South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-14
LATIN-AMERICAN
TRADE PROBABLE
Visit of South American Bus
mess Men Helps to Pave
the Way.
2y Victor Elliott.

WASHINGTON. July 14-If the
prOgnOstications Of the h~alf-score Of
prominent Latin-American business
men who took the recent flying tour
TO eight OF the largest American man
ufacturing cities. comes true and if the
assurances given them by several hum
dred American commercial men ar
III at fruition. the opening wedge
has been given for the entry OF North
American into South American trade.
The Pan-American financial con-
gress In Washington which preceded
the trip did a great deal toward max
ing sue a elimination possible. But
those who participated in visits made
by the South and Central Americans to
Baltimore. Pittsburgh, st. Louis, Chi
cagO. Detroit. Buffalo, Schenectady
And Bos on believe hat the real work
OF preparing the South and Central
American commercial fields for bear
ing a crop OF business for the gamers
OF the United tSates was done dur
ing that period.
Before the gathering Of the congress
II is declared that the citizens Of Latin
America knew but three kinds of
Americans. The first class were the
un-reconstructed Of the c~Onfederacy
many OF whom Dol up their residence
in tropical countries rather than re-
main in the republic OF ~pOst-bellum
days. The second class were the
beach-colnbing and often none too
honorable scraps OF American citi-
ZeDry who litter the water fronts Of
South America from Callao TO Terra
de Fuego. The third class, were the
shrewd and tricky Yankees not above
taking commercial advantage OF trade
clients.
Became Better Acquainted.
At the conference IN Washington,
he Spanish-American visitors be-
came better acquainted with a fourth
class-bona fide American business
men OF high standing.
But no sooner had the trip through
the American eastern cities gotten
into full swing than the South Ameri-
cans themselves began TO realize that
they were becoming acquainted with a
class Of business men hey had not
encountered before-the clean mer-
chant OF the American market who
will not stoop to do a dirty trick and
yet who has not climbed high enough
to be classed in the ranks of those
who attended the conference at Wash
ington.
These American business men who
received the Spanish-American visit
ors in the different cities tool them
into their homes and into their clubs.
They wined and dined them. They
showed them the finest personal hos
pitaiity which has ever been offered
to a large group Of visitors on a tour
of inspection. And when the trip was
over, the visitors had been given a
first hand comprehensive idea as TO
what American business methods may
be, and had received the word Of
these with whom they NAV deal in the
future that South Americans wants
will be studied by the merchants Of
the United States.
on the other hand, American bust
ness men were told by the visitors
in what this country has fall
en- short of gaining the commercial
friendships Of the southern republics,
They listened to the ~utterances OF
Senior Perez Triana Of Columbia who
was spokesman for the visitors on all
things from ~unrOmantic trade to the
wider application OF the Monroe doc
trine.
And il is because of all this that so
much is expected from the visit, even
thong il was OF necessity a flying
one-which the South American dele
gates paid TO the eastern and middle
western cities of the United States.