Broad Horizons

When Major General Royal B. Lord, U.S.A. (ret.) arrived in Buenos Aires 18 months ago to drum up some business for his new construction firm, he heard businessmen denouncing President Peron's new five-year plan for industrialization. "Exactly the kind of talk I heard in the first Roosevelt administration," said West Pointer Lord, who had worked for the New Deal (Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project) long before he worked for Eisenhower in the E.T.O. service of supply. Peron, told what Lord had said, sent for him. Soon he was head of the President's "North American Technical Mission" and was advising on the whole five-year plan.

Last week, Engineer Lord was back in his Manhattan offices again. Thanks to him, Peron now understood many of the engineering and economic problems facing the five-year plan, was aware that it would take far more than five years to industrialize farm-minded Argentina. Though his contract had ended on March 1 "by mutual consent," Lord had praise for Peron, and with reason. The year, said he, had been worth "much more than a million" to his Inter-American Construction Corp. And he was surer than ever that he wanted to do business in Argentina.

With his technical staff, he had visited the headwaters of every Argentine river, studied every public-works project, met every provincial governor. He had learned what labor costs, how the bureaucracy works, where industry might expand. Now, in a private capacity, he meant to go back, bid for the big-money jobs and cash in on U.S. know-how.

For many such jobs, Lord admits, Argentina will need U.S. help. By lavish spending, Argentina has pretty well used up its once fat foreign exchange hoard. For $5 wheat it now gets mostly I.O.U.s. Even the millions the U.S. is likely to spend in Argentina for ERP foodstuffs will help little, warns Lord, unless Argentina is allowed to buy U.S. machinery with it. "Steel," says he, "is the key to Argentina's program, and they will have to get it in the U.S."

If Engineer Lord could get steel for the Argentines, he could nail a $40 million contract to build in Buenos Aires what he believes would be the world's largest sewage-disposal plant. Lord also has his eye on hydroelectric plant and housing contracts. How to get the profits out? "A company can now withdraw profits up to 12% a year on its investment," he says. "Where else can you get 12% on your money?"

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