ACT NOW, MR. HULL!
Rodell, Katherine
Act Now, Mr. Hull! By KATHERINE RODELL New York Herald-Tribune, Mar. 11, 19U: "At Washington, Secretary of State Hull said at his press conference that the situation inside Argentina was in such a...
...until now it seems to be more important to have as ambassador a man who can afford to live in a marble palace and keep 20 servants than to have a man who is otherwise—and genuinely—qualified for the job...
...Bowers, in Chile, who after 11 years as United States ambassador to Spanish countries still doesn't speak Spanish, was resting in the country, out of reach of the telephone, on the day when Chile was cracking the Pan American front by recognizing the new Argentine government...
...Of course, that's the millenium...
...Vhen countries are linked as closely as are Spain and the Latin American states by race, language, and tradition, you can not condone fascism in Spain without thus encouraging its growth in Latin America...
...But if you cleaned house in your own department, and got it working the way it should, you might find . that the other agencies would either die out or gravitate naturally—and gladly—to you because you were doing such an intelligent and efficient job...
...And Mr...
...If you will look at your leading representatives in Latin America in the light of their records, you will see why...
...A Splendid Idea The State Department has, of course, a few good men in Latin America...
...It is a splendid idea—and there are archeologists, sociologists, economists, geologists—all sorts of people who "know a great deal about Latin America and who would be eager to do your work as well as theirs in return for such a chance to carry on their studies...
...perhaps because he does not have to spend so much time, money, and energy on pink teas and town cars...
...But you have a good deal of influence with the President, Mr...
...Hull, represents the United States to Latin America...
...Dear Mr...
...Hull: Your statement would be pathetic if it were not so deeply shocking...
...but it clearly needs more— and better...
...It would be a delightful surprise for Latin Americans, too, to be honored by representatives of the United States who want to know and understand their countries and who speak their language...
...I know that one of the difficulties has always been that diplomatic salaries are low, compared to diplomatic expenses...
...You can't eat the pan in Pan Americanism," say the Latin Anericans...
...Your Department, Mr...
...I know, too, that you are working desperately to have all these acencies subordinated to you and the State Department...
...And I think you would find in so doing that you had cleared up a good deal of your own myopic confusion...
...Then there is Mr...
...the cost of living is up, there is a shortage of necessary imports everywhere in Latin America, and everywhere the people arj beginning to believe that they are being asked to piy too high a price for helping us...
...Here again you run into difficulties at homi for the business boys the President has appointed to\run our own economy are often owners and directory of Latin American companies, and as such averse to anything that might cut profits...
...Armour, our ambassador to Argentina, obviously leaves something to be desired as a reporter, as did Mr...
...Here, of course, the President must take the major share of the blame, for his close supervision of foreign affairs leaves you in a definitely secondary position...
...Boal, with your support, tought against so successfully...
...A working newspaper man gets to know all the best people, just as an ambassador does, and a great many other people besides...
...Hull—although so far you have used it mainly to get people whom you don't like fired...
...Considering the Department's record to date, I believe that would simply result in confusion worse compounded...
...But here again you coild use your influence with the President—if you would...
...But American newspaper men have also remarked that Caffrey's enthusiastic cooperation with the Vargas secret police has led him to use Gestapo methods against Americans in Brazil...
...and anyway, that is the President's problem...
...A distinguished naturalist recently made the suggestion that naturalists be appointed to consular posts in small towns throughout the interior of Latin America where the United States now has no representatives...
...but if it is not a part of the permanent policy of the United States, the least that you could do is to see that some of thfi war-brought prosperity trickles down from the dictators' cliques, and the foreign mine and factory owners \o the people...
...Perhaps military necessity is a valid excuse...
...But one reason that diplomatic expenses have always been so high is because of the emphasis laid on the social side of the job...
...Caffrey in Brazil—he is reputedly your top Latin American man, and is credited with having swung Vargas over to the side of the United States...
...Yours truly, Katherine Rodell...
...If you made it clear that you would rather have good reporters than, social butterflies as representatives of the United States, you might attract men with real knowledge of and interest in Latin America to your department, and you might find, too, that such men could do magnificent jobs with a minimum outlay for tailors' bills and champagne...
...There is a bitter joke which goes around in Latin America, a play on t»e Spanish word for bread, which is "pan...
...I have no doubt that they are all charming gentlemen...
...That is a serious problem which Congress should take up, and doubtless would, if you would prepare a bill...
...But Mr...
...Mes-sersmith, in Mexico, has managed to secure the Cabot Journalism prize for two of the most notorious pro-fascist newspaper men in Latin America...
...Why don't you use that influence to press for a clarification of our foreign policy so that it will make sense to Latin Americans, so that they will know what we mean and can believe what we say...
...Bolivia, who was caught completely unawares by the carefully planned revolution that took place right outside his wrought-iron door...
...But even more important than a reorganization of personnel is an overhauling of policy, for the contradictions of United States aims and actions has caused a profound mistrust throughout Latin America...
...If you think you are confused by the Argentine situation, imagine the confusion of an Argentine who sees his government (which is no more un-democratic than some others in Latin America) subjected to all sorts of abuse and pressure, while Franco, whose troops fight with the Nazis against Russia, who sells war materials and makes loans to Hitler, whose agents propagandize against us everywhere in Latin America, is appeased and comforted w?th shipments of oil and with gentle words...
...Boal in...
...11, 19U: "At Washington, Secretary of State Hull said at his press conference that the situation inside Argentina was in such a state of confusion that it defied intelligent or accurate comment...
...The idea is that they would be delighted to be there, instead of feeling exiled as do so many diplomats below the Rio Grande, and that their genuine interest in the country and the people would make them real good will ambassadors who would not only contribute something to Latin America but would give you accurate and detailed pictures of the way Latin Americans live and think...
...Your Department has made the United States appear anti-democratic, greedy, weak, and unrealistic in Latin American eyes...
...If you would act to clear -up some of these most obvious weaknesses in policy and personnel you would win back the respect and friendship of Latin America which we are perilously near to losing...
...Latin Americans know—better than we do, for they have taken in' more refugees—that Franco's Spain is as Nazi as Hitler's Germany...
...Contrast With Franco The fact that there are already so many United States representatives in Latin America doing overlapping jobs for dozens of overlapping agencies is, I know, one of your chief concerns...
...It hasn't, so far...
...That is one of the reasons that it is so important to put minimum wage clauses in war contrasts with Latin American firms—like the clause whicl, would have given the Bolivian miners an almost-living wage, which your Mr...
...It is apparent, in the first place, that your sources of information are, to say the least, inadequate...
...for if the head of the foreign relations of the United States can't understand what is going on in Latin America, something is very seriously wrong...
...Win Back Friendship It is bad enough that the exigencies of war have combined with the Good Neighbor Policy to bring us to support dictators in Latin America, and to help them to entrench themselves by means of Lend-Lease armaments and war contracts...
Vol. 8 • March 1944 • No. 13
