Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-27
REEVES X. JOHNSON

On South American Trade Possibilities
THE United States has great possibilities
L in its trade with South America, accord
ing to Reeves X. johnson. Consul for Chile
and one of the best informed men in the
country on conditions in the lower half OF
the Western Hemisphere.
THE World War made more than surface
changes in n lot Of things said Mr.. John
son. "and even countries like those Of South
America, which We're untouched physically.
were in some respects profoundly affected oy
it. All over South America there. is a
much greater respect than formerly for the
United States and c0rrespOndingly greater
desire on their part to obtain goods from us.
There Is an undercurrent OF respect and
admiration for the progress Of our country
in the arts and the sciences which did not
exist before the war
The Matter OF Exchange
For years South America has held as a
club over the heads of the American manu-
facturer and exporter the question of ex-
change and the matter of German competi-
ton, and naturally as keen buyers, which
they are, they wanted to keep down the
prices Of the goods they bought. The war
has had n pronounced effect on this also, and
now there is a much more keen desire to
have American made goods than there for
merly was.
Formerly, prices and quality being equal.
the South American countries would buy Of
Europe by preference. but this is no longer
the case. The people in those countries
goods as the last word in quality and they
now expect and are willing to pay the
higher prices which the materials and the
wo, ,kmanship in those goods make necessary.
There are almost unlimited possibilities
in the South American market for the man
ufacturers and the exporters Of our own
country. The point and the manner Of
contact Is now the thing which is most i'm
portant There should be a meeting Of
minds in connection with what both want
For long time 1t was said that the
American manufacturer would not give the
South American purchasers what they
wanted in goods especially as to styles and
that was the chief reason why the bulk Of
the trade went to Europe when We were
perfectly able to compete with any country
in the world for it. Some concessions must
he made on both sides we mus. be more
.enient in our terms and they must be more
tolerant of our methods. If TINS can be
accomplished there Is no doubt that in a
few years we shall have the bulk Of this
great trade.
Our Geographical Advantage
1--WE have also decided geographical
advantage over Europe We have con =
siderably shorte- haul. we are ger;lns faster
boats and more Of them, so thar we shall
soon have a large excess tonnage which VIII
insure low freight rates from the Unit eL
States for many years to come.
but in this connection there is one
matter which must be taken into corsldern =
| ton. and that is that our shipping laws
| make the cost Of shipping operations more
| expensive from here than from Europe. We
! must therefore provide for this in some
| other way. The difference against us in the
costs Of operation is SO great thar our
| shorter haul does not compensate 70? IT,
Il am not an expert on shipping, sbut Il
seems to me thnt our shipping law! shout
| be modified, If that be ut all possible. to
| permit our yess' = TO compete witt those O
| EuroDean countries on an equal footing
| Some action looking to this end must Ger :
| tainly be taken If our merchant marine II
| to continue to develop, for as long a' we NJ,
| undersOld on transportation costs the
American manufacturer will have difficulty in
developing and holding his South Americ,lI
| market, as of course these costs must b,
paid by the ultimate consumer.
Must Know Their Languages
."The matter of language is another thins
| of the first Importance. The most success,
! ful OF the firms doing business in Soutl
| America and for that matter, in any .,,ha
country, make the business deals in tn,
Language Of the nation which Is doing IN
buying. The United States, In its relation
to the South American countries, has, there
fore, reached the point where we are obi;
gated to study their languages, customs and
tastE and to anticipate what they want 1,
tha 3ay Of COMMERCIAL goods,
'By this ! aapsn that when n tpepixl- a