El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-30
LEARN SPANISH AND PROSPER
An American ConsuI's Advice to
Merchants and Students.

been made by United States Consul
Donpelly, resident in Mexico. he
says that the United States do more
business with the 5000, 900 English
,h peoples 600 600 ca sns more
Spanish speaking people in
south America although the
latter people are more naturally our
alice, all being parts OF one great
American republic. Yet, notwithstand-
ing this, and even In the face OF the
.sct that their ports are much nearer
to ours than to those OF Europe, Euro
peans ges there ahead OF us and take
the trade because they know the lam
RuaRe of the country better than we
do. Consul Donnelly has she following
interesting remarks to make concern
ing Mexico:
| with in Q few hours ride by rail
from our frontier are Il, 600 600 people
one half the population of Eogland -
. people advancing rapidly in all the
arts OF civilization, q people who will
soon require as necessities what are
now luxuries, who will be housed, fed
and clad as well as any people OF Europe.
What field this would be II worked
| with that skill and industry and tireless
vigor which have made our dom
estic trade the wonder of the world
But It Is not SO worked. Ignorance of
methods impossible. The Spanish
tongue builds about the country, for
American trade, a barrier bigger than
the tariff.
ITO many OF our merchants, Mexico
appears to be- as remote as China or
Japan, and they strive for her trade
by methods that might serve with
countries OF the Orient They depend
upon consuls for infor nation, an effort
I. n ha nf
the full time and best energies OF
competent Spanish speaking agents.
Almost daily che mail brings to my
Office letters containing circulars
which l am requested to distribute
among Mexican merchants. Some OF
these are in Eogllsh and are utterly
useless; the rest, In Spanish, have even
less effect than circulars At home.
Would any manufacturer OF mining !
machinery send as agent to Cripple |
Creek, for instance, some Russian emil |
grant, whatever his tuency in his own |
tongue, who IL ignorant OF English?
Yet American agents. and principals,
too, come to Mexico from the United
States, knowing as little Spanish as
Ssnscris. Good takers these, around
home, no doub,: but once across the
Rio Grande, the alert, keen, quick
witted American Is stricken dumb and
He readily surns his
American dollars into Mexican pesos,
but he cannot turn bis English into
Spanish. He goes through the land !
envyinR the graduate Of the institute
for the deaf. He may do some bust
ness-money and goods talk-but
money and goods, be their merit ever
30 great, nowadays Feed the advocacy
OF a ready tongue. Be It known that
In the ever qu.ckenipg competition In
Mexican markets, circulars won't do,
nor letters, nor the friendly Offices Of
consuls. Mexican trade must be talk
ed for, and it must be t.lked for in
Spanish.
The influence of language on trade
Is we'll understood in America; nowhere
else is IL SO powerfully exercised.
Talking business IL our national gilt:
surely this gift should not forsake Us
1t our southern border. Ignorance Of
Spanish bars the way to Intercourse
with nearly half the people Of our con
s!nent. Knowledge of Spanish takes
Town that bar and leaves the field clear
10 A mericsn trade.
81 would have Spanish 9 part Of the
education OF every young American. 1
would have 1t take the place in our
schools aud colleges now given to :
French. And it's study should be q
natter OF business: otherwise, there ,
will be as little success with it as has
schools of other foreign languages,
aught as mere accomplishments. Ia
sit is my observation that Americana 6
,ave not the lingual faculty. A Ger !
nan or Frenchman will pick up more
spanish in q month than an American
will In year. have met countrymen
" mine who have lived most OF their
Ives here Without acquiring It: but l
rave never come across q foreigner ,
not.ld ah In
Within . fortnight. Spanish, however,
8 . beautiful language, musical and ,
,asy to learn. Its construction Ia |.
imple, and, what is of no small mo- :
nent to the student. IL is pronounced :
precisely as written. An hour a day .
or elk months should give fair CON- :
nand Of 1, to any young person Of
han Is needed for learning shorthand,
md the day is not distant-in fact, !
,elieve IL Is almost at hand-when r
here will be more demand and better =
wages for the young man or woman
vho can read. write and speak Spanish
han there will be for stenoRraphers.
"The astute statesmen now directing
he affairs Of Mexico are alive to the
m por lance Of the topic herein treated.
they have to deal with people who love ..
heir language and are tenacious of =
ustom, yet, seeing Its importance to
he nations com merce, they have in Q
reduced the study OF EnRlish into 7
heir schools, and English is displscinR
french as the fashionable language -
he capital. Mexico realizes that Eng
Ish and Spanish are the languages of
america. Let the United States do
Ikewise."
Republican primaries 1t 7:30 tonight !
instead OF 8 p m.