The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-07-19
Our Dealings with South America.

OtnefS from the United States attend
ing the pan-American congress with
information as to commercial condi-
tons affecting this country and the
South American states the department
of commerce and labor issued recently
a monograph presenting the latest
available statistics on this subject.
The work includes statistics of the
imports and exports of each American
country by principal articles and the
countries from which the imports are
drawn and those to which exports are
sent.
The general fact that the United
States supplies % per cent of the i'm
ports of the American countries lying
south of her borders and takes 35 per
cent Of their exports suggests a fairly
satisfactory trade relation between this
country and her Spanish-American
neighbors. An analysis of the figures,
country by country, however, shows
some sharp contrasts in the share
which the various countries take Of
their imports from the United States
and the share Of their exports which
they send to this country.
In those countries whose ports or
consuming centers have shorter trans
portation routes to this country than
to Europe the share of their imports
drawn from the United States is larger
than from any other country. In those
countries from which the steamship
route to the United States is not ma
terially shorter than to European coun-
tries the share of the imports supplied
by the United States is small, even
though the share which she takes Of
their exports is large. In the former
group, in which the length Of trans
portation routes to the United States is
less than that to Europe, are included
Mexico, Central America, Colombia,
Venezuela, the Guianas and the West
Indian islands, and the share Of. their
imports drawn from the United States
ranges from 25 to Is per cent and av-
erages for the entire group Al per cent
In the second group, from whose ports
the: steamship routes to the United
States are not materially shorter than
those to Europe, are included Brazil,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and the
entire western coast Of South America,
and the share Of their imports which
they draw from the United States
ranges from 25 per cent downward to
31h per cent and averages for the en-
tire group IL per cent. ..
The causes of this sharp contrast in
the share of the imports drawn from
the United States by the two groups
Of countries are suggested by study
Of the map and the routes followed by
the steamships upon which the South
and Central American countries are
entirely dependent for their Transport
tation Of imports and exports. The
most easterly point Of the South Amer
lean continent, which all steamships
must pass in their routes to and from
the ports of eastern and western South
America, is much farther east than the
principal commercial ports of the Unit
ed States. The distance which
steamship must travel from that point
to New York is greater than to south
western Europe and but little less than
to the principal commercial ports of
northwestern Europe. With the large
supply of European owned steamships
running regularly between South
America and the ports Of Europe and
the comparatively small supply run
ming to and from the ports of the Unit
ed States the trade of the South Amer
lean countries naturally trends toward
European ports, and this is intensified
by the fact that much Of the trade,
finance and banking facilities of South
America are also in the hands of or
controlled by Europeans o.~
The fact that Brazil sends direct to
the United States over 9OQO0O,OOO
pounds Of coffee and $4,000 600 pounds
Of india rubber annually, that Argen-
tina sends. 100000 pounds Of wool
and 29,O00O0O pounds Of hides, that
Chile sends 100000 pounds Of nj
trates and that Brazil, Argentina and
the. countries of the west coast of
South America send in addition to this
over $17O00,000 worth of miscellaneous
merchandise suggests that the vessels
bringing this large quantity of mer-
chandise should offer ample facilities
for direct shipments from the United
States to those countries on the return
trip. This result however, is not real
lied since a large proportion of the
vessels bringing this merchandise from
these South American countries to the
United States take cargoes from this
country to Europe, where, after dis
charging those cargoes, they reload