New Britain herald., 1916-11-20
WAS GOOD ADV.
 BUT FOR ONE LINE
That Spoiled It and Laugh Was on Americans

(Correspondence of the Associated Press
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 31.-- ! American business men here who re. gently formed a strong Chamber o1
 Commerce for the purpose of de-
 veloping the large share of the trade
 which the war in Europe has thrown , from their old continent rivals into
 their hands, were chagrined at the
 appearance of a large advertisement
 in one of the principal journals of
 this city few days ago which caused
 much merriment in the commercial
 circles of their English, French, Ger
 man, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch
 rivals.
 The advertisement was a large dis
 play telling in detail of the merits
 of a well-known make of American
 automobile. It was set forth in cor rect Portuguese, the language of the country, and would have been a good
 trade-puller but for the last line
 which read: Agent for Brazil, MT. A..
 Blank, Quito, Ecuador
 Long Way Round.
 On the maps the straight-line dis . tance between Rio de JanierO and { Quito has not much more than the appearance of 8 good broad jump; on the trade routes over which let ter must journey between these two h points the distance is approximate ly 5000 miles each way. Calculating on reasonably close rail and steam ship connections, four months would elapse between the time the. prospec- } tive Brazilian buyer posted and re- ceived reply for an order or inquiry European competitors with agents and displays on the spot would enjoy most obvious advantage
 Distances in South America are great and are seldom realized by the North American, who is much more used to vast stretches than Is his European rival. In the case of the letter cited above, 1t would have to go from Rio de Janiero to New York by steamer, 8 distance of 4,770 miles, thence 1872 miles southward to Colon, fifty miles across the Canal Zone, 835 miles down the west coast of South America to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and finally 210 miles inland to the high plateau city of Quito. The return trip would be over the same route, for mails are not carried southward to Buenos Aires and over the Andes for this part or the COILllSIII, eduO, cNOI II Ithey were, the distances still would be so great as to make the American Automobile advertisers proposition Ridiculous. a'1
 Foreigners will Fight. lx
 There are evidences everywhere here that the English, German, Span- ish, French and Portuguese merchants mean to fight hard to dispute the lead recently acquired by the North American in the field of Brazilian trade. For some years prior to the war the United States occupied third position as supplier of merchandise to the Brazilians. During the first year of the conflict the northern republic crept to second place and at the ter imitation of the second year it had a good lead which it has since main tained. When trade conditions are s~a-esta blished, competition will be skeener and establishing agencies in the plateau region of the Andes for sale of commodities in Rio de Jan1ero, which is as if an English firm would advertise the sale of a commodity In g New York paper and refer 1n- |, quiries to it's agency in Sitka, Alaska will not help American exporters to- maintain supremacy.
 N. All Against Us.
 To break the hold which the United States has slowly acquired and to re- establish pre-War conditions of su- premacy, will be the inf1exible aim of the English, French and German merchants. No influence, however subtle, is being overlooked to sway the Brazilian government and people, Wrong interpretations of the Monroe Doctrine, willfully misleading articles which appear frequently in the press as to the attitude of the United States and it's people on the European war, and other tactics of like nature are part of the cunning campaign to dig credit the northern trader.
 The more open campaign consists in. the strengthening of the position of supremacy long held by the Euro pean nations in the matter of trans portation, communication and bank Ing facilities. Here, with the excep- t1on of the last named, the American trader is badly handicapped, with lit tie hope of relief in sight.