eveloped countries
of Latin America. At the same time, the undeveloped countries of Latin
America contain great supplies of ores, minerals, timber and other raw
materials that are needed by the expanding manufacturing interests of
the United States. The United States is a country with an investible
surplus. Latin America offers ample opportunity for the investment of
that surplus. Surrounding the entire territory is a Chinese wall in the
form of the Monroe Doctrine--intangible but none the less effective.

Before the outbreak of the Great War, European capitalists dominated the
Latin American investment market. The five years of struggle did much to
eliminate European influence in Latin America.

The situation was reviewed at length in a publication of the United
States Department of Commerce "Investments in Latin America and the
British West Indies," by Frederick M. Halsey (Washington Government
Printing Office, 1918):

"Concerning the undeveloped wealth of various South American countries,"
writes Mr. Halsey, "it may be said that minerals exist in all the
Republics, that the forest resources of all (except possibly Uruguay)
are very extensive, that oil deposits have been found in almost every
country and are worked commercially in Argentine, Colombia, Chile,
Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and that there are lands available for the
raising of live stock and for agricultural purposes" (p. 20).

As to the pre-war investments, Mr. Halsey points out that "Great Britain
has long been the largest investor in Latin America" (p. 20). The total
of British investments he places at 5,250 millions of dollars. A third
of this was invested in Argentine, a fifth in Brazil and nearly a sixth
in Mexico. French investments are placed at about one and a half
billions of dollars. The German investments were extensive, particularly
in financial and trading institutions. United States investments in
Latin America before the war "were negligible" (p. 19) outside of the
investments in the mining industry and in the packing business.

Just how much of a shift the war has occasioned in the ownership of
Latin American railways, public utilities, mines, etc., it is impossible
to say. Some such change has occurred, however, and it is wholly in the
interest of the United States.

Generalizations which apply to Latin America have no force in respect to
Canada. The capitalism of Canada is closely akin to the capitalism of
the United States.

Ca