Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-02-08
BUSINESS WITH
MEXICO SUFFERS
MOST SERIOUSLY
French and British COMPETE
tors Reaping HarveStS While
b, S. War Restrictions Han
diCap Our People,
BY Robert III. Murray.
(Staff Correspondent of the Albu-
querque Journal and New York
World
wright, 1919, by The Press Pu
fishing Co.
(The New York World)
Especial Cable DESPATCH, J

Especial Gable DeSpatch)
Mexico City, Feb. ATTEMPTS by
repres sntatives of American business
and manufacturing concerns to take
advantage of the inviting trade OPP
portunities in Mexico are being SER
iously hampered and almost made
impossible it is said, by the restric-
tions imposed by the United States
authorities.
Complaint is made that the United
States government, instead of assist
ing in placing American goods in this
market on an equality with British
and French products, is pursuing
course which imposes upon American
wares an almost insurmountable ham
dicap Chiefly these complaints are
based on the fact that export restric-
tons which were made necessary
during the war have been relaxed
only slightly, if at all. despite the ad-
vent of peace; that prohibitions i'm
posed by the existence of the enemy
trading list are still adhered to; that
ineXcusable delays are experienced by
manufacturers and jobbers in obtain
ing permits to ship their goods into
Mexico
Hurt BY Enemy Trading List.
Also that travelling statesmen are
sometimes required to wait month
or longer before being able to obtain
passports, and that owing to the con-
tinuance of the mail censorship 1t is
almost impossible to send important
business letters to the United States
and obtain replies in less than a
month But the United States trade
interests are suffering more from the
necessity imposed on American bus
ness men, not to traffic with firms or
individuals whose names are on the
enemy trading list.
Through reluctance to embarrass
the United States government H.
handling the after-war problems the
American Chamber of Commerce thus
far has refrained from entering any
protest against the conditions which,
il is declared, are injurious to our
trade, but it is asserted that if the
question were put to a vote the cham
Der would pronounce almost unani-
mously in favor of abolishing the
enemy trading-list Immediately and
the removal of all restrictions upon
the expansion of American trade in
terests.
Already the United States has suf-
fered severely and unjustly because
of the resentment among Mexican
and other neutral merchants against
the operation of the enemy trading
/ list This resentment has been fam
ned, it is said, by British, French and
other trade competitors of the Unit
ed States, who, for months, indus
| triously have been creating the i'm
preston that so far as Mexico Is con-
cerned, the er envy trading list is pure
! Iy American and is not participated
in by the Allies.
1t is not generally known in MeXi-
co that the enemy trading list is
| joint affair in which the United
States, britain. France and Italy act
! in concert. SO the United States al
most alone bears the brunt OF the
criticism of those whose interests are
adversely affected by the existence of
the list
Charges are made freely by Ameri-
cans that business men of other ma
tionalities who are supposed to be mu-
| tually bound with the Americans by
| the restrictions imposed upon them
not to deal with the Germans or 9TH
| ers on the list, are covertly making
| long-term contracts with German
firms for the delivery of huge orders
of all sorts of merchandise as quickly
as the list is abrogated. This course
gives these competitors the advant-
| age of being able to hold themselves
in readiness to prepare orders for
| immediate shipment to Mexico as
soon as the list goes out of existence.
Heavy Loss Is Feared.
The Americans say that every day
the list remains in operation the loss
to American trade amounts to hun
dreds of thousands of dollars and that
the indications are that by the time
the trade bars complained of are Sc
moved the bulk of trade, excepting in
certain special limited commodities,
will be lost to the United States for
years.
1t is known that the British, espe-
cially, are making an energetic drive
for trade here and that their govern
ment is cooperating with and assist
ing them in every possible manner.
Offers have been made by big Ger
man mercantile houses here immedi-
ately to purchase several million dor
lars worth of goods in the United
States and to enter into long con-
tracts for further supplies if the
houses in the United States can be
permitted to deal with them. Similar
c1udtions inimica, to American trade
are said to exist generally throughout
Spanish America.