The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-12
MR. FINLEY WRITES ON
 ATlN-AMERICAN TRADE

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 Referring to my letter of December IA, 1908, to editors of southern newspapers, on the interest of the south in the expan- sion of our export trade with the Latin American countries, I take the liberty of addressing you on the great importance of direct and regular steamship commun- ication between the South Atlantic and gulf ports and those countries.
 It is obvious of course, that if the products of the southern states are to be sold in Mexico, Central and South Amer ica, and the West India islands. they must be carried to those countries. Mexico Is the only one with which we have rail communication, and to a great part of that country, especially from our terri tory south of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi, traffic can be moved efficiently by water as we'll 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 ports. New York Is the only port on our Atlantic coast from which there are regu- lar steamship sailings to ports south of Venezuela. There are four regular steam CTS per month from New York to Bra- gil; seven to the River Plata, and three or four to the west coast, making a total of r or IS. From European ports there are 14 to Brazil, IS to the River Plata, and three to the west coast, or total of 35. 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 su- perior passenger accommodations.
 From our South Atlantic and gulf ports there is occasional communication by tramp steamers with ports south of ven- ezuela, but as 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, considerable 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 Atlantic to Europe, and across the Atlantic again to South America. For instance, in re- 
 Special Agent Lincoln Hutchinson, pub lished by the bureau of manufacturers, 1t is stated that at least 50 per cent of the American hams sold in Brazil are shipped by way of England, and considerable pro- portions of other kinds of traffic move by the same route.
 1t Is sometimes argued that If our merchants and manufacturers would de- vote sufficient attention to cultivating Latin-American trade and would. develop a sufficient volume of traffic. there would be no difficulty about securing adequate transportation facilities. To a certain ex- tent this is true There are large num- bers of so-called tramp steamers con- stantly looking for traffic wherever 1t is to be found and any shipper in any Amer ican port, who had full cargo for South America, would doubtless have little diff ficulty in finding a ship to carry it. The difficulty is that our merchants and man. ufacturers, in their efforts to build up trade with the Latin-American countries, come into competition with European rivals who are generally served by regu- lar lines of steamers receiving aid, either in the form of subsidies or of liberal pay ment for carrying the mails, from the