Evening Star Newspaper, June 11, 1898, Page 15

-_ = TOBACCO FOR SHIPMENT. HAVANA HUCKSTERS i 1 | Provisions for the City Are Brought | in on Donkeys. WHAT THE PEOPLE EAT AND DRINK As a Rule the Natives Are Remark- ably Abstemious. OF MILD BEVERAGES! FOND Written for The Evening Star. HE af AUTHORITI Havana have a constantly menting tas of open ounded square with ar- and for- dep! of ho morning | cts ef outlying n goods, yet tu: upon donkey whi with th e every and make hich furnish have don you noble Havi ided would ha is we to here has n increasing dearth o i | pd Cigars. smokers of the United States alone consume some 200,000,000 “Ha- (though in the best of times rare ing on the bag of bread which he brings atong for s: But the iS a sweet and sa- ‘le compared with the butcher, ro." who dra: ing car- ses into town, wobblir omely in a cart, or more hanging from oks in ck. All the “matadert or slaughterhouses, used to be the city limits, with troops of wild end turkey buzzards fighting and snarling over entrails and garbage. is the chicken vender, who trgo of fowl to market in great lung across the back of his wicker coo beast, he I If sitting, as usual, astride cen. There is no society for the pre- welty to animals in any Spanish ery man mi i with anything do what seems The Cuban as a rule, are remarkably bstemious, and these of Spanizh birth, ly of the poc class, eat littl and But there i ney have weli-nigh reachec thing in which k tion, and ihitis the art ot concoctias * drinks. If they may follow out their inclination and R rt eustoim, they begin the day with a the latter » of black coffee with « fork, small roli or at of tl ay the natives drink sparingly, bui after the vool breez+s ¢F ev 5 have set in the cafes are eekers after ‘refre=cos, A “re- fresco” i generally n shape limeade ~- or “naranjada angead) favorite with the is th 1 and diluted milk of almo: ad2 by di into water e of rolls com- and sugar, and tent With I ore content th a mild tipple of barley water ttle: smselyes with ‘cebada”’—or ich is water with toasted n and sugar in it; “zambumbix" is dil- uted cane juics—as “aguardic (or fire is the same Juice distilled, vulgarly Known in English as rum. Another drink, sort of , is made from ferment- ed pineapple rind: Havana but all artifici ; and imported at ularly at us com- or annot be © of our t Cuba this summer, not tronger than coffee or » noon, or, better, nothing In Cuba and Puerto Rico indulg me of them, is chiefly of rere are cocoanut many who begin the and gin cocktail as an “eye open- ow it with native rum at interv with «ale or b Ithful drink, the English W. tell you, is rum not le ears old. It has no “pernicious ef- fects,” he says, if sufficiently matured, and it is a tradition in the islands that’ rum will not Improve with age, even, unless It is kept in “the wood.’ is a wide range to the tropic tip- is of most of them being the distilled juice of the sugar cane, and there of the me is the ixing dian will three © con) shew punch,” which is mac fragrant juice of the a “quantum suf.;" rum, “quan- nm libet,”” and served with a grating of aromatic nutmeg floating atop. It 1s a drink too good for the gods, the West In- dians say, but just the thing for bibulous man. In the olden time, when every plant- tions, BAKER ON HORSEBACK. some- | 1 100),= from Ha- | i icself good states), somebody will have to sm ars w. and even in the ¢ vana, “reall While our n get a few, »sorbed by the roy he strangest sight of the Ha- st of burden, either er donkey, but always small and starved, entirely covered by a heap der. The Cuban horse h > turn up his nose at ar shape of oats or gr: ps market is the be ular ratio consisting and fodder from a pe 3 of corn, which is raised exclusive for it tops, which 2 1 known as “maloj + small farmer furnishing th alied, comes from a long distan the country, riding atop his dea, and looking somethi: like a mon- n ambulatory corn stack. These are the most numerous at- aig at the market places, for ever: owner of a horse or jackass in Havana must have his matutinal “maloja,” and ally dependent upon the arrival of the out t in point of numbers are the mi mon, who, likewlse, ride on top their loads, rather, astride, between their cans, ig in a jerky trot, which, with ie heat of the morning hour, s the “leche” into butyric consis: chero” never dismounts, but rides in front of a customer’s house and up shouts “Leche” in a voice fit to wake the dead, smoking his cigarette the while he ladles out the liquid from between his legs, beastie’s | his feet level with the horse’s ears. Bakers and Butchers, After him comes the baker, who dis- mses the product of his ovens from the ef horse or burro, and is not seeming- happy unless he has gat all the morn- er distillled his own rum, a certain delight- ful liquor called “shrub’” was in vogue, the asis of which was