The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-28

operated by horse power, Wnlcn ,miSht
be pro1tably changed to one run by
electricity, especially so If some I'M
scrupulous party should pursue the
policy of a Spaniard who, If the story
of his intentions Is true, has made a
good but rather tricky speculation In
the Santiago street car lines. These
are now run with horses, with very
pretty girls as conductors, and they
pay, l am told, clear profit of more
than $780, 900 in gold a year. A short
time ago the old charter of the COM
rany ran out, and the city wishing to
have the system changed to that Of
electricity, gave the concession to this
Spanish gentleman with the proviSo
that he deposit 100000 in Chilean
money, or about $4,000 gold, as a for
felt In case he did not finish and COM
plete the electric system within three
years. time.
My informant tells me that the Span
lard has no intention of attempting
change. He will run the roads as they
are now, and at the end of the three
years his profits will amount to 100000,
so that he can easily afford to lose the
$4,000 forfeit. The street railroads of
Valparaiso are still run with horses,
and I should think that electric roads
would pay both here and in Santiago.
the cars are we'll patroniZed. They are
of the kind called double d5ckers, with
seats on the roof as well as below.
The rates are very cheap, being 8 cents
in this money, or about Is cents Amer
lean. The pretty conductors wear
sailor hats, and over their dark dresses
white aprons, in the pockets of which
they put their money and tick:ts. Thee
are similar conductors on the tram
ways of Iquique. While riding upon
the cars there I noticed that men in
srectorS often came in and counted
the passengers, in order to see that the
girls We're not knocking down. fares,
and l was told that the conductresses
had nicknamed these inspectors Jul
daSeS.'
COMMERCE IN CHILE.
The foreign commerce Of this coun-
try annually amounts to from one
hundred million to one hundred and
twenty five millions of gold dollars a
year, and of this our exports and i'm
ports do not often exceed S., 000 600.
win the past few years our trade
has been steadily increasing. and today
we are sending many different kinds
of machinery, cotton goods, lard, Ike o.
sene, railroad locomotives and small
amounts of hundreds of other things
to Chile. Quite a let of our agricul-
tural machinery has been introduced
The most of the Chilean newspapers
are now printed from Anne lean type Oh
paper from the United States, and 1
see from the trademark that tt e stamps
and postal cards are made by an Amer
lean bank note company. Nearly all
the flour bags of Chile are made from
cotton manufactured in New England.
l see about here steel wind mills which
come from Chicago, and much of the
electric machinery is of American
make. I found an agent of the West
inghouse company at Iquique, and
the General Electric has it's agents
here.
At present an American electric plant
is being put in at Punta Arenas, the
southernmost city of our hemisphere,
and steel plates are being sent from
Pittsburg to Valparaiso. There are
noW two or three large firms here
which devote themselves to the i'm
portation and Introduction of American
goods. One is that of. Grace & Co..
which has an English branch as well
as its New York house, and another Is
the old firm of Beeche & Co., which
has lately united with Flint, Eddy &
Co., Of New York Beeche & Co.
handle nothing but American goods.
They have their agents and travelling
statesmen all over Chile, and are anX-
ious to push the sale of American
manufactures. Both, the ~Graces and
Beeche & Co. do a big business, and
the general increase in our trade here
is largely due to their efforts. I doubt,
however, whether the United States
can over equal Germany or England in
this market. We buy comparatively
little of Chile, and without the increase
in the beet sugar industry creates
demand for nitrate in the United