The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1907-03-12
SOME TRADE FACTS.
Proportion of South American Com
merce Held by United States.
While Trade with Countries on Car
tbbean Sea LIS Fairly Satisfactory
That with Countries Farther
south Is Very Poor Indeed.

The recent departure from Wash
ington of the special train carrying
the United States and numerous
other delegates to the approaching
Pan-American conference to be held
at the City of Mexico lends especial
interest to some figures on the com
merce of the United States with the
territory at the south, which the
treasury bureau of statistics has com
piled for the convenience of the
United States members of that con
gress. The Importance of develop
ment of our commerce in this partic-
ular direction is pointed out by this
publication, which shows that our
exports have shown less growth to
the countries of Central and South
America than to any other parts OF
the world
THE commerce of the United
States with the American countries
lying south of her borders" says
the opening page of this discussion
''has long been an object of solicitude
to her statesmen. economists and
business men. With the English.
speaking people of American terri.
tory lying upon the north her com.
mercial relations have rapidly grown
and proven mutually satisfactory
With those of another language, oc.
cupying the contiguous territory al
the south, the growth has been slow.
err and less satisfactory, and as the
distance increases the growth de.
creases. To British North Americs
the United States supplies SO per cent
of the total imports for consumption;
to Mexico, equally adjacent, bu,
speaking another language than ouI
own, 40 per cent; to the Contra.
American states, next removed by
distance, though readily reached by
water and now being tapped by rail
ways, 35 per cent; to Colombia, q
trifle father removed, but equally ac
cessible by direct water communica
ton, 33 per cent; to Venezuela
equally accessible, 27 per cent; &c
the West Indies, which lie in close
proximity, but which have been uI
to the present time controlled by
commercial nations whose policy il
many cases has been to retain theiI
commerce for their own people, q
/
| ly reached by water, rs per cent. O:
the imports of British Guiana, l.
per cent. of those of Dutch Guiana
and but less than per cent. Of those
| of French Guiana.
up to this point the study of the
growth of commerce between the
United States and other American
countries is fairly satisfactory Be.
ginning with SO per cent. of the i'm,
port trade of Canada, 40 per cent
of that of Mexico, and ranging down.
ward along the Gulf of Mexico anc
Caribbean sea, fairly satisfactory
share of the commerce of those coun.
tries is enjoyed by the people of the
United States; though it will be con.
coded that her people have right
to expect larger share of the com.
merce of the countries lying so neal
at hand, especially in view of the fact
that our purchases from them are
much larger than our sales to them
Even this somewhat unsatisfactory
condition of trade with the countries
bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean sea is, however
gratifying when compared with the
traffic relations of the United States
with the countries of South America
bordering upon the Atlantic and Pa.
cific oceans. OF the total imports OF
all South America, 81 per cent. is
taken by the countries bordering
upon the two oceans, and but 10 pei
cent. by those upon the Caribbean
On the eastern coast of South Amer
lea we find Brazil importing in 1879!
goods to the value of over sos 100000
of which the United States supplied
about 10 per cent; Uruguay and Par
aguay, $26,O00,000, of which our share
was less than z per cent; and Ar
gentine, $112,OO0,OO0, of which about
10 per cent. was from the United
States; while a tour of the Pacifi,
coast shows imports into Chill of S3S,
100000, Peru Ss,50O,000, Bolivia Sill,
100000 and Ecuador $1,000, 900; tn,
proportion from the United State.
averaging about 10 per cent. Thu,
the northern coast of South America
fronting on the Caribbean sea, i'm
ports goods to the value of SEE, 900,
900, of which we supply an average o
rs per cent; the eastern coast, front
ing upon the Atlantic, $275, 000, ooC
and the Pacific coast, $6o,Oo0,0OO o
which our proportion is in each cas-
about 10 per cent