The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-06-25

although the pg1coD OFFERED ~ Ames3can
hcuseo aro 1uweF. 1hh = - q acc0une
q the heqsy freight rates zrom Nev York
Tlour carried from New York % afio PAYS
. frelsht rate ~ . cen4s pr barrel. while
ilour from Hamburg to Rio pays less than
n cents . barrel. This system II carried
on as to all sorts of impertatioos- Tho
Germans and the English night ~ In every
possible way, and the Germans are by no
means ecrupuious - TO the honesty oe
their methods.
smart German Traders.
Today the Germans are the best traders
In South America They are pushing their
way into every port. and their merchants
are 70 Be found In every town. From
Kaiser wnhelm down they are doing al
they can to further the trade interests OF
their country, anc are succeeding. have
written how they have gobbled up the low
est province Of Brazil. / ind them In bus
mess here 1t Para They own rubber
plantations up the Amazon. and have their
mercantile houses on the frontiers Of
Ecuador and Bolivia.
They are doing quite good deal In
banking. They have one bank In Brazil
which has capital Of more than $20o0.ooo
and another In the Argentine with . capi-
tai OF 1900 900, while there - q third In
Chile whose capital II equal to that Of the
Brazilian hank. / am told that they have
been buying nitrate property in Chile re-
Gently anc, that they have put great deal
Of money into railroads In Venezuela
There ID no end OF small German enter.
prises. You find coffee houses here run by
them. they have breweries scattered from
one end of South America to the other.
and there . q big tanning interest in
southern Chile which Is run by them.
They are by far the best pushers with re-
gard to opening commercial houses In new
centers. I found them selling goods in
interior Bolivia and In the mountains Of
Peru. and met the drummers Of German
houses every day. These drummers are
usually good Portuguese or Spanish schok
ars. They have spent years in South Am
erica and know the people and trade thor
oughiy. They take things easily and are
content with small profits. They give
from six to nine months credit and ask
no payments until after the receipt Of the
goods.
Things That Would Pay.
There are number Of things down here
which are worth investigation. The mat
ter Of an American bank Is one. Our trade
with Brazil last year amounted to xl36. 0o0.-
O00 Almost the whole Of 1t was done In
European exchange. An American bank
in Rio de Janeiro. with branches at Sac
Paulo. Santos. Bahia, Pernambuco. Para
and Manaos could make big money. In
terest rates here range from 10 per cent.
upward. You can get good loans Of per
not uncommon. The banks charge for ev-
erything. discount rates are high and all
OF the European banks as far a. ! can
learn are making money.
1t would see to me that a big fortune
might be made by q cold storage company
which would put up such pants In the
larger cities. None Of the Brazilian towns
kaa ,S,lS4 etoA nAI
other things cannot be kept from one day
to another. Take Pernambuco a city Of
900, 900 people. The meat which Is sole in
the market must be eaten the day 1t IL
killed. It must be sold before II begins to
spoil or the market inspectors will con-
denim II.
The result IL that the price changes from
hour to hour during the day. When the
market opens you will see over each
butchers stall a little slate on which Is
marked the price of meat. AS the day
goes on the butcher rubs out the figures
and changes the prices. so that meat which
Is worth.S cents q pound at o'clock in the
morning is offered for cents a pound at
noon. Indeed. dried beef In that market
brings more per pound than fresh meat.
II there were cold storage plant tho
and vegetables, eggs anC fruits could be
stored away to await higher prices.
Money In Ice, Vegetables and Fruits.
I think there Is money here in ice. vege-
tables and fruits. The state OF Sac Paulo
imports nearly everything II uses, and
onions and other vegetables are brought
from Portugal to be sold In the markets Of
Brazil. ! saw apples and grapes for sale
In Rio which had come from Spain, and
there are all sorts Of tropical fruits which
could be easily raised here which are i'm
ported. As to Ice. that which is sold is of
an inferior order and 1t brings high prices
An American ice plant in Bahia would pay.
and the same might be said Of other cities.
There are a number Of other opportunities
here for the investment Of capital and
good business brains. Brazil as a country
has hardly been prospected, and there are
vast regions which are yet TO be explored.
There Is only one thing that the investor
must consider. and that II that IL In not
safe to make any investment in q South
American country without himself or his
agent has been long enough on the ground
to study the conditions and judge for HIM
self. FRANK G. CARPENTER.