Evening star., 1898-06-11

acknowledged to have the best carpenters
tools and axes. These come in large guam
Titles from Hartford, Conn. That city has
monopoly of the farming tools sold ON
this coast of South America. Among the
new importations are steel plates from
Plttsburg and also iron pipes from the Ma
t1or al tube works. The Americans have the
best of the Peruvian watch trade. and the
Waltham watch has swept the field. We
DO a large business in American sewing
machines, and We are beginning to sell
american bicycles. We sell considerable
Oregon and California lumber and not a lit
tie white pine from New York. Some Amer
lean furniture is imported. chiefly cane
seated chairs. We are importing some
printing inks. and a large part of the furni-
ture and machinery for the new post Office
at Lima is American. The boxes were i'm
ported by u.s. and the postage stamps of
Peru are made by the American Bank Note
Company of New York The most of the
rolling stock and bridges for the railroads
OF Peru have until now come from America,
but, as the roads have gone into the hands
OF an English syndicate, in the future such
articles will probably be shipped from Eng
land"
More Harm Than Good.
Mr.. Crosby says that the commercial
travellers sent down here by some of the
American houses do more harm than good.
They do not understand the Spanish Ian
guage nor the people. They cut prices
and often make statements which cannot
be relied upon. 1t is useless to send a
man down here who does not understand
the language. and until Spanish-speaking
drummers can be educated as far as sell
ing is concerned I should think that deal
ing through such firms as the Graces and
Flint, Eddy & Co. would be most profit
able. These companies will handle any
!! thing; and they charge a commission on
tfer sales. Every manufacturing estab-
lishment in the United States should look
uron this territory as a part Of its legiti-
mate field and get into it as soon as pos
sible. We should at once begin to educate
cur commercial travellers in Spanish and
should have some of our best statesmen
going from city to city pushing American
goods. 1t is useless to send catalogues and
pamphlets. for these are thrown into the
waste baskets. One of the Objectionable
features of the trade in the eyes of the
Am erCan is that most of the German and
English sales are made with the under
standing that the goods are to be paid Tor
within from thirty to sixty days after ar
rival. and thar many of the firms. while
perfectly good, do not appreciate the value
of a few days interest and are slow in
settling their accounts. Tic business should
be done on from thirty to sixty days sight.
This is asked by many of the American
statesmen. and the Peruvians are gradually
becoming accustomed to 1t.
Decline OF Spanish America.
AS far wealth and business is con-
cetned, it seems to me that Spanish Ameri-
ca has the galoping consumption. 1 do not
mean by this that the business done here
is rot as great as in times past. 1t is in
creasing every year. But it is rapidly 60
ing out of the hands of the natives and in
to those of foreigners. This is lot only
with the commercial establishments. but
with every legitimate business that will
pay a dividend or make a dollar. Some of
the best of the mines now in the pos
session of foreign companies. The big
sugar estates, which have made fortunes
for Peruvians in the past. and in which
today working capital of more than ST.
oDo00o is employed, have largely gone into
the hands of the English. Some estates
are owned by Chinese and / have spoken
of the large holdings of the house of w. r.
Grace x Co The railways almost alto
sether owned by the English, although the
great coal line concession granted to the
Pacific Company of New York will give
us big railway zone in Peru. The oil
fields are chiefly worked by a rich Italian
named Piaggio of Callao. and several En-
glish syndicates. The chief bakery and
brewery of Lima was started by two enter
prising AmericanS-Backus and Johnston
and sold out by them at a big profit to an
English syndicate, which is paying large
dividends.
How They Do business I'm Peru.
AS to commercial business, the Peruvians
have allowed it to go almost entirely into
foreign hands. Many of them are ashamed
to be engaged in trade, and they have as
a people, no business instincts. There are
not a half dozen native firms in Peru
which now do what would be called
large business. The signs over the stores
of Lima are German, French, Italian, En-
giish and Chinese. There are about %. 900