The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-12-26

4 y been trying. somewhat fit
fully, to increase our trade
with South America. the figures show
that little success has been achieveu'
The 60, ,O00. 900 people on this hemisphere
south of us import annually about $780,
900. 900 worth OF merchandise and OF this
the United States contributes only
tenth. while of their nearly $SoOoo.Oo0
worth of annual exports we take nearly
40 per cent In round numbers we buy
of them So worth for every dollars
worth they buy of MS.
What is wrong? This is the question
considered at length in Il recent issue
of the Protectionist by Walter j. Bal
lard. of Schenectady. \. Y. with whose
writings on economic subjects our
readers are already acquainted. His
answer is worth Guoting:
First, for the want of American
navigated freight and passenger Nes-
sells we are compelled to pay out large
sums necessary for freights each way
to foreign vessels, mainly those or
Great Britain. Second we do not cul-
tlNulc lue tIuuc plopciis VI
We do not send down there enough OF
our smart Yankee statesmen. and eN-
cept in rare instances the men we DO
send cannot speak their language.
Third in the packing and labelling OF
our goods we do not make them suit
able in weight and size. or sufficiently
attractive. Fourth. we do not make 1t
Il rule that all our printed and adver-
tising matter shall be in the Spanish
language, nor name the prices deliV-
cred. in their currency. Fifth we have
no bank facilities, run on our system
ana owned and managed by American
born and American trained bank
agents. sixth, so many of our mer-
chants in these prosperous times, and
with such heavy home demand, do
not realize that the day must come
when the competition engendered by
these good times will SERIOUSLY divide
that home demand, make the filling of
it more difficult and render the continu-
GUS getting of foreign business Il neces-
sity. Seventh, the European steamship
lines, which now control the transport
tation, discriminate against goods from
the United States and in favor of those
from European countries. Eighth our
capitalists are allowing foreign capital
lists, particularly German, TO absorb the
local industries and fields of oppor-
tunity For instance, in five of these
countries German capital is proiltably
invested to the extent of 1,224, 600, 900
marks (about $685., 00O in railroads,
breweries, hat and shoe factories, paper
mills, coach factories, soap and candle
factories, foundries. machine shops,
etc, with we'll organized German banks
to take care of the financial ends of the
business. Ninth. we have only Il sprink-
ling of resident sales agents of Ameri-
can birth and training, while we should
have one in each principal city, we'll
supplied with samples, who would keep
the pot boiling between the periodical
visits of the smart Yankee special sales
agent before referred TO, Tenth ana
last, we should realize that all good
things, like foreign trade, by which We
get gold for our marvellous and appar-
entity ineXhauStible God-giyen natural
resources, and also for the labor spent
in manufacturing those resources, as
well as for the interest on the invest
ment and the profit properly due the
capitalists and the manufacturers, cam
not be permanently secured for con-
tinuous benefit unless we are up and
doing, using all that fertility of expedi-
ent and dominating energy which has
made us what we are. the most ac-
lively progressive commercial nation
the world has ever known"
OF these reasons the most formidable