RECIPROCITY

347

necessity  for  that  matter.  Most  of  these  countries ­
  achieved  their  independence  from  Spain
because  they  refused  to  be  further  exploited  by
the  mother  country.  It  behooves  us  as  modern
and  liberal  minded,  wide-awake  business  men,
to  develop  our  trade  in  these  territories  so  that
our  exports  to  each  country  will  be  paid  for
by  the  things  which  we  import  from  it.  This
is  not  a  difficult  problem  to  solve,  especially  as
at  the  present  time  our  imports  from  them
exceed  the  value  of  our  exports  to  them  by  approximately ­
  $100,000,000  yearly.  This  sum
should  represent  the  amount  of  trade  expansion ­
  with  the  United  States  these  countries
will  be  in  a  position  to  stand  on  a  reciprocal
basis.
Another  feature  in  this  connection  which
has  developed  since  the  beginning  of  the  present ­
  war  is  the  monetary  situation  in  Latin
America.  These  countries  as  the  world
knows  were  borrowing  nations,  and  practically
dependent  upon  Europe  for  all  of  their  financing. ­
  To-day  Europe  cannot  aid  them  in  this
respect  and  they  have  turned  toward  us  for