The Washington times., 1914-10-12
TRADE OPPORTUNITIES.

Uncle Sans unique daily news
paper, the Daily Concular and Trade
Reports, was never more absorbing.
ly interesting than right now. 1t is
day-by-day guide to opportunity
/ in the field of foreign commerce;
and the careful study of its con.
tents ought to be of great assistance
to every manufacturer or exporter
with thoughts of entering the for
eign fields.
The issue of today, for instance, is
devoted to changes in trade condi-
tions in Venezuela as result of the
war. The dreary-looking taDulaticns
of commercial facts are in fact full
of suggestion about the field which
Venezuela offers just now for Amer
ican business. 1t happens that this
big and potentially rich country on
the northern margin Of South Amer
lea has been cultivated with much
care by the Germans, and the facts
cf its foreign trade indicate how we'll
the Germans have succeeded. They
are out Of the business now; their
chief rivals have been the United
States and Great Britain; and Brit
ain is ct least greatly embarrassed
by the war. The chance for our own
country is obvious.
Even in agricultural implements,
Venezuela bought more from Ger
many last year than from the United
States, though this country was a
good second. In ammunition, oddly
enough, Americans held 2 long lead
over both Germans and British.
These two items suggest that there
has been something illogical about
the distribution of this trade. Nat
urally enough, the United States
held the -four trade Of Venezuela; :;
but quite illogically again, Germany
sold practically all the rice Venez-
uela bought.
Again, take copper, of which Ger
many gets almost all its supplies
from US. We find hat Germany
sold twice as much copper TO Venez-
uela as both the Unite.l States and
Great Britain did. That is utterly
inexcusable; but it is no more ecccn-
tric than that Venezuela bought
nearly three times as much Of drugs
and medicines from US as from Ger
many, though we think Of Germany
as the drug and chemical keadnuar-
ters Of the world In the item of
chemical products, too, this country
led Germany.
Who will find reasonable exrla-
nation of the fact that Germany sold
more butter to Venezuela than we
did. The grand total was rot large;
but Germany supplied five pounds to
every four that was bought from the
United States,
Of firearms, somewhat Of a Ger
man speciality just now, the United
States sold almost five times as
r1uch to the Venezuelans as did the
Germans, Of iron, unmanufactured,
Germany sold just about as much
as the United States and Great Brit
ain together; Of cutlery, Germany
supplied three times as much rs the
other two countries taken together.
That is about what might have been
expected; but when the item Of tools
is reached, the unexpected turns up
again: the United tSateS has almost
twice as much business as Germany
and Britain together.
1t should be easy to guess what
country sold most leather to Ven
ezuela. 1t should be the United
States, of course, because of it's great
leather-producing industries. None
theless, Germany had strong lead
over US in 1913, though in 1912 we
had led. Germany had most cf the
trade in beer and wines, while Brit
ain almost monopolized that in spir-
it's. The United States was almost
cut of these lines.
This enumeration OF some impoft-
ant items indicates apparently that
trade lines in this one country at
least have not been laid down logic