rum, with one-fourth its weight of sugar added to it, and one-six- -enth lime juice. But both’ “shrub” and lanter, so racy of West Indian soil, will be diflicult to find, alas, at the present ‘time, | in Cuba and Puerto Rico. —_>__ IN THE CHURCHES Card 1 Gibbons has sent a letter to the priests of this archdiocese in reference to the Perpetual Adoration Society, in which he says: “The Perpetual Adoration Society has contributed in many dioceses to a plous devotion to the blessed sacra- ment. I would be pleased to see this ad- mirable devotion encouraged by the pastors of jhe churches in Washington, and will appoint a day of exposition (monthly) in any church where it may be established.” The annual collection for the benefit of the pope was taken in all the Catholic churches of Washington Sunday last. The object of the collection is to assist the pope in bearing his public expenses, which are very heavy. The money contributed at the I collection goes to helping poor the establishment and supporting fons, delegates and nunneries to be provided jor, to say nothing of the vast ums required to support the various néc- essary departments in Rome. .Yhe home committee of the Temple So- ciety of the V hington Hebrew congre- gation gaye an entertainment a faw even- ings ago for the benefit of the temple treas- ury, at the grounds of Mr. B. Berliner, on the Columbia road. The) affair was in charge of Miss Amy _ Relzenstain, Miss Carrie Nordlinger and Miss Baar, who were assisted by a number of other young la- dics. The entertalument was very success- ful, especially from a fimanclal standpoint. ae womens the Central Union Mis- slon who have been conducting meetings at Camp Alger aré much encouraged at the cuticgk, On the last occasion of their visit to the camp a tent was erected and sup, plied with equipments for religious services. The attendance on the part of the soldiers was large. From information received in this city it is learned that the delegates from the dio- c2se of West Virginia to the trienaial gen- eral council of the P. E. Church, which meets in Washington in October, will op- pose the report of the committee on new constitution, so far, at least, as concerns the words: “Of that portion of the Catholic Church known in law as the Protestant Episcopal Church,” and, further, to prevent the adoption of the canons requiring every minister to say daily the morning and even- ing prayers, either publicly or privately, and forbidding the remarriage of the in- nocent party in a cas> of divorce granted on the ground of adultery. It is expected by those having the mat- ter in charge that many persons from Washirgton will attend the summer as- sembly of the Jewish Chautauqua Society, which will be in session at Auantic City from July 9 to 24 inclusive. The program ecmprises popular courses in Bible study, post biblical history and literature. Among the features of the assembly will be teach- ers’ institutes, lectures, mode! lessons and other instructive exercises The Yeurg Peoples League of Grace Baptist Church have opened a reading room, which is at the service of the public ‘Tuesday evenings fron: » to 10 o'clock. The Baptists at Ivy City, headed by Perry Carson, are making earnest efforts to secure a church building in that sub- urb. At the suggestion of Mr, Carson an organization called the Trinity Relief Club of Ivy City has taken active charge of the matter, and a few days ago held a grand rally for the purpose of raising funds. At this rally the officiating minis- ters were Rev. Dr. George W. Lee of Ver- mont Avenue Baptist Church, Rev. Guy Berkiey of Mount Bethel Church and Rev. Stephen Harris of Ivy City. The results were the securing of a handsome nucleus for a building fund and also the promise from a large number of persons to pay a certain sum weekly for the next year in aid of the project. Rev. Dr. Gilbert cf this city"has gone to Knoxville, Tenn., to be presen: at the meeting of the Southern Biblical Assembly, which convenes in that city Wednesdsy next. This year’s convention of the as- sembly promises to be of much greater interest than any heretofore held, and more persons than before from Washing- ten and vinicity have expressed the'r in- tention of Leing present. The assembly has under its direction many lines of work, principal among which are the Sundi School Teachers’ Normal College, the Bible College at Home end Christian Mothers’ Union. At this time there are over 10,000 registered pupils in the Nermal College. The Bible College at Home ovresents a plan for systematic reading of the Bible, requiring three years and occupying one- half hour dally. The fellowship depart- ment seeks to awake interest in rcligious education and to coilect, classify and pre- serve information of all that has been done in this country and foreign lands. It also institutes thcse studies which