The San Francisco call., 1899-08-15
SOUTH AMERICAN COMMERCE.

= ONSIDERABLE information concerning the
[ commerce OF the countries south of is given
- in recently issued bulletin OF the treasury
bureau OF statistics 1t has long been the aim OF our
more enterprising merchants and OF some OF our
greatest statesmen to obtain for the United States the
bulk of that commerce, and it is therefore somewhat
discouragng to learn that after all efforts SO far We
have but small fraction OF it.
From summary OF the statistics given it appears
that while Our trade with Mexico and with the West
Indies is comparatively good we far behind other
nations in dealing with countries farther south 1t
said OF the total imports of all South America 81 per
cent is taken by the countries bordering upon the
oceans and but I3 per by those bordering upon
the Caribbean Marching down the coast oil
South America, we find Brazil importing, in 1897,
goods to the value OF over SIo5ooo ooo uf which the
United States supplied about II per cent Uuruguay
and Paraguay $22 600 ooo of which Our share less
than per cent and Argentina Sos ooo 900, of which
less than per from the United States, while
a tour OF the Pacific Coast shows impoltations into
Chile of $4,000 900; Peru IS, 100000; Bolivia, SILL
100000, and Ecuador, $7,oooooo the proportion from
the United States averaging about per cent Thus
the northern coast of South America fronting the
Caribbean Sea, imports goods to the value OF $4,000
ooo OF which we supply an average OF 25 per cent
the eastern coast, fronting the Atlantic, $222
oooooo and the Pacific Coast, $5I 100000, of which
our proportion is in each case about per cent
While we supply these small percentages Of the
goods imported into South American countries we
are by far the largest importers of their goods. We
are the chief OF the coffee rubber and other
chief articles OF export OF Brazil and OF the wool and
hides OF Argentina. OF the South American countries
fronting on the Pacific Coast is noted the United
States in 1897 purchased goods valued at $SS o8 no.
while her sales them in that year but $24 49,
o13, or less than one-third of her purchases from
ten1 in 1885, despite the fact that to the whole world
our sales were double the amount of our purchases
those to the South American countries beyond the
Caribbean Sea were still but about one-third of the
OF our purchases from them.
The explanation of this unsatisfactory condition Of
trade is that Europe the ships that carry South
American commerce, and as we export more to
Europe than import from that continent, an
opportunity is afforded shipowners to make profitable
triangular traffic. The heavy exports from South
America brought to ports, our exports are
then carried to Europe, and European exports are
taken to South America.
Such condition OF affairs will prevail as long as
the commerce of the ocean is under control OF the
merchant marine of European nations. Our mer-
chants and slipoWners, no matter how enterprsing
they may be- cannot compete successfully with the
subsidized ships of foreign nations The trade OF
South America will be ours whenever our statesmen
will work for it in the only way by which it can be
accomplished Commercial treaties are OF little value
unless there be ships to profit by them We shall
have the bulk OF the trade of the countries south OF
us whenever we follow the example of European
nations and build up merchant marine equal to the
needs OF the republic