New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-06
GATEWAYS OF TIE PLATE
THE AMERICAN FLAG FURLED.

. srrrCGr.E FOR COMMERCIAL SUPREMACY IN
WHICH THE UNITED STATES TAKES NO
pAET-A POLICY OF INCREDIBLE MOLLY
fypou , STAFF CORRESPONDENT or THE rRiBUSsl
Montevideo. January 10.
II any American. weak and lowly in spirit,
have a voracious appetite Tor humpie PIE, leu
hir, nacl, his steamer trunk and take passage
for the Rio Plata. If he be very eager 10 s"@i-
low the pie. lie should sail by way of Europe,
catching an English. German or French steamer
bound for Monievideo, for otherwise he VIII De
n long time in reaching port-possibly forty or
fortv-fve DAYS if he takes American steamer
IN Rio If he be anxious to hear from his
family and friends in America while he is digest
ING the pie he should caution them 10 olrec'
letters "via Europe" for otherwise he may pe
many weeks in port before he receives his maiis
Inv the American steamers. But whcther hc
comes by quick or slow transit, or whelher ne
ever again hears from his American frleHus' nv
will have all the humble pie his morbid s'o""'"
Graves lie will find himself in the ea'eW'S'
of the Elate, most majestic OF Sou'h Hnioii
,;v.rs with Montevidco and Bucnos Ayrcs, the
handsomest and most enterprisng citicS o' 'HiS
mart of the world confronting him on euner
side and in each harbor he will see mashnoe"o
merchant feet representing every MARITIME
nation except his own. lie VIII r'coghi" y"
the waterfront Of Montevideo the hags oil Eng
land. France Germany, Italy, Spalh' belgium an"
Brazil tlying on the steamships lying at a"'n'
ooa bo will see n swarm of Norwegian. DANISH,
English Italian and German sailing Nesseis' p"o
no will look in vain for the American iiaS unless
no catches a glimpse of the colors oil tle poor Vi"
Ta,lapoosa afar off in the otiing. mat 'e'era"
warsbp is now here and will be joined IN lew
DAYS bv the Richmond, flagship of the Son'h
Atlantic Sauadron now on her way from bahia'
Tho asnoct Of those Anticipated hulks is neeoed
in order 70 complcte the exhibition OF American
dooeperacv in the maritime world. 1t Is not
onoucb that the decline of American shipping
should be demonstrated by its absence Ill 'his
crowded roadstead astir with the rlValrles oi
maritime Europe. 1t is also necessary 70 SUI
tion here two battered warshps OF the last gen
Grafton as a standing reminder that 'he Ohi'eu
States is without modern navy as well as w'lh-
out an efficient commercial marine
AsJ do not profess to be either meek or lowly
in American feeling. this exhibition left me In
depressed state of mind l was fully prepared
on landing and passing the customs line for 'he
look of bewilderment on the face OF the geili
proprietor of the largest hotel. when he was
asked for the direction of the American consul
ate lie did not know where 1t was. although
u was found subsequently only few blocks
from the hotel lie was too polite 10 DE Omen
sive and apparently was unwilling to confess that
he was unaware of the presence of any American
functiopary in the city. There were similar
s;gps of incredulity and bewilderment on other
faces when | sought for pilotage in the streets
70 the consulate Shopkecpers doing business
within a block Of the Office had never heard OF an
American consul Apparently people IN Nome
video vaguely regard the United States as being
a curious country, having place somewhere Oh
the map of the Western Hemisphere. lheS
think of it very much as children In American
schools idly con lecture what the lce-ilelds sur
rounding the North Pole are like. Europe SENDS
mt its merchant fleets to their harbor 10 STOCK
their sbops and houses with everything which
human ingenuity can devise Tor com
Portable or luxurious living The
United States no longer contributes
freely, as in the oden time. of its Yankee notions.
American ships enter the harbor so lnirequchly
that the children of Montevideo are growing up
in ignorance of the mighty industrial nation that
STYLES itself THE Grand Republic The poor
old warships in the harbor attest the decline OF
that maritime spirit which made the nation
as great in the wide reaches of the sea as 1t is
to-day in the developed resources and Industrial
energies of continental domain.
1t was with momentary feeling Of relief that
7 received the Consurs cheerful statement that
American shipping had more than doubled during
the wear recently ended But sly twinkle Ill
his eyes speedily revealed his humor, and con-
WINGED me that improvement in American ship
ping in this quarter must be understood IN n
Pickwickian sense. AS matter of fact the num-
Der of American sailing vessels arriving at Monte
vdeo during 1859 was AZ, with a tonnage Of
q. O05. as compared with Is and tonnage OF
1O,412 during the previous year; but as there
were 3d. with 2O.5l9 tonnage in 1883. the agSre-
gate progress in four years. while every MART me
power in Europe has been doubling It's steam
marine in South American waters IS too lnsig-
niicant 10 require attention. Montevldeo ana
Bucnos Ayres arc cities advancing in wealth and
commercial importance by leaps and bounds. AZ
The close OF the American Civil War two ocean
steamers entered this port in the course OIL
month. Now there arc two arrivals every day
the year round exclusive Of river craft and coast
crs At Buenos AyTcs there has been an even
greater development of commerce. The tde OF
Immigration rises higher every year. and tire
Argentine is filling up with European settlers.
II is the marvellous progress of the United States
reduced to south latitude. The rapidity Of the
commercial development Of this port at the gate
ways of the Plate is shown by such an exhibit
as the following, which | have madei up from
records in the Office of Mr.. Hill, the efficient and
popular American Consul
COMMERCE OF URUGUAY.