may increase a knowledge of the Scriptures, and commends to public favor such litera- ture as may be favorable in the religious instruction of the Sunday school, family and colloge. Much interest is being manifested in the nnual meeting of the American rab- ntral conference, which will meet in Atlantie City Hebrew Synagogue Tues- July While not a délegated or la’ ng bedy, its decisions carry much the de weight throughout the entire country. It is expected that prominent rabbis from every portion of the United States will be ny of them will take ions. vodbury, secretary of ’ Association, and L. hmond, pastor of the Spiritualists’ congregation of the city, returned from Roche: N.Y., where y, with a number of other prominent spiritualists, attended the semi-centennial lebration or jubilee of modern spiritual ism. The exercises lasted for one week and brought together some of the most promi- nent spiritualists in the world. It was stated at the meeting that the spiritualists now issue about 140 periodicals, and that sixty camp meetings are held annually in the United States present, and that m part in’ the di i M B. fonal Spiritua! Vv France V. F inal Gibb: and repeat in be nd up fter me pi ‘i promise, with the help of God, to stain from all Kinds of intoxicating uors until I reac age of twenty-one ” This ha some comment as the eminent divine might have the remark, and he has explained tion on this subject by the follow- ement: “I don't want any boy to understand that I mean that when he be- comes twenty-one he must go out and get awfully drunk, in order to make up for lost time. He m continue to abstain for all tim t of God ts in temperance. Be temperate above all things. The habit- ual drunkard { grace to all society. He loses all self-re and in the throes of strong drink stops at nothing. He mur- de commits suicide, adultery, and is the worst crimina I believe that habits of in- temperance are contracted in youth. If a boy leads a good life and abstains trom the use of lique early years, he will not fall so easily into bad ways later. His youthful training is in him, and it makes a ast difference. Such a youth, though he fall now and then, will never become slave to drink.” An international temp be held at Prohibition Park, State ‘. ¥., July 1 to 6. The object fs to s 1 exchange of views, so that the different ses of temperence workers may be- ars. what to meant b: his po: 3 di: pe m: rance congre: cl come better acquainted with the work and purpose of one another, and to discu: for united effort. The management has ex- tended a cordial invitation to attend to every national and general organization, and every local organization, including the church, that is opposed to the liquor habit and the drink habit. Every local organiz: tion will be entitled to one representative, if its membership be twenty or less, and for every additional twenty members an additional representative. Each state or- ganization is given ten representatives and each national organization twenty repre- sentatives. An evening with the delegates” to the biennial convention of the fourth general conference, Epworth League, will be given at Wesley Chapel Wednesday evening next. The District president, Mr. J. Finney En- gle, will detiver a brief address, and they trip to Wheeling will be illustrated with @ stereopticon, showing a large number of views of the scenery along the route. An orchestra will furnish music for the occa- sion. Admission will be free. The biennial convention of the fourth general conference Epworth League, com- prising the states of Pennsylvania, Mary- land, Virginia and West Virginia, will be held in Wheeling, W. Va., June 25 to 29. The Washington district league expects to take 200 delegates and their friends to this convention. The Pennsylvania railroad has been selected as the official route for the Washington and Baltimore delegates. The members of Epworth M. E. Church, corner 7th and A streets northeast, have recently organized a mission Sunday school, calling it “Southeast Epworth,” in the old engine house, occupied by ‘the Central Union Mission, corner 9th and K streets southeast. The Sunday school will be held each Sunday at 3 o'clock p.m. Services are als Canes Tuesday evening of each week. Rev. J. O. Knott, Wm. F. Hummer, su- perintendent of school, and Miss Margaret Waesche, president of the Epworth League, are at present in charge of the mission en- terprise. The bi-monthly mass meeting of the Wash- ington and vicinity Epworth League will be held Monday evening next, under the au- spices of the league connected with the West Washington Mission of Mt. Vernon Place M. E. Church South on 33d street. The general topic for the evening will be “Literature of the League.” The speakers and subjects are: Rev. J. T. Williams of Alexandria, ‘a., subject, “The League Library; Miss Margaret Waesche of Wash- ington, “The Periodicals of the Church;” L. Pierce Boteler, ‘Printers’ Ink.” The newly elected officers of the union will preside for the first time. The committee having the.