The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-12

How They Manage Their Business
The German Invasion and How
They Have Become the CONNER
cinI Pirates of the World-What
the Chinese Are DOing-Ameri-
cans in Peru Who Handle MILL
ions-Points for American Ship
pers as to How Goods Should Be
what We Sell and HOW We
Sell 1t.
Copyright, 1898, by Frank G. Carpenter
LIMA, Peru, May 25.-One of the
most important parts of my present
mission to South America is to look
into the prospects for American trade.
There is a big market for our goods i'll
these countries, but it is one which We
will have TO cultivate much more than
We are now doing if we get our share.
SO far 1 have met but three CONNER
cial travellers from the United States.
One OF these was a Mr.. Sullivan, who
was taking orders for lubricating oils.
We trave.ed together from Ecuador to
P&casmayo, Peru, and he told me he
was on his way to Chile and the Arsen-
tine. l came from New York TO Pana-
ma with an American named HerZig;
who was On his way down the west
coast to buy cocoa, hides and feathers
for several New York firms, and I am
told that the agent of the Carnegie
Steel company is now taking orders in
northern Peru.
On the other hand, find English and
German drummers everywhere. Krupp's
agent has just left here. There are
two English dry goods men on the
same floor with me in my hotel. They
have large sample rooms and have long
ables covered with every variety of
cotton and wooden goods. One of these
dlummers is from Manchester and the
other is from Nottingham. They have
both been for weeks going through Gen.
trail America on mules, and they are
now working their way down this coast.
They stop at every large port and work
the trade. One of them will so from
here to Bolivia, and will visit the in
terror cities of that country, carrying
his samples for hundreds of miles on
mules. These men have a big stock
with them. The Manchester man tells
me he carries about two tons Of sam
pies from port to port, and that he has
to load about a dozen mules when ne
goes into the interior
The Nottingham man sells on COM
mission and pays his own expenses,
which he tells me are about $40 gold a
day. He says that his houses have
three men to work the West Indies and
Spanish America. He takes in Mexico,
Central America and the Pacific coast.
Another salesman has the West Indies
and the coast of the Caribbean sea,
and third Brazil, Uruguay and the
This is the usual arrange
ment of the European houses for work.
ing this trade. All of these European
drummers speak Spanish, they know
the countries well and are posted as to
the financial standing Of the various
buyers.
SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE.
The United States should not think
that it can get these markets without
a hard fight and long fight. The bust
ness has been studied for years by the
European nations, and 1 will show later
on some of the underhand methods by
which they attempt to crowd them
selves in and the Americans out. The
business is naturally ours, and it will
pay to fight for it. This continent con-
tains 100000 square miles, and it has
more than 100000 people, all of whom
are consumers, though the wants of
the majority are few. The resources Of
the continent all told are great beyond
conception. The products will steadily
increase, and we already buy about
$3.50, 100000 worth of them a year. Our
sales, on the other hand, amount to
only S40,000,000, and our purchases are
said to increase five times as fast as
our sales, and this Notwithstanding we
are now the greatest manufacturing
nation of the world.
There is no nation that has so large
a stake in the battle for foreign COM
merce as ours. We now have more
than $4,000, 900, 900 invested in manufac-
turing, and we turn out a net product
of $4,000, 100000 worth of goods every
year, and it is estimated that our fac
tories can in six months make all Of
the goods that our home markets can
use. We have 100000 Workmen en-
gagged in our factories, and If we would
keep them busy we must force our way
into the foreign markets. We need our
own ships. Here on the west coast Of
South America freights are cheaper to
London and Hamburg than they are to
New York, and you can, 1 am told,
send goods to Liverpool and thence to
New York more cheaply than to New
York direct either via Panama or the
Straits of Magellan. Today there are
two lines of steamers which ply be-
tween the United States and Pacific
South America.
The firm of w. R. Grace & Co. have
four or five ships of 5000 tons each,
which make monthly voyages via the
straits between Callao and New York
and Flint, Eddy & Co. have what is
called the Merchants line, which dis
patches a steamer every two months or
oftener as the demands of trade re-
quire. Even these lines have materi-
ally increased our trade. The Grace
WI CIR cd in 10 fal ya
the place of the sailing ships owned
by the company, had, in 1895, trebled
the carrying trade of this firm, and r.
l.. Crosby, of Lima, who represents
Flint, Eddy & Co. here, tells me there
is q decided increase in imports since
the Merchants line has been put on.
AMERICANS HANDLE MILLIONS.
Those two New York f1rms-W. R.
Grace & Co. and Flint, Eddy & Co.
do the great bulk Of our trade with
South America Until recently Flint,
Eddy & Co. have to large extent con-
fined themselves to the Atlantic coast,
but they have now combined with or
absorbed the old firms Of Hemenway &
Brown and Brown, Beeche & Co., and
have their houses in the chief sports
of the Pacific coast as well. I found
them at Panama and Guayaquil, and
they have also houses here and at Val
paraiso. The Graces have for years
been one of the great powers in Peru
and Chile, and today they handle per-
haps more valuable property than any
other firm on the west coast. They have
carried through some of the biggest
enterprises ever attempted in South
America, and their profits are said to
have amounted to millions. Today there
is hardly any big thing in Peru in