The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-17

Ing foreign commerce of Brazil says: "Americah cotton manufacturers are | disappearing from the Brazilian mar
 ket very rapidly. while those of Great Britain and Germany made from l American raw material, are rapidly
 increasing" This statement is borne | out by the latest statistics available, those for the nine months ended Sep | tember 30 1908, which show that we
 sold to Brazil only f,4eS,5ss yards of
 cotton goods during the nine months, ! as compared with 4,543.555 yards dur ing the corresponding months of the previous year. It would seem to be | worth while for the cotton goods man ] ufacturers of the South to make an I effort to win back some of this trade which is being captured by Great Bri-
 tain and Germany.
 The demand of the Latin-Amertcan
 markets is chiefly for manufactured goods and largely for commodities the | raw materials for which are produced I in our Southern states, and which are already being manufactured in our section. Among the articles which
 these countries import in large quanfi- | ties. and which can advantaGeousiy be produced ip the Southern States, may 1 be enumerated agricultural implements all kinds of-yehicles, locomotives. ears.
 machinery, tools. steel rails, builders I hardware stoves. cotton textiles, vege- table oils and furniture.
 While 1t Is fact that the Imports into the Latin American. countries consist almost entirely of manufac- tured articles. 1t does. not follow that | Southern manufacturers. would be the
 only ones benefited by an increase in exports from our section to those | countries. On the. contrary: the bene- ! fits would be shared by all our people. For instance, if an establishment in one of our Southern towns engaged | in the manufacture of stoves, or furni- l ture can build up an export trade to l Mexico or one of the Central or South | American countries, it means that 1t will give employment to more men who will buy more. goods from the local retail merchants and. who will give to the farmer a larger home mar ket for his products
 It is to the interest, not only of the South Atlantic and Gulf ports, but of 1 our inland communities as well, that | our Latin-Anierican trade--both tm- port and export-should flow through Southern ports. A large proportion of | the commodities which the United States imports from Latin America are consumed in the South. South eru manufacturers can supply a large proportion of the commodities which
 the Latin1American countries buy
 abroad. It would. therefore. be to 1 the advantage of all concerned if cof- | fee, nitrates, tropical fruits, mahogany
 timber, rubber, and other products of | Central and South America and the | West Indies, could be brought Into l Southern ports in ships which would | return laden with the products of Southern manufacturing establish
 ments. For this reason believe that, l fea aaAr Fn n American trade, the merchants and manufacturers, not only of our sea
 board cities but of the interior as 1 well, and Southern transportation | lines should all cooperate, as far as l practicable, In systematic efforts to guide both imports and exports
 through Southern ports.
 Increased Importance.
 In view of the present importance
 of the Latin American trade and It's future possibilities, believe that the | people of our section of the Upited I States may we'll give it Increased att | tention. The Federal government. l through the publications of the Bu- reau of Manufacturers, is constantly | giving valuable information about
 trade opportunities In the Latin American countries, the special needs l of their markets. and the best meth |
 The International Bureau of American
 Republics, to the support of which the United States Is the largest contrib , utor, is devoted exclusively to the
 work of drawing the republics of | North and South America into closer social and commercial relations. As a
 result of suggeStions made to him by | citizens of the South. Hon. John Bar | rett, Director of this Bureau. is now l contemplating a trip through the Southern States for the purpose of de- livering a series of addresses on the | general subject of trade with the countries south of the Rio Grande, with special reference to the interest
 of the south in that trade. These ad- | dresses will doubtless be of great
 practical value to our section. /
 If, however, We are to obtain the | full benefit of the work that is being
 done by the Federal government and | by the Bureau of American Republics,
 We must make practical use of the
 information which they gather and disseminate. This Is matter in which, believe, we should take an
 active interest. and I am writing to
 you on this subject because l. know | of no agency that can contribute more to the bringing about of broad and intelligent public interest in rthe de- Veiopment of this trade than can the
 press of the South