The Geopolitics of Women’s Clubs
A Seattle speaker breaks down the 'monopoly' of land and power in Latin America, framing the region's instability as a failure of democratic inheritance.
At a meeting of the Good Government League of Seattle, Mrs. R. F. Weeks delivered a talk on Pan-Americanism, arguing that the seeds of Latin American instability were sown by a different class of settlers than those who founded the United States. While North American colonists sought peace and liberty, she argued that the settlement of the south was driven by gold-seeking adventurers. Weeks claimed this led to a lack of training in self-government and the rise of dictatorships. Furthermore, she blamed the unrest on massive, state-sanctioned land monopolies—citing millions of acres held by individuals like William R. Hearst and Harrison Gray Otis—which forced native populations into debt slavery. She concluded that Latin Americans deserve a sympathetic hand as they struggle to replace these feudal land systems with stable, democratic ideals.
“The only thing that would improve their city would be to make it a seaport... if you fellows can suck as hard as you can blow, you’ll have it a seaport inside half an hour.”
This 1917 analysis reflects the era's obsession with 'good government' and interventionism. Its critique of massive absentee land ownership mirrors contemporary debates in the Pacific Northwest regarding corporate land monopolies and the struggle for equitable access to housing and farmland.
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