mber there began
a series of meetings between the two men which resulted in the
organization of the Forminiere and with it the dawn of a real
international epoch in American enterprise.

In the light of our immense riches the timidity of American capital in
actual constructive enterprise overseas is astonishing. Scrutinize the
world business map and you see how shy it has been. We own rubber
plantations in Sumatra, copper mines in Chile, gold interests in
Ecuador, and have dabbled in Russian and Siberian mining. These
undertakings are slight, however, compared with the scope of the world
field and our own wealth. Mexico, where we have extensive smelting, oil,
rubber, mining and agricultural investments, is so close at hand that it
scarcely seems like a foreign country. Strangely enough our capital
there has suffered more than in any other part of the globe. The
spectacle of American pioneering in the Congo therefore takes on a
peculiar significance.

There are two reasons why our capital has not wandered far afield. One
is that we have a great country with enormous resources and consequently
almost unlimited opportunities for the employment of cash at home. The
other lies in the fact that American capital abroad is not afforded the
same protection granted the money of other countries. Take British
capital. It is probably the most courageous of all. The sun never sets
on it. England is a small country and her money, to spread its wings,
must go elsewhere. Moreover, Britain zealously safeguards her Nationals
and their investments, and we, I regret to say, have not always done
likewise. The moment an Englishman or the English flag is insulted a
warship speeds to the spot and John Bull wants to know the reason why.

Why did Leopold seek American capital and why did he pick out Thomas F.
Ryan? There are several motives and I will deal with them in order. In
the first place American capital is about the only non-political money
in the world. The English pound, for example, always flies the Union
Jack and is a highly sensitive commodity. When England puts money into
an enterprise she immediately makes the Foreign Office an accessory.
German overseas enterprise is even more meddlesome. It has always been
the first aid to poisonous and pernicious penetration. Even French
capital is flavoured with imperialism despite the fact that it is the
product of a democracy. Our dollars are not hitched to the star of
empire. We have no d