Evening star., 1928-09-30
Trade Links With Mexico
Continued from Third Page.)

tContlnued from Third Page.)
impression among uniformed Ameri-
can business men that any impairment
of that particular trade means the COM
plete crushing of Mexico commercially
Has Wide Potentialities.
The truly astonishing diversity of hei
terrain and climate has provided the
potentialities of widely diversified re-
sources and, therefore, OF buying power
These are still far. very far. from full
exploitation. Nevertheless, some begin
nings are being made. as is evidenced
by the gradually increasing variation oi
the list Of exports and imports end the
steady decline in the percentage of ex-
portations, made up of mineral oils and
their derivatives. Petroleum and its de-
r'vatives made up some so per cent OF
Mexico's total exports in 1920. whereas
its share last year was but scant 81
per cent. 1t is true that 1927 was ab-
normally low because of deprecated
values in the petroleum markets. but
factor, 1t is still evident that the days
of petroleum as the completely domi-
nant factor are over.
surprising thing in connection with
The trade status of Mexico has been her
continued commercial vitality in spite
of the countless difficulties of business
during the recurring revolutions. Surely
no country which was able to import.
and presumably pay for. an annual
average Of nearly S130000000 worth of
foreign goods since 1921, as compared
during l90l-05, could be regarded as a
barren market. That increase of 200
per cent in import values in two decades
represents substantial growth in actual
volume OF imports. even after deductions
are made for price changes. And. cor
reSpondingly. no producers whose COM
noditieS command the worlds markets
10 the extent of an annual average of
about $325,000.000 since 1921. as COM
pared with S97000,000 a year during
1S0l-O5, can be looked upon as laggards.
1t would be futile to suggest that
Things commercial below the Rio Grande
have been moving along at thoroughly
satisfactory rate. These gains have
been made in spite of the prolonged
economic, political and social upheaval
rather than because of it.
Negatively Helpful.
But the primitive character of many
aspects of MexicoS economic system.
especially as to means of tranSporta-
tlon and communication, has served a
helpful purpose in somewhat mega
i've fashion. These shortcomings
the gaps in her network of roads, rail-
ways, postal service and telephone con-
nectlonS-have broken up the CONNER
cal activities of the republic into a
number OF almost completely detached
entities, which thus have been effective
Jy Isolated from one another The dis
organization of any one or group of
them, though obviously reacting upon
some of the others. has not proved to
be as completely disastrous as would
b9 the case with crisis of similar pro-
portions in some more intenSively in
tegrated, closely knit and highly sensi-
tive economic organism
Our share in this commercial de-
velopment of Mexico has been increaS-
inCly significant. During 1904 the
total exports of the United States to
cur southern neighbor were valued at
about S53,0000 0O0 but in 1927 the figure
was $109 100000. The latter total was
something of a falling off from the
1921-25 average. which exceeded $146.-
100000. but even so, the last years
figure represents an increase Of nearly
los per cent over the pre-war average,
which compares favorably with the
ratio OF advance in the case of our
sales to several other major markets.
The significant thing was our status
dBdlllSb lLle EuIOpcdu COlH~
petitorS ir the Mexican market. In
1912 we supplied almost exactly one
half of the latter's total purchases from
abroad, but in 1925 our share exceeded
20 per cent, which is the highest figure
Of "saturation" of American goods in
any major market in the world.
Trade Has Increased.
It would seem, then, that In spite
of the supposed hostility and sus-
picions of many Mexican groups against
the United States and in spite of
various legislative measures and ad-
r1inistratlve devices which have ham,
pered our trade, 1t enjoys materially
increased prestige over the previous
years and over our European rivals,
who have now had a decade in which
to rehabilitate their position in that
market.
This would seem to put an effective
uuietus on that recurring lament that
1--WE have no chance against recovering
Europe because of her racial and cul-
tural affiliations with Mexico" AS a
matter of fact, the American racial ele-
ment predominateS in Mexico over the
European by about rs or 80 per cent.
SO far as consumer sentiment is con-
Cerned, therefore, European merchants
are likely to encounter type OF de-
mand which is far stranger to them
than it is to many of our own mer-
chants familiar with trade in our
Western and Southwestern States.
Then, too, there is the mournful cry
that Europe will soon threaten our COM
nlercial position in that market be-
cause her nationals dominate so many
lines of business in MeXico-the Eng
Iish in banking. the Germans in hard
ware retailing. the Spaniards in gro
Ceries. the French in cry goods and
notions, and so on.
American Merchandise.
But, even though the distribution and
the direct local contacts are often in
the hands of the European trading
"colonies," the merchandise itself is very
predominantly American. The Ger
mans may own about 80 per cent of
the hardware stores, but. according to
the Mexican statistics themselves. not
less than 70 per cent of the hardware
imported into the republic comes from
Bridgeport or Chicago or other Ameri-
can centers.
In pre-war days there used to BE-
printing plant in small New England
town which spent good deal of its
time running off labels reading Made
In GERMANY" These little stickers deco
rated the boxes of local manufacturers
which found their way to the shelves of
German retailers in Mexico; in fact
they were put on at the request of the
retailers themselves by way of gratifying