Almost everyone agreed that Jan. 17 would be a poor time to open the Inter-American Conference at Bogotá (TIME, Nov. 17). The U.S. would be deeply involved in Marshall-Planning; its first-string team of diplomats, Senators and Congressmen would be too busy with Europe to think about Latin America. Latin Americans wanted to be sure that their pleas for economic aid would be heard by the right ears. Besides, the diplomats still had a lot to do before they were ready for the conference business of strengthening the hemisphere system.
Last week, the Pan American Union governing board postponed the conference until...