvement of communications between hinterland and urban markets, and the fostering of agrarian producer and, consumer cooperatives...
...1 ' '- [- , - ', - ----- —¦ Labor and'National Defense No Ground Seen for Attack On Wage-Hour Standards By ALGERNON LEE Af J^O responsible person in the United States—that is to say, no one hot the Lindberghs and Hoovers, the Communists, and the motley crew of domestic and imported Fascists—now denies that the United States is faced with a war-danger of the first magnitude...
...The problem of raw materia] surpluses would lose its urgency...
...There are no insurmountable obstacles to the creation of chemical, textile, fertilizer, plastic and machine tool industries in our sister republics...
...Just as they failed to understand the role of armored and mechanized divisions in modern warfare, so they pef-sisted in this mortal error...
...What is the solution...
...They will not do so here...
...Why, then, between May 10 and the month of June, were concreted works not erected in front of the Seine and the Loire...
...yflie democr*t?c society, and back the progressive regimes of WB ChUe, Cuba and Colombia...
...The fascists argue that they are ready and willing to absorb everything Latin America can produce and offer cheap machine goods in return, whereas the Amerian plan involves shackling the productive resources of the Latin nations . . . . THE WAY OUT THIS is an emergency program...
...And German and Italian Fascismfdld not flourish only in the press...
...With the exception of Bolivian tin, Cuban manganese and a few similar products, there is very little that can be done to make more Latin American products attractive to U. S. consumers...
...0*ij* contrary, not only would it be unjust to call on those now eflfifjPi to do more work while a large proportion of the potential worlEBW|Wr left in idleness and want or put on nonessential jobs at subnormal It would be positively injurious from the point of view of ejfisjawjP^ duction for purposes of defense...
...Nazi propaganda is already striking hard against the cartel plan throughout South America...
...The reform can only be achieved if the military-landlord dictatorship...
...They seem to understand spontaneously that the Frenih people do not bear the responsibility for ^treachery...
...2M. J. Coldwell, Cooperative Commonwealth Federation leadpr, told the liament thai he had received many letters from Ford employees protesting ! human working conditions" in the plant...
...The Popular Front won the dayl—^to the great distress of the reactionaries...
...The workers of France, you cfn be sure, learned with shame and pain of the armistice conditions which, untfl the la#t minute, were hidden from them...
...That was the view held by General de Gaulle and by a strong minority among the Council of Ministers in Bordeaux...
...These estates are largely self-sufficient...
...Iff...
...cartel will probably mean subsidizing the production of goods we don't want and can't use to the tune of between $600,000,000 and $700,000,000 annually...
...In Mexico, this is being done...
...The military and political invasion of these two continents by the totalitarian powers can only be thwarted if our hemisphere is economically insulated...
...But the Fascists did not succeed on February 6. The democratic tradition wafe too strong in France...
...Resistance was, in fact, still possible...
...a diplomatic but a war correspondent, living side by side With our officers and men in the outposts...
...Actually,' our great "strategists" regarded the air arm as nothing mere tjian-an auxiliary .weapon...
...We can find no use for the surplus cotton, wheat, beef and petroleum of the Good Neighbors...
...They meant to defend at any cost their country $ind their freedom...
...All responsible elements recognize the imperative need for defensive preparation...
...The transformation of our hemisphere into a flBg of human freedom implies that the flood Neighbor policy be directed |H| toe common people of Lat?n America...
...W- Most Latin American nations must export or die...
...It implies several things...
...We are unable to absorb Europe's share of Latin American sugar, bananas, coffee, flaxseed, sisal hemp, lead, zinc and copper...
...The plan will probably also provide for the gearing of all Latin American fiscal systems to the Federal Reserve Board, for the distribution of surplus gold to the Good Neighbors so as to facilitate their purchase of United States products, and for the reorganization of Latin American agriculture, industry and mining to serve the requirements of our market...
...But immeasurable ~*^' may be done by those who spread the impression that such jjSiJJ labor's-attitude- On th«-m, if they nersist...
...The spending of ten «?M...
...They have no real relationship to the capitalist market...
...Now the A.A.A...
...Nor have you forgotten the singular campaigns against Czecho-Slov?kia from which emerged lithe Munich Agreement...
...And by that time the world crisis may have passed or assumed radically new forms...
...It will not shirk today...
...Leisure and enjoyment of life are precious to the workers ai'lsp* human beings...
