3 MARCH 1923, Page 9

A very important gathering. takes place this month at Santiago,

Chile, where the delegates of the Fifth International Conference of the American States meet together. Much has happened since the last Pan- American Conference was held in Buenos Aires in 1910. While the Monroe Doctrine may not be equally popular in North and in South America, the growing commercial influence of the United States in Latin America is one of the results of the War. The South American Republics look towards Wall Street for financial assist- ance much more than they did thirteen years ago. The Pan-American Conference is in reality an American league of nations, and it would be difficult to over- estimate its importance as a means of bringing about co-operation in -international affairs.