| affair in charge is composed of Harry A> Beach and Falls Church, Va.; Rev. J. W. Beall and Miss Nellie Vincent of West Washington. > The record of the year will be read by = F. E, Woodward, president of the union. 2 The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Methodist Home of the aged will take place Wednesday next, and owing to the crowd- ed convention of the home the board of managers will hold the anniversary at the Hillman_ House, No. 226 North Capitol street. This charity is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions for its support. A novena which is in progress at St. Au- gustine’s Church will end on the 17th. The committee in charge of the lawn party are busily. engaged in preparing to make it one of the most pleasant events of the sea- son. The young men’s sodality will meet, as usual, next Wednesday at 8 p.m, —— Qn the Balcony. plans From Puck. First Guest—“The proprietor of this hotel must make ea mint of money.” Second Guest—“They say he spends it as fast as it’s # First Guest—“T don’t see how he can, un- Jess he lives at some other summer hotel.” IS OURS BY- RIGHT South American Trade Should Be- long to the United States. BUT WE WILL HAVE T0: WORK FOR I? At Present the Germans are Far in the Lead, DEMANDS OF ‘THE: MARKET} ——— ee (Copyrighted, 1898,, by Frank G. Carpenter.) Special Correspcndence of The Evening Star. LIMA, Peru, May 10, 1898. NE of the most im- pertant parts of my present mission to South America ts to look into the pros- pects for American trade. Ther2 is a big market for our goods in these countries, but it is one which we will have to culti- vate much more than we are now doing if We get our share. So far I have met but thr2e commercial travelers from the United States. One of these was a Mr. Sullivan, who was taking orders for lubricating oils. We traveled together from Ecuador to Pa- casmayo, Peru, and he told me he was on his way to Chile and the Argentine. I cam2 from New York to Panama with an American named Herzig, who was on his way down the west coast to buy cocoa, hides and feathers for several New York firms, and I am told that the agent of the Carnegie Steel Company is now taking or- d2rs in northern Peru. On the other hand, I find English and German drummers every- where. -Krupp’s agent has just left here. There are two English dry goods men on the same floor with me in my hotel. Thy have large sample rooms and have long ta- bles covered with every variety of cotton and woolen goods. One of these drumm:2rs is from Manchester and the other ts from them at Panama and Guayaquil, and they have also houses here and at Valparaiso. The Graces have for years been one of the great powers in Peru and Chile, and today they handle perhaps more valuable property than any other firm on the west coast. They have carried through some of the biggest enterprises ever attempted in South America, and their profits are said to have amounted to millions. Today there is hardly any big thing in Peru in which they have not an interest. They have sugar estates amounting to thous- ands of acres, and on one plantation which they control near Chimbote, north of here, they have 5,000 acres in cane and as much more which is not under cultivation. The capital invested in this estate is $1,000,000, and the property and machinery on it probably cost more than that sum. It was M. P. Grace of New York, now the head of the English banking house of M. P. Grace & Co., who brought about the set- tlement of the Peruvian debt by the organ- ization of the Peruvian corporation. This corporation was an English syndi- cate, which assumed the foreign debt of Peru, amounting to almost $300,000,000, and in return Peru gave the corporation all of its railways, the right to mine guano on the Peruvian government territory to the amount of 3,000,000 tons, and a large area of coffee land on the other side of the Andes, which is now being developed. Of course no one except Mr. Grace knows just what the profits of this deal were, but T have heard it said here that he alone made not less than a million dollars out of it. This was not a large sum considering the magnitude of the interests involved and the diplomatic and business skill required to “handle them in competition with Drey- fus & Co. and others of the biggest capital- ists of Europe. Today the Graces do all of the loading and shipping of the guano for the Peruvian corporation, employing hundreds of men for the purpose. They also own cotton plantations in southern Peru, and have the management of the Vitarte cotton mills above Lima, which are the largest cloth mills of Peru. The chief business of the firm is, however, as