Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-07
AMERICAN COMMERCE
Relations With the Countries Lying
South of Us.
CONDITION RATHER UNSATISFACTORY
Some of the Causes of This State
of Things Stated.
INTERESTING STATISTICS
DITION RATHER UNSATISFACTORY
INTERESTING STATISTICS

| the treasury bureau of statistics. The
| commerce of the United States with the
American countries lying south of her Dor
| ders has long been an object of solicitude to
| her statesmen, economists and business
! men. With the English-speaking people of
| American territory lying upon the north
| her commercial relations have rapidly
| grown and proven mutually satisfactory
| With those of another language, occupying
/ contiguous territory at the south, the
growth has been slower and less satisfac-
tory, and the distance increases the
growth decreases. To British North Amer
| lea the United States supplies 80 per cent
| of the total imports for consumption: to
Mexico, equally adjacent, but speaking an
other language than our own 40 per cent
| to the Central American states. next le-
moved by distance. though readily reached
by water and now being tapped ny rail-
| ways, 81 per cent; to Colombia, 4 ;raa
| farther removed, but equally accessible by
direct water transportation, 35 per cert;
TO Venezuela, equally accessible "a per
| cent; to the West Indies. which lie in close
proximity, but which have been up to the
present time, controlled by commercial ma
tions whose policy in many cases has been
to retain their commerce for their own peo-
| pie 20 per cent; to the Guianas, also readf-
| ly reached by water, p per cent of the i'm
ports into British Guiana, Il per cent of
| those of Dutch Guiana, and but less than
Somewhat Unsatisractory.
Up to this point the study of the growth
of commerce between the United States and
other American countries is fairly sat;sfac-
| tory. Beginning with 80 per cent ce the
| import trade of Canada. 40 per cent of that
| of Mexico and ranging on downward along
| the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribb Fan sea,
a fairly satisfactory share of the commerce
of those countries is enjoyed by the people
of the United States, though it will be con-
ceded that her people have a right to eX-
pect a larger share of the commerce Of the
countries lying so near at hand. especially
| in view of the fact that our purchases from
them are much larger than our sales to
them.
Even this somewhat unsatisfactory con-
dition of trade with the countries border
ing upon the Gulf of Mexico and the Carib-
bean sea is. however, gratifying when COM
pared with the trade relations of the United
States with the countries of South America
bordering upon the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. OF the total imports of all South
America, 81 per cent is taken by the coun-
tries bordering upon the two oceans, and
but ID Per cent by those bordering upon
the Caribbean Marching down the eastern
coast of South America, we find Brazil inn
porting, in 1897, goods to the value of over
S105, 600. 900, of which the United States sup
piled about II per cent; Uruguay and Para
quay, SD, o00,0 600 of which our share was
less than per cent. and Argentina, $35,-
oo0000 of which less than Z per cent was
from the United States, while a tour of the
Pacific coast shows importations into Chile
| of $24. 00o 600: Peru IS 800 900: Bolivia, Sill
G00000 ard Ecuador, S7.0O0.000, the pro-
portion from the United States averaging
about 10 per ,rent Thus the northern coast
of South Amer IA, fronting on the Carib-
bean sea, in ports goods to the value of
S36 OO0,09. of which we supply an average
of - per cent the eastern coast, fronting
on the Attain, S222. 100000, and the Pa
cific coast. S51.o 200. of which our proper
ton is in each case about 10 per cent
Nor can 1T be urged that this condition is
temporary one. While exports from the
United States to Mexico have grown rapid
iy, especially since the opening of railway
| communication. and have experienced a
moderate development in the case of the
countries bordering upon the Caribbean
sea, the total sales to the countries south of
US have not grown with the rapidity which
has characterized those to the world at
large. In 1868 our sales to the American
countries at the south Were 20 per cent of
our total exports; in 1878. little less than
10 per cent in 1855 a fraction above 10 per
cent, and in 1898 but per cent of our total
exports.
Purchases of the United States.
An examination of our list of purchases
from the Central and South American
countries seems to increase the anomaly
presented by their small purchases from u.s.
OF Brazil we by far the largest single
customer in her chief articles of export,
coffee and rubber; while from Argentina
are also heavy, and for the tropical prod
uctS of the other countries of South Ameri-
ca-sugar, spices, fruits, dyewoods cabinet
woods, textiles and chemicaIs-the United
States offers a constant and rapidly in
creasing market. From the South Ameri-
can countries fronting upon the Atlantic
and Pacific the United States in 1897 pur-
chased goods valued at SIS, 40S, Ii9, while
her sales to them in that year were but
S24, 430,013 or less than one-third of her
purchases from them; in 1898. despite the
To he Tho1a a
double the amount of our purchases those
to the South American countries beyond the
Caribbean sea were still but about one
third of the amount OF our purchases from
them.
A study of the map of the world. and es-
pecially that which shows the relation of
South America to the United Sattes and
Europe, seems to offer a partial explana-
ton of the anomalous conditions with ref
erence to the trade of all the countries
lying south OF the easternmost point of
South America and stretching up its west
erly coast The commerce of the world
reaching Brazil tsouth of the Amazon
Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina on the
Atlantic coast, and Chile, Peru, Ecuador
and the interior state Of Bolivia, on the
west, must reach them by water, and their
sales to other parts of the world must also
go by water. An examination of the map
and routes of steamships the sole vehicles
of transportation for these countries shows
that the markets of Europe are practical
ly as near to all of South America fronting
on the Atlantic and Pacific as are those
of the United States The easternmost
point of South America extends 1900 miles
farther east than New York. and the sail
ing distance from that point to New York
is actually greater than that to the cities
of southern Europe and but slightly less
than to the principal commercial cities of
England and Germany, our greatest COM
mercial rivals. This fact of itself would
place the United States upon practically
an equal footing with Europe in the mat
ter of proximity alone. but when 1t is con-
sidered that nearly all of the steamship
lines entering South American ports are
controlled by European capital and Euro
pean interests it is not surprising that
large share of their commerce should be d.
verted to Europe. Naturally considerable
share of their exports goes direct to Eu-
rope. and to that extent it would be quite
reasonable to expect that their purchases
would be from that part of the world.
Neglect of American Merchants.
The fact that the exports from the United
States to Europe greatly exceed the i'm
ports from Europe makes it practicable
for the vessels which bring the rubber,
coffee, hides and wool of South America
to the United States to readily load at our
ports whit grain or provisions for Europe
and there load again with goods for the
South American markets. Tins ma king the