Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-07-14
A PATRIOTIC APPEAL
President Finley stthe South.
- ern Railway is Alive to
NN& Southern Interest
SOuth'S Greatest Trade Opportunity
Lies in ~Cultivating Through Her
Own Ports the Latin.
American Countries.
Washington. d. c., July s.

Washington, D. c., July s.
Editor Argus,
Goldsboro, N. c.
Dear Sir: Referring to my letter o.
December IA, 1908, to editors o.
Southern newspapers, on the Interest
of the South in the expansion of ou1
export trade with the Latin-Americar
countries, l take the liberty of ad'
dressing o on the great importance
Aof direct and regular steamship com
lmunication between the South Allan
ktic and Gulf ports and those coun-
tries.
It is obvious, of course, that if the
products of the Southern states are to
Nbe sold in Mexico, Central and South
EAmerica, INT the West India islands,
they must be carried to those coun-
tries. Mexico is the only one with
which we have rail communication,
and to a great part Of that country,
especially from our territory south of
the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east
OF the Mississippi, traffic can be
moved efficiently by water as well as
by rail. There are direct and regular
lines from some of the South Atlantic
and Gulf ports to some of the Mexican
Central American and West Indian
ports. There are no such lines to any
South American port. New York is
the only port on our Atlantic coast
from which there are regular steam
ship sailings to ports south of Vene-
zuela. There are four regular steam
ers per month from New York to Bra
gil; seven to the River Plata, and
three or four to the west coast, max
ing a total of seventeen or eighteen.
From European ports there are four
teen to Brazil; eighteen to the River
Plata, and three to the west coast, or
q total of thirty-five. The inferiority
OF the service from the United States
is even greater than is indicated by
the comparative number of sailings,
as the steamers from European ports
are generally faster and have supe-I
rior passenger accommodations.
From our Atlantic and Gulf ports
there is occasional communication by
tramp steamers with ports south of
Venezuela, but as a rule such of the
products of the Southern states as
find their way into the markets of
South America are sent through
Northern ports. In fact, a c~onsidera-
BILE proportion Of the exports from the
United States to the east coast of
South America, south of Para, Brazil,
go from New York across the Allan
tic to Europe, and across the Atlantic
again to South America. For in
stance, in a report on trade conditions
in Brazil by Special Agent Lincoln
Hutchinson, published by the Bureau
of Manufactures, it is stated that at
least so per cent. of the American
hams sold in Brazil are shipped by
way of England, and considerable
proportions of other kinds of traffic
move by the same route.
1t is sometimes argued that, if our
merchants and manufacturers would
devote sufficient attention to c%ultivat-
ing Latin-American trade, and would
develop a sufficient volume Of traffic,
there would be no difficulty about Sc
adequate transportation facil-
titles. To a certain extent this is true.
steamers constantly looking for
traffic wherever it is to be found, and
any shipper in any American port,
who bad a full cargo for South Amer
would doubtless have little diff
Guilty in finding a ship to carry it. The
difficulty is that our merchants and
manufacturers, in their efforts to
build up trade with the Latin-Ameri-
can countries, come into competition
with European rivals who are gener-
ally served by regular lines of steam
era receiving aid. either in the form of
subsidies or Of liberal payment for
carrying the mails. from the countries
whose flags they fly. Vessels from
these countries sail ON regular sched-
Jules. The South American merchant
ordering goods in Liverpool or Ham
burg by mail knows when his order
will be received, by what steamer it
will be shipped, and just when he may
it to arrive. If he sent his or
der to the United States, unless it was
from one of the comparatively few
points having regular sailings, he
could nave no idea When it would be
received by the American shipper or
when the goods would be shipped.
Therefore, while it is true that, laftera
trade has once been developed, therei
would probably be no difficulty in OBJ
tanning all the ships needed to carry
it, the difficulty of building up such
a trade is greatly increased by lack