The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-15
Financial Institutions That Have
Dividends for Investors.
BRITONS OWN THE RAILWAYS
SOME AMERICANS WHO HAVE MADE
FORTUNES IN REAL ESTATE.
Chances for American Steamers and
the Profits of European Lines-LOOlx
at the stock Exchange.
(copyright, 1899, by Frank G. carpenter.)


BUENOS AYRES, Dec. 9.-The United
States will not be able to compete with the
| European nations for the trade of the Ar
gentine until it has closer commercial con-
nections There are two things that should
be established at once. One is an American
bank in Buenos Ayres and the other line
of steamers from New York to the Argen-
tine, calling at the different ports of Brazil
and Montevideo, and making rapid trips
from one continent to the other. Both of
these institutions would pay we'll. The bank
would pay at the start. There are now
more than $11, coo 600 worth of exchange be-
tween Canada, the United States and the
Argentine, and our trade with the east coast
of South America amounts to more than
| 500 900, 600.
At present all the banking is done through
| London, and the bankers there take toll
Of about 1 per cent. for doing it. This is a
tax of / per cent on trade. None of the
banking companies of South America are in
the business for their health or for pleasure.
They charge for every accommodation, and
they make enormous profits. Some pay 16
per cent. dividends, and nearly all give from
1 to per cent on deposits. The per cent.
is generally on accounts current, and on de-
posts of six months from to per cent.
is paid
ENGLISH BANKS.
Buenos Ayres has a number of foreign
banks, whose capital runs up into the mil
lions The London and River Plate Bank
has branches in Brazil, Uruguay and Lon
don, with its chief office in Buenos Ayres.
It's capital is about seven and a half mil
lion dollars and it has five million dollars
reserve fund. Its deposits amount to about
am
posits it pays interest. This bank keeps
something like 910O0,OoO of gold on hand
The Anglo-Argentine Bank has two and
one-quarter million dollars capital, and the
capital of the London and Brazilian Bank
is equal to seven million five hundred thou
sand dollars of our money. There are
strong italian banks in Buenos Ayres.
There are German banks and Spanish
banks, and, In fact, the only country that
does much business with the Argentine
which has no direct banking connections
with it is the United States.
These banks do not speculate. They make
two clearings every day, and so far as
/ know no foreign bank doing business in
the Argentine has yet failed. The BUSH
ness is just as safe and legitimate as that
of the United States, and if a syndicate
could be organized in New York with sew
eral million dollars capital to do business
in South America it might pay big divi-
dends. Such an institution might be got
up by the directors of insurance companies
and other companies that lend money, the
stockholders to be men who are interested
in shipping goods abroad. A manager could
be sent from the United States to the Ar
gentine to open the bank and connections
could soon be established which would make
the institution pay from the start.
Through such bank Americans could
learn the standard of the business firms
on the east coast of the Atlantic. 1t would
enable a large portion Of our trade to be
done on safe credits instead of spot cash,
and would put US on the same footing as
the other countries who trade with the Ar
gentine. 1t would also show the Argen-
tines that we have enough faith in them to
invest money in their country. They say
that the people of the United States have
always protested a great friendship for
them, but so far have never done anything
to help the country along. They would like
to see some visible evidence of our sfsec-
ton, and say that if the United States will
establish bank and a steamship line they
will be ready to believe in them.
OUR VISITING COMMISSIONERS
The commissions of so-called American
capitalists which have visited the Argen-
tine Republic to encourage trade have, / am
told, done more harm than good One was
sent down a year or so ago. 1t was widely
advertised, and the Argentine officials and
capitalists made great preparations to re-
ceive it.
When the commission arrived it was dis
covered that many of its members were
commercial travellers, who had taken adj
vantage of the low rates of transportation
to turn this International trade expedition
into drumming tour. One Jew peddler
opened his stock of jewery on the special
car which the Argentine government fur
nished to carry the commissioners from La
Plata to Buenos Ayres and tried to retail
his wares to the distinguished Argentines
who had come there to receive the commits
| sioners. Another commercial traveller, a
man who wore long frock coat and derby
hat, represented bicycle firm and went
from one newspaper office to another pro-
posing to give the editors bicycles in ex-
change for advertising. Another man was
mechanical expert of one of our leading
wagon factories, who went about showing
pictures of his shop as it was when it was
started and as it is to-day, and another was
a lumber man who owned a sawmill in Ala
baIna. me whole party, although ii con-
tanned some good men, was, so far as in
ternational trade was concerned, a sort of
a Falstaffs army and its march through
the Argentine brought ridicule upon the
| business interests of the United States.
At the same time that these commercial
travellers were masquerading as American
capitalists some big English capitalists
were quietly investing millions of dollars in
Argentine property. The English capitalists
do not send national trade commissions.
They send their own financial agents out
over the world with good bank account
behind them. They are always on the look
out for good things, and they can tell you
just about. what percentage nearly every
new enterprise pays.
A large amount of the business done in
the Argentine is with English capital. The
best of the railways are owned by the Eng
fish, They have been recently buying up
the government lines, and the day will
come when they will own them ALL The Ar
gentine now has about II 900 miles of road,
representing a capital of more than a half
billion dollars 1t is fast increasing its
trackage. and the southernk Railway alone