OCR Text |
Show PACT WISED Senators Scent Design by Mexico and Argentina Against U. S. Hoped to Base League on Mutual Fears of Great Northern Republic. (Chicago Tribune Special Service.) WASHINGTON', March 2. A "Latin-American "Latin-American league of nations" has been proposed in negotiations which have been going on since Christmas and which have reached such a stage that certain influential Mexicans and representatives of the Argentine republic have laid the proposal before tho governments of many, if not all, Latin-American states. The objects of the league, as stated on the arguments which have been made bv its proponents, are much in line with those of tho world league which President Presi-dent Wilson has been advocating, with the additional idea of protecting all of Latin-America against the United States. Convinced that behind the Latin-American Latin-American league idea is a clever German propaganda which wishes particularly to alienate the United States from the American countries to the south so that Germany will find the commercial re-cunquest re-cunquest of that part of the world easier whim the trade war begins again. American Amer-ican citizens recently returned from Central Cen-tral ami South America have laid their discoveries with regard to the negotiations negotia-tions before senators on the foreign relations re-lations committee. Arguments for League. The Argentine and Mexican representatives, represen-tatives, it was reported to senators, had particularly high hopes of winning speedy acceptance of their plans in Central America because of the fear of the United States which has been inspired in I those states which are still independent bv the American control of Nicaragua, the constant presence of American marines ma-rines at Managua, the capital of Nic-""arasrwa. Nic-""arasrwa. and America's dictation in the elections there. This fear, returning Americans declare, was further encouraged en-couraged by advocates of the Latln-American Latln-American league plan by constant refer- 1onc.es to the refusal of the United States uj abide by the decision of the Central American court when it held that the I 'nited States had no right to negotiate 1 lie Nicaraguan treaty on the ground t hat ' this infringed the rights of Costa -Kiea -with reference to the Nicaraguan canal route and of Salvador with reference refer-ence to the naval base granted the United States by the treaty on Fonseca (;bay. The fact that the United States Monk a, firm stand against the continuance continu-ance of the Central American court not long after this decision is being constantly constant-ly alluded to, it is declared. Are Strongly Pro-American. While the majority of the people in such states as Guatemala, for instance, -the strongest and most independent of the Central American states, are declared to be strongly pro-American, their fears and apprehensions are being played on by advocates of the league plan with a very clever propaganda, with a view to forcing forc-ing the government to accept the -Latin league plan. Because Guatemala has a strongly centralized cen-tralized government, however, senators pijwcre told, and because the president of that country, Manuel Estrada Cabrera, believes that the welfare not only of his country, but of Latin-America generally, lis tied up with the United States, this 'propaganda, which followed on the heels of his flat refusal to have anything Uo rlo with the proposed Latin -American ...league, did not succeed. Incidentally, tho fltsenators were told, the people of Guate-. Guate-. mala are practically a unit behind Presi- dent Cabrera. jjUsed Hun Methods. Then the proponents of the league reported re-ported to characteristic German propaganda propa-ganda methods, according to accounts which have reached the senators. Early In February a general strike was rtflanned ' all through Guatemala. It was I intended,., to tie up all the railroads, the fruited Fruit company plantations and shipping stations, and reconstruction (following the earthquake) work in the L-apital. The returning Americans report that the same sort of strikes planned for rluatema!a, after the government of that country refused to have anything to do jTtivith tho Latin-American league, broke 'aut almost at once in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. |