Bombers of Good Will

Last week the 45,000,000 citizens of Brazil celebrated two anniversaries--their 50th as a Republic, their second as a dictatorship. In honor of the occasion, plump Dictator-President Getulio Vargas proclaimed a paternal decree setting up a national commission for the protection of parents with many children.*

Guns cracked, the green-and-yellow flag of Brazil fluttered in the warm November breeze, the burghers of Rio de Janeiro lifted many a frosty glass to the traditional boast-toast: "God is a Brazilian."

Beaming on the whole proceedings was the U. S., South America's Good Neighbor who wants to show Latin Americans that she is not only Good, but the Very Best. This week, to Rio de Janeiro, in seven 23-ton bombers, flew 56 Army fliers on a 6,000-mile, four-stop good-will flight to salute Senhor Vargas.

These 56 ambassadors signalized their Government's intensive new selling campaign. Its objects: 1) to sell U. S. business a closer relationship with Latin America; 2) to sell Latin America the idea that the U. S. is just one of the boys among the 21 Republics in the Western Hemisphere.

In this same spirit, Washington last week was a welter of Pan-American projects, studies, conferences. An Inter-American cultural conference ended on a note of far-reaching program-planning. In Guatemala City, Treasury representatives of the 21 Republics met to ponder financial ways & means. Secretary of State Cordell Hull announced conclusion of a reciprocal trade agreement with Venezuela (eleventh with a Latin-American nation, 22nd in all), "progress" on new agreements with Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Secretary of Commerce Harry L. Hopkins had his experts meet with Latin-American tourist-bureau chiefs to plot travel increases.

Over the whole U. S., however, there was not this same rosy, reciprocal glow. In October Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas complained in a letter to Mr. Hull that the proposed Argentine trade agreement would injure the U. S. farmer and cattleman. Last week he got back a restrained but politely savage answer that it was "folly compounded" for farm spokesmen in the light of the Smoot-Hawley tariff experience, "still to cling to the delusion that the farmer has something to gain from embargo or tariffs."

Wisconsin cheesemen, Midwest cattlemen and wheat-growers were hot under their open collars, fearing the impact of Argentine imports on their markets. Gov William H. Vanderbilt of Rhode Island's well-starched collar was also warm. Citing his State's lace industry, he threatened last month to take suit to the Supreme Court against the Trade Agreements Act's constitutionality. He too got back a politely savage letter, requesting him to note that the Rhode Island lace industry, under three years of agreements, had recovered almost 100% of its 1929 volume of $27,000,000. Senators Pittman of Nevada, Borah of Idaho, had already served notice that next session they would seek to regain the Senate's power to approve trade agreements.

But against this opposition the U. S. Government went swiftly ahead with its preparation of a formula to deal with Latin-American debts. Franklin Roosevelt last fortnight had expressed disgust with the slow operations of the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council, which, he felt, should long ago have reached an inter-American understanding on the $1,000,000,000 Latin-American bonds held by U. S. citizens.

Variety, show-business trade paper, recently hailed a plan whereby some Pan-American problems might be more easily solved: a tour of South America by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. This proposal agreed with more earthy U. S. citizens' view that what the U. S. needs in Latin America is not bombers as good-will ambassadors, but more characters like Mickey Mouse (El Raton Miguel).

By the same token, most effective South American missionary in the U. S. last week was a brown-skinned bead-burdened bombshell named Carmen Miranda, who last week continued to pack them in on Broadway with her hot Portuguese singing, the international language of rolling hips and eyes.

* Senhor Vargas has five children.

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