commission merchants and as importers of American goods. In their houses here and at Callao you will find samples of nearly everything made in America which is likely to be in demand in Peru. They import everything, from toothpicks to steel plates and from nails to locomotives. They take orders for all kinds of American goods and engage in contracts to almost any amount. They have their salesmen, who travel through the country, and are anxious to introduce anything that will sell. Points for American Shippers. As far as American trade is concerned the house of Flint, Eddy & Co. are doing here the same class of business as Grace & Co. They have samples of almost every- thing and are pushing all sorts of American manufactures. One of the best posted men on such matters is Mr. F. L. Crosby, the head of Flint, Eddy & Co. of Lima. He has been handling nothing but American goods for the past twenty-five years. He is a PORT OF C! ALLAO, PERU. Nottingham. They have both been for weeks going through Central America on mules, and they ar> now working their way down this coast. They stop*at every large port and work the trade. Onfe of them will go from here to Bolivia, and will visit the interior cities of that.country, carrying his samples for hundreds of miles on mules. These men have a big stock with them. The Manchester man tells me he carries about two tons 6f samples frém’port to port, and that he has to load-about a dozen mules when he gpes into.the interior.. The Not- tingham man sells on commission and pays his own expenses, which he tells me are about $10 gold a day. He says that his houses hav3 three men to work the West Indies and Spanish America. He takes in Mexico, Central America and the Pacific coast. Another salesman has the West In- dies and the coast of the Caribbean sea, and a third Brazil, Uruguay and th? Ar- gentine. This is the usual arrangement of the European houses for working this trade. All of these European drummers speak Spanish, they know th? countries well and are posted as to the financial standing of the various buyers. What the Trade is Worth. The United States should not think that it can get these markets without a hard fight and a long fight. The business has been studied for years by the European na- tions, and I will show latéc on some of the underhand methods by which they attempt to crowd themselves in and the Americans out. The business is naturally ours, and It will pay to fight for it. This continent contains 52,000,000 square miles, and it has more than 40,000,000 people, ail of whom are consumers, though the wants of the majority are few. The resources of tho continent all told are great beyond con- ception. The products will steadily in- crease, and we already buy about $150,000.- 000 worth of them a year. Our sales, on the other hand, amount to only $40,000,000, and our purchases are said to increase five times as fast as our sales, and this not- withstanding we are now the greatest manufacturing nation of the world. There is no nation that has so large a stake in the battle for foreign commerce as ours. ‘We now have more than $6,000,000,000 in- vested in manufacturing, and we turn out a net product of $4,000,000,000 worth of goods every year, and it is estimated that our factories can in six months make all of the goods that our home markets can use. We have 5,000,000 workmen engaged in our factories, and if we would keep them busy we must force our way into the for- eign markets. We need our own ships. Here on the west coast of South America freights are cheaper to London and Ham- burg than they are to New York, and you can, I am told, serd goods to Liverpool and thence to New York more cheaply than to New York direct either via Panama or the Straits of Magellan. Today there are two lines of steamers which ply between the United States and Pacific South America. The firm of W. R. Grace & Co, have four Their Wants: Are’ Few. “ or five ships of 5,000 tons each, which make monthly voyages via the straits between Callao and New York, and Flint, Eddy & Co. have what is calledthe Merchants’ line, which dispatches a steamer every. two months or oftener as the demands of trade require. Even these lines have material increased our trade. The Grace line, whic! was started in 1892 to take the place of the sailing ships owned by the company, had in 1895 trebled the carrying le of this firm, and F. L. Crosby of Lima, who sents Flint, Eddy & here, tells me there ig a decided increase in imports since the Merchants’ line has been put on. . Handle Millions. ‘These two New York firms—W. R. Grace & Co, and Flint, Eddy & Co.