358 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
exceptional profit to the original investors. 
Here is an excellent opportunity for American 
capital to develop a reciprocal market. 
One of the chief reasons for the scarcity of 
invested American capital in Latin America 
is the indefinite and indifferent attitude of our 
State Department in failing to protect its 
citizens abroad or in seeking redress for in 
juries done individuals or business conducted 
in these countries. 
No race of men are as enterprising or ven 
turesome or more truly pioneers in every sense 
of the word than we Americans. This trait 
is a natural inheritance from our forefathers, 
who left comparatively civilized and com 
fortable Europe to gain a livelihood in the 
wilds of unknown and unexplored America. 
We are a practical people, also, and when 
through years of trying experiences we became 
definitely impressed with the fact that in our 
foreign ventures we had neither the co-opera 
tion nor the protection of our government, 
very naturally we abandoned these tempting 
fields of business and allowed them to be