Evening star., 1916-11-18
MR.. PETERS TELLS
OF TRADE NEEDS
Assistant Secretary of Treas
ury Addresses City Club
of Boston.

BOSTON, Mass. November is-A
j. Peters, assistant secretary or the
Treasury delivered address before
the Boston City club. Thursday night,
on THE Importance of Our South
American Trade" in which he told OF
his personal observations in southern
countries in connection with trade in
vcstigations and specified some things
which manufacturers OF the United
States must do if they wish TO compete
with England and other countries 1of
the business in the far south.
Mr.. Peters pointed out that the United
States must have increased shipping
facilities one OF the most important
aids to the growth of the new COM
merce. saying that the exporter from
the United States has often found 1t
cheaper to ship his goods to South
America by way of Southampton than
to send direct from Boston or New
York.
Latin West Indies.
He said. in part:
THE vast continent of South Amer
lea and the by no means inconslderabie
territory of Central America-nor
ought We TO forget the Latin West In
dies-offer an inviting market for the
widest possible variety of our products
and indeed for products Of which we
have yet produced no respectable guam
tity for purposes of export The chief
demand in all the La1in countries rs
for what we may call median products,
that Is to say. for those things that are
directly necessary for the protection of
native raw materials. Thus everything
that enters into the development OF
railways and transportation facilities
generally is an absolute necessity for
every Latin American country when
ever it sets out TO develop its resources
one stage further than that which 1t
has reached: That surely should be
significant fact for the. people of this
country. They might long ago have
taken vigorous steps to associate IN the
Latin American mind all that is new
and comprehensive in railroad eXpan-
sion and railroad facilities with Amer
lean capital and American exporters.
IF we could have to our credit the
completion of the Pan-American rail-
way. which is the great inter-American
railway connecting Argentina and the
United States with many national rail-
way systems constituting it's respective
sections. i have no doubt whatever that
we should impress the Latin American
business man with our ability to do
international things in big way and
with our reputed efficiency even more
than we have impressed him with the
canal a present the rd1I-
roads of Argentina are owned in Eng
land. and 1 noted with interest that
the locomotives there had been made
in Leeds. In Brazil 1 observed that
only a small part of the rolling
stock came from the United States.
and in Chile l noted a few specimens
from the Baldwin works. but for the
most part the rolling stock came from
England or the continent OF Europe.
AS in railroad development. so in the
industries dependent upon the produc-
tion of power; everywhere powerhouses
are being constructed in Latin America
in connection with municipal enter
prises the activities OF public serv-
ice corporations. The machinery and
equally important. the fuel have large
ly to be supplied from abroad. The
South American continent has disclosed
but little fuel except. perhaps, ArSen-
tina'S recently discovered petroleum
and the Colombian and Peruvian Oil
wells. both of which fields have not yet
reached an advanced stage of develop
ment. and certain quantity Of coal in
the southern part of Chile.