SOUTH AMERICA.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7914, 4 August 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

SOUTH AMERICA.

REPUBLICS THAT CAN HELP IN THE WAR. POSSIBILITIES AND HANDICAPS. We are constantly hearing that this or that South American Republic is about to come into the war, and as a rule we are pleased by the possibility without in the least realising the handicaps. The article here reprinted from “ Leslie’s Weekly” showjj what South America might do, but does not seek to evad*e the fact that there arc great difficulties in the way of South America doing very much. The .statement makes interesting l eading —the more interesting be cause it concerns regions and communities of which New Zealanders really know very little. The writer is an accredited authority.

TN time of war nations* can aid those actively engaged by rendering direct military assistance with troops or through their navies, by financial contributions, and by Supplying such necessities 03 food, materials, and munitions. From modern military standards 1 am safe in asserting that none of the Central or South American Republics would bo of aid to any of the belligerents. Instead they would be a positive hindrance. The armies of all the Republics are, relatively speaking, poorly trained, badly equipped, and lacking in most of the essentials that go to make the ideal soldier. The Argentine, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Brazil have Conscription, and -many of the young men of thes'e nationalities are willing and anxious' to serve their country. They have military and naval schools wherein cadets receive trainin', which entitles them to be commissioned as officers. But the rank and file are far from what men in the profession of arms should be, most of them being recruited from the lower classes and Indians, decidedly opposed tq making sacrifices for their country. Furthermore, none of these lands has munition factories for the manufacturing of guns, ammunition or equipment, andl all are dependent on Europe or the United Stated for their requirements. Their commissary departments and transportation facilities are positively archaic. Many of the armies are without medical officers or hospital corps. NAVIES OF NO ACCOUNT. Chile, Brazil, and Argentine each have two modern battleships of the first class, with several small, fairly up-to-date torpedlo-boat destroyers, which might under certain circiunstances be serviceable. Each of these vessels is lacking in its complete complement of officers and crew. In fact, with the personnel provided, they could not be properly manoeuvred. The remaining fleets of . Latin-Amerka ar<p> obsolete. As with the armies of these lands, the naval equipment, arms and ammunition, are supplied either by Europe or the United States), a serious handicap for efficient work. It is therefore quite apparent that no Latin-Ameriean nation is in ia position to render military aid to the powers at war. It is only fair to these nations, however, to state that in the armies of France and England!, as well as in the German forces, are found many Latin-Americans serving in various capacities. Latin-Ameriean have always been borrowers. Most #f them have national debts far out of proportion to their revenues—in fact, are today practically bankrupt. This is especially true of the Central American countries, S'anto Domingo, Haiti, Ecuador, Paraguay, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru. The enormous amounts of European moneys invested in their mines, railways, harbours, farms, and municipalities have been responsible for adding to their financial prostration because of the present war. Obviously, help of a monetary nature need not be expected from these sources. USEFUL PRODUCTS. They can, however, be of material nnd practical aid through what their fields produce, through the output oP their mines, and through their vto*t pe-

troleum fields. The wheat fields of Uruguay and the Argentine prior to the vva rexported the greater percentage of their flour to Europe. This was equally true of the meat-packing establishments, and since the beginning of hostilities Brazil and Paraguay have become great exporters of cattle products. Venezuela and Columbia, as) well as Nicaragua, could add to the meat supply of the Allies if they would, for they have the cattle and many modern abattoirs within their territory. Sugar for food purposes, and its by-product, alcohol, now largely used l in modern explosives, could be contributed in monstrous quantities by Cuba, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Brazil, and the Argentine. Brazil alone can supplv the world with coffee, but Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia and Venezuela, also are large exporters o fthis staple. Cocoa and chocolate, perhaps more stimulating, and certainly Jioher in fat, than) coffee, grow abundantly in Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Santo Domingo, Haiti, and Columbia. The crop this year in Ecuador promises to be a bumper one. Most of our crude drugs come from Latin-Amerioa. Peru and Bolivia -yield quinine, cocaine, bismuth, borax, sassafras, nux vomica ; while rubber for surgical purposes and hospital supplies is to be had from Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, and many other near-by localities. Wool from the sheep of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, the Argentine, (atjid Uruguay might bo made into clothes for the while the hides of the million* of cattle yearly slaughtered in these lands could he converted' into harness for animals, and shoes and accoutrements for men. TAMPICO OIL FIELDS. The vast oil fieldb of Tampico, Mexico ; at Lobitos, Peru, and in the interior of Bolivia, where pipe lines are bringing the supply into the Argentine Republic, couid contribute larger quantities for fuel for ships, and tor the production of gasoline ior motors. Brazil is to-d-ay one of the biggest producers of cotton goods' in the world, and her plants could be made to donate a larger proportion of this necessity. Peru also has several good-sized mills manufacturing excellent fabrics from home-grown cotton. Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia have enormous deposits of high-grade iron; the copper of Chile and Peru are famous the world over; Bolivia is the mineral treasure house of the world, her mines being rich in tin, antimony, zinc, wolfram, gold, silver, and other minerals. Mexico and Venezuela have large sulphur deposits. Chile leads the world in the production of nitrate, used in the arts, as a fertiliser, and for gunpowder and high explosives. And for Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Santo Domingo, Haiti, and tbe Central American Republics comes the one thing so dear to the heart of every sailor and soldier and as necessary to their contentment as food and raiment —tobacco. It should be borne in mind that in nearly all of these lands German interests are dominant, and it may be necewhfry to use diplomacy of the highest quality to secure the co-operation r f our sister Republics in this war for , democracy.