The herald., 1896-09-12
MARKETS OF THE WORLD
Local, Eastern and Foreign
Commercial Dealings
WALL STREET SPECULATION
influence Of Language on the Course OF
Trade
A United seates Consul at Laredo, Mexico,
Discusses the 7atter-Amsricaps Loss
Trade Because Unable to Converse

Yesterday The Herald gave a careful
resume of the growth of trade with Mex
leo. The following from Bradstreet's, be-
ing comments on a consular report and
quotations from the same, will prove of
interest in connection with this important
matter:
Joseph G. Donnelly, United States con-
SUI at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has fur
nished the state department a commun-
cation on the Importance and necessity
OF an acquaintance with the Spanish Ian
Guage as an important factor in securing
trade with the Spanish speaking countries
that should receive the careful considera-
tion OF those of our merchants and manu-
facturers who desire to promote trade
with Mexico, Central and South America.
Consul Donnelly calls attention to the fact
that, Notwithstanding the advantages of
geographical position, our trade with Mex
leo and other Spanish-American countries
Is surprisingly small. These countries
are our neighbors and natural allies. Their
ports are much nearer TO ours than those
OF Europe. yet Europeans get there ahead
of us adm take from our very doors the
trade that should be ours. The feeling of
the people OF those countries towards the
states is in the highest degree friendly,
and they would. prefer to trade with us
than to deal with Europe, if that could be
done done even up on the same terms and with
the same advantages now derived from
dealing with Europeans. There is, of
course, good commercial relations for this
preference for European dealing, and one
OF the principal obstacles to the extension
OF American trade In that quarter is the
ignorance of Americans of the Spanish
language. European agents are familiar
with that language and Americans have
paid a,,ns no attention to the Importance Of this
with 5,oooooS Of Of Engilsh-s IS -speaking @ sI People
IN Canada than with the S5,0Oo,o 900 Of Span
i1sslh-speakng isl people IN Spanish America.
with the Canadian and they with us, a
fact which justifies the conclusion that
trade follows language
Consul .Donnelly makes this fact appar-
from a few facts. Taking Mexico to il
lustrate his theory that trade follows Ian
few hours ride by rail from our frontier.
are 10000 people-one-half of the popu-
lation of England; people advancing
marvelously in all the arts of civilization,
a people who will soon require as necessi-
ties what are now luXuries, who will be
housed fed and clad as well as any people
If worked with that skill and industry
and tireless vigor which have made our
domestic trade the wonder of the world.
But it is not so worked. Ignorance of the
language makes our usual business meth
DDS impossible. The Spanish tongue builds
about the country for American trade
of our merchants Mexico appears to be as
remote as China or Japan. and they strive
for her trade by methodS tnat mlEnI serve
with countries of the Orient. They depend
upon consuls for information, an effort
which. to be of any avail, should have the
full time and best energies of competent
Spanish-speaking agents. Almost daily
the mail brings to my office letters con-
tanning circulars which I am requested TO
distribute among Mexican merchants.
Some of these are in English and are ut
tely useless; the rest, in Spanish, have
even less effect than circulars at home
"Would any manufacturer of mining ma
chinery send as agent to Cripple Creek for
instance, some Russian emigrant. what
ever his fuency in his own tongue. who
is ignorant of English? Yet American
leo from the United States knowing as
little Spanish as they know Sanscrt. Good
takers. these around home, no doubt. but
once across the Rio Grande the alert. keen,
quick-witted American is stricken dumb
and tongue-tied. He readily turns his
American dollars into Mexican pesos. but
he cannot turn his English into Spanish.