Evening star., 1923-03-18
BY BEN McIxELWAY.

| INVESTMENTS and loans of hun
| dreds OF millions Of dollars and the
activities Of American industrialists
| who are taking part on a large scale
in big development projects in Latin
| America, outshadow to some extent
the less conspicuous but none the less
important work of class OF manu-
| facturers in this country who are
| winning out in a keen competition
| which has come with Latin Americas s
economic recovery-the makers OF
| "speeialties," who are flooding Latin
America with products made in the
| United States and by conscientious
| maintenance OF high standards. are
making a good name for themselves
and for their country.
"Specialties" are usually associated
| in the minds of the initiated with
| the geegaws and knick-knacks of the
/ country general store, but in foreign
trade the term embraces larger as
could gather in lifetime. Commo-
| ditieS in the specially" trade vary
from office supplies and moving pic
ture films to hair curriers' and guitars
| L. s. Movies Popular.
Take moving picture films. for
| instance. The movies are no more
popular anywhere than in Latin
America. and the United States pro-
/! ducers seem to have gained COM
plete corner on a growing market
The spread of American made films
| throughout every country in Latin
America has led somebody TO write
| the slogan: Trade follows the pic
lures" and the author goes ahead
1 to explain that a. demand for Amer
continued showing of American ade
| films. Senior Gonzales, with the
| sonora, 60 to movie which shows
riding in big, shining automobiles
| and living in sumptiously furnished
| houses. Senor Ganzales whispers into
senora's ear to note the suit worn
| by Reginald Belvidere, the hero, and
remarks he would like to wear one
| like it. The sonora comes back with
| a whisper that the senior should pipe
/ the pattern of that dress worn In the
| third scene by Lillion. the heroine,
like it. The same sort Of converse
l tion may be taking place in another
part Of the theater between Senior and
! Sonora Alvarez concerning the auto
mobile in which Reginald rides after y
| I4ilIion in the pursuit scene. Multlpl y
| such conversations by thousands
/ every day and you have an interest
! which is likely 10 lead up TO de-
| attractively pictured on the screen.
Theater Building Booms-
! Milliors Of feet of hlm are being
sent to Latin America every month,
and the demand is growing with the
! spread of theaters, to rural COM
munities. With the exception Of a
: few large cities, which boast theaters
as large as the best in the United
States. moving picture theaters are
: few and far between. But the Latin
/ American exhibitors use what the!,
have at hand and shows are held
i wherever a roof furnishes shelter
/ enough for a crowd. A boom in NOV
ling picture theater construction Is
!reported, however, in some countries $
The type of film preferred In Latin
! America is the old picture when
shows the wild and woody west. and
COWBOYS there are the more popular
! the picture. Slap-stick comedies. a la
(. the early attempts of Charlie Chapln
before his recognition as an artist
| "flm idols" have their share Of wor-
| shippers in Latin America.
The Story OF the Guitar.
| Musical instruments are other spe-
| cialities for which American manu-
facturers are developing a market in
Latin America. under rather inter-
esting difficulties. The guitar, with
out which no popular Spanish scene is
| complete is a widely-used instru-
ment. Tradition would come near
! making it an indispensable weapon in
4 the hands of a loyesick swain any
where near the equator. americans
have seen the demand. and in Mexico.
! particularly. the American-nade in
/ strument is considered the best and
! has the greatest sale. This is also
( true in Central America and in Ar
| geninta. Brazil Chile and Peru. The
/ efforts of Germany to replace the
! lAmerican-made product with cheap
er instrument are reported as inef-
fectuai, and one consul, writing from
i Mexico recently, went so far as to say
| that the best way to sell an Ameri-
| can guitar was to play for While on
l one made in Germany.
; American piano manufacturers are
placing thousands of instruments in
! Chile and Peru, it is reported. where
selling this product in the face >of a
| rather amusing type of German bred
|! propaganda, which is said to have
! really been well organized. American
/ piano salesmen found their wares
| being knocked, on every hand by
| statements to the effect that they
couldn't keep a tune, never were in
] tune from the beginning, and when
! they were in tune the tone was so
| "tin -panny" that every one in hearing
| distance was forced to weeping. wall
! ing and the snashing of teeth. In
vestigation proved that German
agents had been making a determined
and systematic effort to run down
| the American piano on every occas-
| ion and had progressed far enough 10
| popularize the idea of the inferiority.
AS matter of fact, it is reported
erything said about the American