Evening star., 1901-02-02
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Account Of an Interesting Journey Down the
mus Of Panama eA to the Straits Of Magellan
By William Eleroy Curtis. author of The
s. Stone Z eompany Cor an ETC. on'eas'' n@''e''
For several years there has been no more
| widely recognized authority upon matters
pertaining to the regions south Of the
United States than Mr.. VIM. E. Curtis, now
Washington correspondent of the Chicago
Record and formerly in charge Of the bu-
| reau Of American republics. He has
studied the condition of these lands at
first hand and from every available source
| indirectly, and his voyage in 1899, of which
the present volume Is a record, i5 only the
latest Of a series of expeditions which have
resulted in the issue Of a small but ex-
| haustive library of South and Central
Americana, Of great use to the student and
to the commercial explorer. Between the
Andes and the Ocean" exactly describes the
| scope of the 80 visitation which was con-
| fined to the narrow territory stretching
from the peaks Of the great backbone
| ranges to the tide, waters, a region rich in
| resources, In tradition and in present-day
possibilities for development.
| Mr.. Curtis always travels with the keen
eye OF the Journalist for the broad effects,
| as we'll as for the details. He narrates just
| enough of the circumstantial facts of his
| voyaging to enable the reader to appreciate
the conditions of travel and the character
| of the people. In this book the effect Is
produced of panorama which unrolls
| geographically, as the expedition progresses
| southwark, and thus the various govern
ments and peoples are brought into con-
| trast in an instructive manner. Enjoying
| a wide personal acquaintance both with
| the foreign colonists in all of the larger
cities of this territory and with the higher
officials ofthe governments, Mr.. Curtis was
enabled on this as on his previous trips to
! penetrate deeply into affairs and to reach
| places more or less inaccessible to the or
binary tourist. and his long familiarity with
| the general subject permits him to yield
! consideration for the racial limitations of
! the people Of whom he treats and for the
peculiarities of their governments.
| Throughout his book there sounds an ap-
| peal for greater degree of commercial ac-
| tivity in this southland on the part of North
| Americans. Mr.. Curtis everywhere finds
| the United States much lower in the list of
! countries selling goods to South America
| than 1t should be. He finds even Great
| Britain losing her former leadership, Ger
! many forging ahead by steady advances.
| He notes the fact that there are not enough
| facilities for the transportation of goods
| direct from the North American farm or
workshop mill to the South American
| port. He deplores the lack of appreciation
| on the part of North American commercial
| travellers of the peculiar customs of the
| South American people, and points to the
| tact with which German advance agents
have won the market. One section of the
| text on this point relating to conditions in
Ecuador covers the entire proposition of
| the lack of adjustment between our COM
| mercial methods and. the South American
market Says Mr.. Curtis .-...
German commercial travellers able to
sell more goods in South America than
| those Of any other country because they
| have larger stock of patience and under
| stand the character of the people with
whom they have to deal When an English
| or an American drummer reaches a town
| he goes around among the retail dealers
| toll fay ,n1i-
| ments, inquiries after their families and
mutual friends, and discusses other sub
| jects of similar interest for a few mo-
I mentS. Then he asks If they want any
! goods in his line, and unless they happen
| to be out of some staple for which there is
| an active demand they reply in the mega
| tive. He offers to show his samples and
| invites them to call upon him at the hotel
| or the club where he makes his headquar-
ters. Then he goes on to the next stop,
| where the scene IS repeated, and he may
| take several limited orders.
when a German drummer comes to town
| he wanders into a retail establishment in
an Indifferent manner pokeS over the goods,
| inquiries where they got this and what they
| paid for that, and If there are no custom
ers to be served he offers the merchant
cigar and sits down for a sociabe chat,
which usually ends with an invitation to
| lunch dine at the club, where he ar
| ranges an attractive spread and provides
a copious supply Of good wines. which Is
! returned by an invitation to dine at the
| 1ueTCHanl mouse. NOT a WOrQ Is SAID ABOUT
! business at either place 1t is merely a
| friendly exchange of hospitality, which a
| perfect knowledge of the Spanish language
| enables the German drummer to make the
| most Of Not only one merchant, but all
| the tradesmen whose business is profitable
are cultivated in this way, and they meet
| the diplomatic drummer in the presence of
| each other at the club rooms and residences
| of each other without the slightest re-
| strant.
Sooner later the curiosity Of the mer-
| chant impels him to ask the drummers
| business, and is told that he Is selling a
certain line of goods which are probably
Of no particular interest to him. This
! stimulates curiosity without satisfying it,
and by his own violition, without any urg-
| ing or even invitation from the drummer,
within few days he IS examining the
samples and giving large orders for goods.
Meantime the drummer maintains out
ward Indifference, but puts the merchant
under obligations to him by social atten-
tions and appropriate presents to the MEM
| bers Of his family They are friends and
cronies rather than salesman and customer
| and when the drummer leaves town every
merchant Of Importance will accompany
him to the steamer and toast his health
| and happiness and his early return with
| bottle of champagne
"1n several long journeys In South Amer
| lea 1 have always noticed that when a
German commercial traveller comes aboard
| a departing steamer he is invariably ac-
| companed by a group Of friends. but En-
| glish American drummers never have
anyone to see them off except their fellow
countrymen."
Mr.. Curtis book, however. is by no
| menas devoted to the commercial aspect
of this strip between the Andes and the
ocean," 1t treats Of the social customs of
the people, the forms of government. the
relations of church and state, the antiqul-
| ties, the traditions, the pecuiarities of soil
and a multitude Of interesting topics. 1t
reveals, through it's occasional references,
| the wealth Of romance and scientific In
| formation which may be extracted from
| the history of the early residents, the alb
| original Indians and the Incas In sharp
| contrast with these suggestions Of the past.
| which crowd together in Bolivia, Mr.. Cur
| tis narrates the signs of a progressive
! spirit next door in Chile, where the people
more nearly resemble those Of the United
| States than any others in western South
| America. Indeed, in some respects the
| Chileanos are more progressive than we,
| for they employ women as street car con-
| ductors with great success and telephone
| the music OF the opera to home-bound
| lo1 ers Of the art.
| The volume which is freely illustrated,
affords clear conception of this long
| stretch Of country as 1t exists today, and
indicates how readily it lies at the hand Of