...Behind the "Hooded Men" plot a few months later, there.loomed the shadows of Mussolini and Hitler...
...But Stsjl this statement gives no real measure of the sacrifices that will be reqUBp...
...Bit there is no use of crying over spilt milk...
...RAW MATERIALS A WEAPON *I*HE dangers of this program are obvious...
...It can only work if it is coupled with a broader plan for the drastic reorganization of the economy of the hemisphere —a reorganization that will unleash the latent forces of abundance...
...Thus the...
...But they also make for bodily health and for atfemjtjmj* on the job, and thereby make for greater productive capacity pe|i|^* and per hour...
...The European War has made drastic action imperative...
...have not forgotten the Spanish affair and the pitiable story of non* intervention...
...This means a drastic and unrelenting agrarian reform...
...This is the true solution...
...The one permanent way out is to industrialize Latin America, diversify her agriculture and unleash her vast potential consuming power...
...We can create a brand new 300 million dollar Latin American industry if Brazil reverts to rubber on a mammoth scale...
...We are glad to see the_ British so balanced, retaining even at the present crucial time their sense of |ustjce...
...Unfortunately for us, Latin America is an economically backward area...
...Ford's secretary is known to have worked f*'*^ with Nazi groups, as has William J. Cameron, vice-president in charge ^J^L licity...
...They are technologically incompetent to such a degree that land resources are squandered and the bulk of the agrarian population is too poor to buy machine goods...
...At present, rbejj§"I enjoy United States diplomatic support...
...American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford, whose "narrow, vicious views" were responsible for his firm's refusal to manufacture fighting planes for Great Britain, is encountering a stiff boycott of his automobiles by enraged Canadian citizens, and from reports coming in over the border, from many Americans too...
...Why was the Maginft Line not evacuated and its defending forces withdrawn intact towards the Sbuthwest...
...But' there is no need to go back so far...
...Pacts would be made with each Latin American republic to restrict the output of those crops and industrial raw materials which would normally reach German, Italian and Japanese markets...
...But this General Staff, which difl not wish to defend Paris, the great city of revolutions, was no doubt frightened of anything that looked like a "people's war...
...Their resolution w|s firm...
...This is about one-tenth of one per cent of our national income...
...They, too, were be-• trayed by men ht tie top...
...However, this right was only momentary and the opponents of democracy did not abandon the fight...
...The Latin American people live on the ragged edge of starvation...
...U. S. consumption of raw natural rubber will probably be a fraction of its present volume...
...The British blockade has closed the European continent -to-liatin American exports...
...But these crops and minerals are, in 'the main, competitive with our own...
...Had this been recognized by the masses a year ago, or even n months ago, making it possible for the government to begin desune, with the problem before conditions in Europe became so grave, we might not have had to prepare for war on such a gigantic scale...
...Canada's House of Parliament has resounded with stinging criticism of Ford by members of all parties...
...But it would have been necessary toigalvanize the country, to have appealed for complete cooperation...
...But on one thing the substantial mass of the American people an now agreed...
...After the Somme reverse, did he nojj capitulate in his own mind, and think •thereafter only of defeat...
...Up to the very eve of war, some papers—especially important weeklies with a large circulation—cynically reproduced German propaganda slogans...
...which infest this continent and a half are swept aside...
...In Paul Baudouin, representative of the banks who never hid his hatred for democracy, his sympathies for Fascism, and who only last year SvaB employed as an emissary to the Duce...
...Nevertheless, an appeal cajild have been made to the mass of the population to put anti-tank obstacles fin the streets and to mine the roads...
...Instead of "bringing a new prosperity to Central and South America, the toar'has left twenty Latin republics flat on their backs and gasping for breath...
...Cameron has been connected with the Anglo-Saxon Federation, defunct Ford-sponsored Dearborn Independent, a notorious anti-Semitic t?^\ the twenties...
...The Reich is offering to buy their raw materials against October delivery of/industrial goods...
...And I assure you that you aje right not to lose confidence in the French people—f<jr the French people ard soufid, perfectly sound...
...I * * - -*?*HERE was no need for the population to rush towards the frontier with * rifles...
...Because this is true, it is necessary and timely to challenge jfc half brazen and half insidious campaign against organized' labor WJA is now getting under way, with the object of preparing the public nasi for the idea that labor must be called upon to sacrifice standard* d wages, hours, and collective bargaining rights which it has games' • recent years...
Vol. 23 • July 1940 • No. 30
