Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-18
BRITAIN FIGHTS TO HOLD
TRADE OF SOUTH AMERICA
United States and Germany Making Com
petition Keener and Prince of Wales
Visit Is One Bid for Favor of People.

Buenos Aires, and is sending Edward
Albert, Prince of Wales, to capture
customers with his disarming smile
The method is not original. Other
European royalties-Belgium's Albert
and Italy's Crown Prince Hubert-have
visited South America, made fiattering
speeches, withStood innumerable ban
quets. The United States sent Herbert
Hoover, then Presidcnt-elect.
This is the Prince o. Wales second
visit, and it is frankly commercial
For the British saw with chagrin the
downfall last year of old President
Irigoyen of Argentina and the collapse
of the plan negotiated with him for
increased Argentine purchases in Eng
land. They had hoped also for more
trade with Brazil after the success of
the last revolution, in which the United
States helped the defeated faction. but
the expected diversion of trade did not
occur All these unfulf1lled hopes now
are transferred to the exposition and
the princes visit.
For the trade with this wonder
continent of the world" is an important
part of British prosperity, just as 300
years ago the endless cargoes of gold
from its mines buttressed the old
Spanish Empire. The conquistadores
were content to stuff their pockets and
ships with gold and silver, and were
ready to execute an Inca king If it
helped. Their wants were limited to
wealth easy to acquire. They believed
in the existence of what met the eye or
ear.
For Potential Treasures.
But now the desire is for potential
treasures for the chance to aid m the
development of undeveloped wealth. to
reap that natural wealth in exchange
for the finished products of the ma
chine. The supply of precious metals,
gathered in those early days from the
beds of tropic rivers and the remote
Andes valleys, is not exhausted. The
Amazon forests are packed with thou
sands of varieties of rare trees of CEN
turies' growth, and inestimable mineral
treasures and chemical deposits enrich
the subsoil of the north and west In
the east are fertile farm lands and
pastures teeming with cattle. The
Prince of Wales after his first visit to
the region in 1925 saw limitless posi-
bilities for trade and advised young
Englishmen to study Spanish.
Adventurous Britishers of the six
tenth century had the same idea.
John Whithall found Santos, Brazil,
decidedly attractive in the 1570S
through a delicate Interviewing of
business and pleasure. In letter to
friend dated July 26, 1878, he described
his experiences:
1T is in this country offered me to
marry, and to take my choice of three
or four so that I am about three days
ago consorted with an Italian gentle
man to marry with his daughter within
these four days"
Told of Trade Possibilities.
Mr.. Whithall then continued to brag
about the sugar business owned by his
father-in-law and to which his mar
rage gave him title. He urged his
friend to see the future possibilities of
his business marriage with his eyes, and
to send out ships laden with clothes.
gowns. axes, soap. nails, fishhooks. wine
and leather. The proceeds of the cargo
he suggested might proftabIy be in
vested to local sugar to freight the YES
sci back.
His advice was acted on by many an
English sailor-merchant OF those early
DAYS. SPANS and Portugars edicts
against foreign trade with their col
onies. like most prohibitions, did not
prohibit. Smuggling was business as
highly esteemed in the Spanish and
Portuguese colonies as in Colonial New
England.
But English merchants clamored for
freer trade. In 1913, at the close OF the
War of the Spanish Succession, Spain
and England signed the famous Ash
ento" treaty, by which England was
nermitted tc send one ship a year
loaded with goods for the fairs at Porto
Bello and Vera Cruz. The South Sea
Co. received the privilege of sending
this annual ship. Fantastic rumors OF
the profits TO be obtained from the con-
tinent of limitless wealth were origi-
mated by promoters and promulgated
by believers Great Britain became the
scene of an orgy of speculation till the
bubble" burst. scattering panic bank
ruptcy and ruin all over the kingdom.
British Traded Illegally.
IT was obvious that the sending of
one ship a year could not make Croe-
suses of nation. even though the ca
pacity of that vessel was multiplied py
tae addition OF half-a-doZen tenders.
So the British continued TO trade illeg-
ally, after the fashion of pirates. F1gnts
with Spanish revenue agents gained IN
violence and frequency. Then came
Jenkins, English sea captain, back 70
London from the Spanish Main. with
tales of having been maltreated ny tne
SpaniardS and bearing in WOODEN poH
one of his ears, supposedly cut on by
them seven years before. jenkins salo
he had been instructed by the Spanish
officer connected with the ear affair 10
show it to his King. Asked what ne
did next. brave jenkins answers,
commended my soul TO God and my
cause to nv country Whereupon loi-
lowed the War Of jenkins Ear.
The right was not all on jenkins
side. The Spaniards had plenty OF
p"ovocation. Besides the annual Iair-
ship the English had obtained thc
right to sell limited number OF slaves
to Spanish America right that was
as hagrantly abused as the other.
To remove the purely technlcal I'M
pediments to her South American
trade Great Britain got Spain TO buy
hack the Asiento privileges for mil
lion pounds sterling. Smuggling con-
tinued hereunder unhampered by any
pretext of legality.
But these early efforts, compared
with the present trade with South
America, may be clasSed as sporting
ventures, the gains of which were eX-
tremely important TO the men lmme-
Giately engaged, though not vital 10 the
prosperity of the self-suflcicnt Europe
OF those days.
Powers Study Market.
Nowadays. Great Britain's prosperity
is vitality affected by her Latln Amerl-
ran commerce. Germany'S chances OF
recovering her old rank among the ma
tions depends very largely on how
much of her chemicals and her cheap
hardware she can sell the Southern
republics Even the United states
though less dependent on her foreign
trade. is beginning to study Latin
Americas buying whims carefully
France, Belgium. Japan-all the smaller
manufacturing countries are crowding
eagerly to pick up what business they
can
For the South American Is still busy
getting wealth from his fertile LANDS
from his rich mines and forests. He
ras LITTLE time LETT to spare to shape
that raw wealth into tools, furniture