The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-30

can products OlVen the laSC two anu
 a proper understanding of your neigh
 bors and there is no reason on earth why the United States should not get
 the bulk of the South American busi-
 ness"
 SENTIMENT IS CHANGED Sentiment toward the United States
 has undergone a complete change in
 the last few years according to Mr.
 Rosenfeld who in speaking of that
 phase of the relations of the two
 Americas. said:
 Five years ago when America went into Vera Cruz there was very general fear of the United States in South America. They were afraid of our iir- perialistic policy and I believe that if
 an American army had gone into Mex
 ico, the A., B. C. countries, that is Argentine, Brazil and Chile. would have sent armies up to help Mexico.
 That is all changed now. Many of Us have condemned President Wilson's Mexican policy, but it has made all CT South America our friends. The United States is now the most popular na- ton with South Americans. They have
 come to realize that we are not after more territory, but mean what we say | when we tell them that we are their I friends and desire only to see them ! happy and successful
 Tn the eight years that l have been
  revolution in the sugar cane industry. When I went there they were growing | the same cane that grows in Louisiana. {, but it was fast deteriorating. At the | Tucuman station we made many ex- periments, importing cane from Java and other countries and improving | these until not a stalk is now grown | of the cane that formerly was raised 1 there. The experiment station is mod l eled after similar institutions in this ] country.
 ! We have organized an American | chamber of commerce at Tucuman which will affiliate with the chamber
 of commerce of the United States and | will cooperate with local chambers l in the different cities of the United States Only hfgh-class American ] business men, whose loyalty to their | own country is unquestioned, will be ! admitted to membership in the cham ] ber Our object is to cultivate a closer relation both socially and commercial | ly between the United States and South l America
 1 When I went to Argentine there was not an American bank in that l country, and no American commercial body. The American Commercial club was organized few years ago, but it | is principally a social organization where business men go for lunch. There are now two American banks, branches of the National City bank of New York and the First National bank of Boston, and they are doing a good business.
 BANKING IS FIRST ESSENTIAL $.Banking is one of the most essen tial features in building up trade with South America. They are accus- toned to buying on long credit and without banks to handle our business for us we can Go very little. In the past when a sale was being negotiated by an American the local bank had to bbe consulted and as all of these inst.- tutions prior to the opening of the National City and First National were either English. French or German, the deal was tipped off to the agents of | the English. French or German trade representa- lives immediately the Amer | ican left the bank, with the result that the contract went to one of the other cS~ntries.
 South Americans not only demanded | long credit and terms that had been given them by European countries, but they look upon American machinery as being cheap, not only in price, but | in material and construction. Railway engines of English make are now in use that were put into service 30 years ago, whereas the American built en- zine is not made to last more than !! 10 or 12 years. America is constantly l improving her machinery and for that | reason it is expected to give way in l a few years to better and more eco- nomical and better patterns. On the 1 contrary, the English make few inn l provements and therefore build with 1 the view of permanence, or at least 1 long life. They make machines to | last 50 years.
 Shipping is another essential without
 which we cannot hope to compete with ! pfy-n Apnnr iNon Cao oar1
 are paid higher wages than the seamen | of any other nation, and under our Jaws only American citizens may become sea-
 men on American vessels. If we have to pay higher wages to the men who build ] the ships and then to the men who sail them we must of necessity charge a higher freight rate, and that will make l it impossible for us to cut in to any great extent in foreign trade. l Another thing that has worked against us is the fact that the salesmen sent to
 South America from the states will not learn the language of the South Ameri- | cans. When a salesman has been there l two or three years and is unable to speak their language they will not trade with him. They say he is not sufficiently in terested in them to learn their language and they will have nothing to do with | him. The Germans and the French sent l men there to study the people, their cus- toms and their needs. and to learn their 1 language. They got the business. The , English, like the Americans, would not