—do the great bulk of our trade with South America. Until recently Flint, Eddy & Co. have to @ large extent confined themselves to the Atlantic coast, but they have now com- bined with or absorbed the old firms of way & Brown and. Brown, Co., and have their houses ports of the Pacific coast as [ I & thorough American and has at the time a good knowledge of the Peruy character and the needs of tne people and country. I had a long talk with him th afternoon, during which he gave some points for American shippers. Said he ief trouble with our manufacture: t they will not study the wants of customers and try to satisfy them. They don’t pack their goods weil nor mark them plainly. All goods sent to South America should be put in new boxes. ‘Then you can tell if they have been opened on the way. If they are put in second-hand boxes and renailed they are sure to come here with something niJssing. It is easy to open an old box. The steamers specify the condition of each case and do not hold themselves responsible if the cases are s ond-hand. If goods are not stolen on t ships they may be stolen at the custom houses. The marking of the boxes should be with letters from six to ten inches long. The Germans are the best shippers in this regard. They use letters ten inches long and two inches wide and put them on so plainly that it is impossible to mistake the directions. Our shippers will use letters of not over two inches in length. Their marks often rub off and the boxes are lost. They are careless also in billing the goods prop- erly, and especially so in packing. Goods are handled roughly on the ships and the strongest cases are needed. Another im- portant thing is to pack so that the du here will be as small as possible. Many classes of goods are taxed by weight, and I have had stuff sent to me in such heavy cases that the duties amounted to fifty times the value of the goods. Samples should always be shipped as samples, and every factory should have a copy of the tariff laws of the countries to which they ship and study to pack so as to cause the least cost to their customers. Goods that will go into small cases should not be put into large ones, as freight is charged for by measurement. Every German house has a copy of the tariff of every country to which it sends goods, and packs accord- ingly.” Commercial Pirates of the World. “You speak of the Germans, Mr. Crosby,” said I. “Do they do much business in Peru?” “Yes, they are fast monopolizing the trade everywhere. When I came here over twenty years ago there were no German houses and from twenty to thirty big En- glish houses. Now ther are more than a score of big German establishments and only one or two large English ones. The Germans are driving out the English every- where. They are unscrupulous as to meth- ods and will do anything to gst trade. They are, in fact, the pirates of the commercial world. The American sells his goods and is proud to call them American. He will not make a poor article because he does not think it fair to-do so. This is also the case with the English and Fr2nch, but the Ger- man cares for nothing but to sell. He will call his goods American, French or English according as these gocds are the most in demand, and by putting in poor material will make a cheap article which looks like that he claims to sell. The Germans mak3 Rogers knives which will not cut butter unless they ara heated. They label them ‘Rogers, Sheffield,’ and use the Rogers trad? marks. They make moldings splash- ed with gilt, and mark them ‘from the United States,’ and they imitate our wall Papers and mark them American. They sell cheap imitations of French and English stockings under pirated trade marks. They sell Havana cigars mad2 in Hamburgh and kitchen furniture from Germany labeled ‘made in the United States.’ They do not care whether their goods are honest or not. All they want is to sell.” What We Sell in Peru. “What do we sell to Peru, Mr. Crosby?” I asked. “Our total sales are now about three- quarters of @ million dollars a year, and, as Peru buys more than eleven millions annually, you will see that more than nine- tenths of the Peruvian trade is with Eu- rope. Before the war with Chile, when Peru was rich, she bought almost three times as much American goods as she does now. The trouble is that we do not buy a great deal of Peru. Trade is reci and people buy where they -sell.