The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-04-02

Buenos Ayres and ] find that American
goods are considered the best everywhere.
We are good manufacturers, but had sell
ers. We make the best machines, the
best cottons, the best tools and best
drugs, but we don't know how to dispose
of what we make. 1 have found that the
Germans, the English and the Belgians
are beating us in every one of these
cities. The same condition exists in Mon
tevideo. We don't get our share of the
foreign commerce of Uruguay. This coun-
try bought $20,000G00 worth of goods last
year and less than 100000 worth of this
was furnished by Yankees. The bulk of
the remainder came FROM Europe. 1t con-
sisted in large part of american goods.
Much of it was made up of limitations of
our machinery, manufactured in Ger
many. Such things are sold down here
as of American make for the Germans
are bound to hold the market If they
can. This is especially SO as to sewing
machines. Germany Goes the most of the
business supplying poor limitations of our
best known American machines.
TALK WITH AN IMPORTER.
The situation here in regard to Amer-
can trade was well described to me the
other night by Mr.. Crocker, the manager
of one of the biggest importing firms of
Montevideo. He has been in business
here for years and deals especially in
American articles. Said he:
There is no doubt but that American
goods are the best. The people here want
them, and notwithstanding the opposition
I find the sale of them steadily increas-
ing. We have taken $50 tons of goods
will no aSt
months, and we expect an increase. 1t
is hard to get the people to try new
things but when they get a good article
they stick to it. Take, for instance, blue
denims. We had great trouble in intro
ducinS them, but we now sell them by
the hundred of pieces We have many
orders for Winchester rifles, and we sell
all kinds of American articles. There are
imported into Uruguay every year more
than one hundred and fifty different va
rieties of things from America. Nearly
every one of these sells at a big profit
and the amount sold might be greatly in
creased What our people need to do is
to Judy this market and to look upon it
as their own.
81 think our merchants are beginning
to do So said I.
THAT may be- replied Mr.. Cocker,
but if so we have no visible evidence OF
1t. The exporters at home lose thousands
of dollars by not understanding what
these people want. They lose vast
amounts by bad packing The Uruguayan
importers are as sharp the Yankees.
They take advantage of every fault, and
u they can claim rebates any ground
they do so. Take kerosene We get it
from the United States 1t comes in
cans, put up in pine boxes. If the out
side boxes are at all stained by the
weather or damaged by handling, the i'm
porters assert that it Injuries the goods
ence whether the kerosene has leaked out
or not. Why, upon lot of such goods
received a few weeks ago rebates to the
amount of more than $4,000 were de-
manded, and l have no doubt they were
allowed.
Another trouble is the matter of
credit. The Germans and English will
give six months on all orders, and the
Americans want spot cash. They will
not send goods on consignment. There
should be a large warehouse here for
the display of American goods. and the
big institutions of our country should
have goods here on consignment, to be
paid for and delivered as they are sold.'
AMERICAN MACHINERY.
During my stay 1 have gone through
many of the Montevideo stores which
are handling American goods. I see that
quite number of our agricultural i'm
plements are sold, but am told that we
have nothing like the trade In such
things we should have. We lead now
as to plows. but we are behindhand in
thresners. Our reapers are just begin
ming to make Roadway. We should send
the most of the hoes, rakes threshing
machines and galvanized roofing, but
Great Britain has the monopoly in all
these lines 1t has also the lead in iron
and lead piping, and it stands first in
Nindmils.
I found one make of American wind
mills in Chile and the make scattered all
over the Argentine. 1t was universally
conceded that the mill was far better
than the English mills, and l see no ra-
son why such windmils should not be
sold in Uruguay. The trade should not
be confined to one make of windmills,
for we have many other mills which are
equally cheap and equally good
A YANKEE DRUMMER'S WORK.
Then, as to reapers. We ship reapers to
all parts of the world, to Japan, South
Africa, to Russia and other parts of
Europe. There is no reason why
should not have the bulk of the trade
here if the reaper agents will work the
country. An instance recently occurred
which proved the superiority of the
American over the English machines.
One Of our reaper drummers had a sam
pie machine here in Montevideo. He was
told that he could not get orders be-
cause the EngllSn macnlneS nad the run
of the trade. Through the aid of Con-
sui General Swain he secured a competi-
tive trial of the American and English
machines 1t held on one of the big
farms The two reapers were placed side
by side. Then, before hitching up, a boy
was asked by the American to lift up
the tongue of the English reaper. The
boy tugged and pulled, but unable
to raise it. The American then told the
boy to lift the tongue of the American
machine with one hand. He tried it, and
the tongue rose up as though it were a
broomstick. The agent thereupon put his
little finger in the ring in the end of the
tongue, and thus raised it from the
ground. In the trial which followed he
was able to show that the American reap
er would do all the work of the English
reaper with half the friction and with 80
per cent less weight the collars of
the horses. The result was that he got
that day an order for $1,000 worth of ma
chimes.
GOODS WHICH SHOULD SELL.
Consul General Swain suggests to me
slate for roofing purposes. There Is
demand for slate roofing here and our
states can compete with those of Europe
1t seems to me. however, that there is
an even better show for galvanized iron
There is an enormous trade in this all
over the Parana valley. There are acres
of 1t spread over the buildings of the
Argentine and 1t forms the chief roofing
material OF large parts Of Uruguay. We
have the cheapest iron and coal in the