Evening star., 1914-10-04

WAR

English-owned railway company told
me IN Buenos Aires that he wouldn't
think of buying even Q coupling pin
without the London ONCE calling for
the tenders
American locomotives have never
made much headway in Argentina
largely because OF the British habit
Of buying only in British markets.
when possible. The broad-gauge lines
and the type OF compound engine pre-
ferred by British railway managers
are usually given as the reason why
American locomotives are not wanted.
But the real reason is that the British
railway manager Is not only preouoiced
in favor of his own make OF locomo-
tive, but he also knows that his Lon
don Office and his London bank expect
him to buy the locomotives In Eng
land.
Argentina is an illustration Of Eng
lish purchaser from English miiis.
which can be duplicated in any other
quarter Of the world where there arc
large British investments
psychological element In britisn
foreign trade is also to be consioereo-
With a century behind them pract-
cally free from competition, brftisn
manufacturers and British Arms. until
lately, had come to believe that the
markets Of the world were theirs oy
some inherent right. 1t had got 10
kets of South America and OF the ori-
ent as Just naturally belonging to the
United Kingdom. and this unconscious
and entirely sincere assumption lor
long time helped to maintain their
supremacy in foreign markets. When
the systematic German competition pc
gan little was thought OF IT. But afeer
a decade it began to be felt, ana as ~
grew stronger much OF the bitterness
of national trade rivalry developed.
Germany, in the neutral MARKERS
of the world. has not actually .ake,
much old business from England, out
Call
business, and the British manufaceur-
or and the British merchant have re
sented this because they felt that tne
new as well as the old oeionseo "
them. ,.,
competition has been different II mas
been that of grieved surprise ratner
than of resentment. Until very recene
ly considered the United States as
competitor for foreign business.
After the Russo-Japanese war. wnen
the British firms in the orient toune
that Americans were in earnest ABOUT
the trade of that part OF the word, tne
British merchants frankly explained
their inability to understand tnis
earnestness. notwithstanding their al
lance with Japan they fully sympa-
thized with the American objection TO
Japan, closing the open door TO man
churia. But that was because they. too'
were hit. A.
In the South American market the
British manufacturers were SO strongly
intrenched that they looked on any
thing like a Yankee invasion as mere
temporary diversion of our domestic
trade activities. They assumed thae
the spasm would soon be over except IN
special lines Of manufactures. sucn as
agricultural machinery, where their IN.
ability to compete with the united
States was frankly confessed.
When American mills went down TO
Argentine and got big steel ran con,
railways they began to take the situa-
tion more seriously. The United states
Steel Corporation with its perfected
foreign trade organization had entered
the South American field and opened
the way for smaller concerns
Then the British firms which pre-
viously had been willing to handie
nothing but British goods began TO
look up agencies for American COM
panies Some of them sent their rep
resentatives to New York to establish
headquarters and be in touch with
American mills.
This is about the most significant de-
velopment in South American trade
that has taken place in recent years,
and with the dislocation of the iron
and steel industry resulting from the
war it is reasonably certain that Brit
ish markets for iron and steel products
in South America will feel American
competition more keenly In the future
than in the past.
The textile market presents dtffer-
ent proposition. England's practical
monopoly of cotton goods in the orient
and in South America is not in any
way due to British investments. It Is
simply a question of international trade
conditions.
The oriental market for cotton fab
RIGS is now vexed problem to ali
countries. The South American market
is less so. Peru has cotton factories
of her own which largely meet the
domestic demand. Brazil's cotton mills
are also partially meeting the Brazilian