Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-13
The Pan-Amerioan Exposition and Its
Significance.
WHAT is TO Be ACCOMPLISH
Central Idea is the Acquisition of
South American Trade.
CON MERCIAL RELATIONS

Spec IIl Correspondence Of The Evening star
BUFFALO. November 10, 1899.
Let us clear away a host of mtsconcep-
tipns at the outset by calling South Amer
lea Southeastern America" If you will
look at a map of. our hemisphere YOU will
see ina. Il north and south line marked ST
degrees. which passes near Buffalo. runs
through Charleston. 5. g, almost bisects
cuba. joins Colon to Panama though it
marked an ideally straight canal. and then
lust cuts off a mOrSeI of the coast of ECua-
dJr-th5t is the westcrnm0st point OF the
great southern continent. And now see
how much greater the distance is from the
Ecuador coast eastward across Brazil to
the port of Peruambuco than from Buffalo
westward to San Francisco.
Well. then the mass of the other Amer
lea, Latin-American. Is situated far east Of
our states. and il is very important that
We should think Of it in this way. realizing
that if it should mp anchor and move north
ward it would lie easily off our Atlantic
Sedbpard and be interposed between us and
Europe Does this seem fanCiful? Then
let Us say that it is really not necessary to
imagine such a geographical dtSlocation.
for in very practical sense Lat1n-Amerlcd
does intervene. commercially and socially
the continent in question has been from the
b. ginning and is now cOnspicuousiy, East
crn America, European in its commercial
and social interests.
And first. as TO its commercial relations
Europe a. Near We Are.
The markets of Europe are practically
a. near to all of the Latin-American ports
on the Atlantic and Pacifice coasts as are
those If chief Importance in the United
states. The national bureau of statistics
points ont that the sailing distance from
P-ruanhuco to New York is actually great
s- than that to the cities of southern
Europe and but slightly less than to the
EriUcipa! commercial cities of England and
Germany. So far as proximity is concerned.
then. our merchants have under present
conditions no advantage whatever over
their European competitors, and as the
lines of steamships are controlled almost
exclusively in the interests of European
capital we should expect an investigation
Of the subject to disclose a rather shocking
state Of affairs Here are some or the
facts: Merchants in the United states Who
wish to cultivate trade with South America
frequently assert THAT they can more ad-
vantageOusly send their goods by way 81
Europe than direct To the points OF de
livery.
United States To Europe greatly exceed the
Imports from Europe makes Ii pracucabie
for the vessels which bring the rubber
coffee. hides and wool Of South America
to he United States to load readily at our
IurtS with grain provisions for Europe
and tneT- load again with goods Tor the
South American markets. thus making the
tour of the triangle of which the line from
New York to Liverpool forms the base aud
the ports of Brazil and Argentina the
ar-x And again: Marching down the
eastern coast Of South America, We ind
Brazil importing, in 1927. goods to the value
Of over SI6l. 900 600 of which tn" United
States supplied about l. per cent; Uruguay
and Paraguay, 81. Ep.tAb. of which our
share was less than per cent: and Argcn-
tina S.'J.UlH.OOU, Of which less than I per
cent was from the United States y tour
of the Pacific coast shows importations INTO
Chile Of S24VIDOp. Peru. SS.ID.t'0: 30
1.via. S11.GO.nu0. and Ecuador, S7."O,"p.
the proportion from the United States aver
aging about 10 per cent. The northern
coast Of South America fronting on tn
Caribbean sea- imports goods To the value
of Set G,H 900. Of which We supply an aver
ge of - per cent. the eastern coast 'front.'
ing upon the Atlantic .S222 ,Ooo.0~, and the
Pacific coast sol ,0sD.'pp. Of which our pro
portion is in each case about 10 per cent
As a rather startling illustration Of the ef
feet of the commercial triangle, which not
only places Latin America between Europe
and the United States. but also Enterprises
Europe. 50 to speak. in the trade routes
frCm our seaportS to those of our sister re-
p,.blics the fact may be noted that from
the countries of South America fronting
,Ip0n the Atlantic and Pacific. the United
states in 1897. purchased goods valued at
So 4OS. 40. while her sales 10 them in that
year wero but S24.4S0.O43 or less than one
third of her purchases from them. mus
strips our fancy. and in practical eff ct lug
giles with the relative positions OF three
continents while the writer felt called upon
To apologize for barely imagining a change
I'm the position of one.
Americans We Do Not Know.
Socially this European propinquity Is
even more marked among the Latin-Amer-
fcaus. and for their language literature,
art. music fashions and whatever deco
hoy held nP9TlY
10 Spain. France and Italy that in all these
matters We have had the habit of thinking
them as especially remote from ourselves
southeastern Americans with a vengeance.
We may as well confess that as a nation we
are profoundly ignorant OF the character
istIC~ of the sixty-fiVe millions of people
who live beyond our southern boundaries
n would be- absurd to say. either. that We
like them or that do not like them. We,
RS q nation, do not know, Nothing could
he more interesting In itself, however
and Of course for the complete success Of
the Pan-Autricau exposition few things
are more essential than Il study Of their at
tirude toward US at the present time. And
IN the first place, We may as well make up
our minds that the obvious method of qUes-
tiDn!ng them on this head VIII not serve
oUr purpose at all.
The wclI-bred I.atin-AmeriCans to whom
We would naturally apply for information
axe such courteous fellows that they will
easily COntrtve to give US favorable and
pleasant replies What will be agreeable
Tor these North Americans to hear they
ask themselves. According TO our wish
our nope, will he their answer: If they have
certain rniSgivings Of their own temporary
fOrgetfuineSS Of these will seem to them d
social duty We shall hear expressions of
cordial appreciation in regard to our inSti-
tuti0ns. but only by the merest accident a
chance expression ia an unguaTted moment
VIII disclose the uudcrcurrent Of their
thought: These North Americans do not
respect our people, they even deSpiSe our
race because it Is going down down. while
they in the north become stronger every
day. And the worst Of It is they are right -
There * the tragedy beneath the charming
Latin grace and gayety Of manner
Sensitive 40 Criticism
Pa~hapS II Is not generally known that
whatever appears in our newspapers refer
~ uE 20 Latiu-America is quoted there. and
rlgt the superior tone irritatcs and wounds
;he subjects OF our comments. We may
Doe quite sure that both our favorable and
uuflvnrable expressions, haphazard though
we acknowledge them To be, viii be read
there no matter how idly they have strayed
into print Every mail takes a package
from "a preSs-cIippius bureau in New York
TO representatives. of the Latiu-AmeriCau
governments in that city and Washington
and 70 the principal newspapers of Central