-If the reciprocity treaty which the Peruvian min- ister at ‘Washington is now -trying FE s B 5 acknowledged tu have the best carpenter's tools and axes. These come-in large quan- tities from Hartford, Conn. That city has @ monopoly of the farming tools sold on this coast of South America. Among the new importations are steel plates from Pittsburg and also iron pipes from the Na- toral tube works. The Americans have the best of the Peruvian watch trade, and the Waltham watch has swept the field. We do a large business in American sewing machines, and we are beginning to sell American bicycles. We sell considerable Oregon and California lumber and not a lit- tle white pine from New York. Some Amer- ican furniture is imported, chiefly cane- seated chairs. We-are importing some printing inks, and a large part of the furni- ‘ture and machinery for the new post office | at Lima is American. The boxes were im- ported by us, and the postage stamps of Peru are made by the American Bank Note Company of New York. The most of the rolling stock and bridges for the railro: of Peru have until now come from America, but, as the roads have gone into the hands of an English syndicate, in the future such articles will probably be shipped from Eng- jand.”” More Harm Than Good. Mr. Crosby says that the commercial travelers sent down here by some of the American houses Go more harm than good. They do not understand the Spanish lan- guage nor the pecple. They cut prices and often make statements which cannot be relied upon. It is useless to send a man dcwn here who does not understand the language, and until Spanish-speak' drummers can be educated as fur as sell- ing is concerned I should think that deal- ing through such firms as the Graces and Fiint, Eddy & Co. would be most profit- able.’ These companies wiil handle any- thing; and they charge a commission on their sales. Every manufacturing estab- lishment in the United States should look upon this territory as a part of its legiti- mate field and get into it as soon as »pos- sible. We should at once begin to educate cur commercial travelers in Spanish, and should have some of our best salesmen going from city to city pushing American goods. It is useless to send catalogues and pamphlets, for these are thrown into the waste baskets. One of the objecti features of the trade in the cyes of the Arrerican is that most of the German and English sales are made. with the unde standing that the goods are to be paid for within from thirty to sixty days after ar- rival, and that many of the firms, while perfectly good, do not appreciate the value of a few days’ interest and are slow in settling their accounts, The b should be done on from thirty to sixty days’ sight. This is asked by many of the American salesmen, and the Peruvians are gradually becoming accustomed to it. Decline of Spanish America. As far as wealth and business is con- cerned, it seems to me that Spanish Ameri- ca has the galloping consumption. I do n mean by this that the bu: done he is not as great as in time: It is in- ercasing every year. But it is rapidly go- hands of the natives and This is so rot on ing out of the to those of foreigners. with the commercial establishments, but with ev legitimate business that will pay a dividend or make a dollar. Some of the best of the mines are now in the pos- session of foreign compani: The biz which have made fortunes in the past, and in which | jay a working capital of more than 600,009 is employed. the hands of the are owned by Chine of the large holdings of the hous Grace & Co. The railway gether owned by the English, although tt great coal line concession granted to the Pacific Company of New York will gi a big railway zone in Peru. The oil fields are chiefly worked by a rich Italian named Piaggio of Callao, and several En- chief bakery and started by two sold out by nglish syndicate, dividends. How They Do Business in Peru. s to commercial business, the Peruvians havi foreign hands. Many of them a to be engaged in trade, and the a people, no business instincts. which is payin, shamed have, as not a half dozen native firms in Peru which now do what would be calied a large busin The signs over th s of Lima are ¢ giish and Chines erman, French, Ital There “are about Chinese in Peru, the most of whom were To Market. originally brought here to work the sugar estates and guano islands. They are now well to do and many of them have become wealthy. Some of them own the sugar plartations upon which they slaved and others have large mercantile establish- ments here. The Germans monopolize to a large extent the dry goods, knick knacks, hardware and mining machinery sales of Lima. They are ready to go into anything in which they see a chance to make moncy. The Italians are the grocers of the city, and you find them selling fine groceries in nearly every big Peruvian town. The En- glish sell dry goods, crockery, paints, oils and machinery, and the chief dealers in silks, wines and brandies are the French. There are a few Spanish book stores. The banks are almost all foreign and the stock owned in the dividend paying companies is chiefly in foreign hands. Better Than Four Per Cent. I find that these people down here are not satisfied with tae low rates of interest which now prevail in Europe and America. Gccd loans can be placed at 10 per cent, and 1 and 2 per cent a month is not un- common on paper issued for a short time. In, some cases 8 per cent only is asked, but there are always commissions which in- crease the regular interest rates. The pawnbrokers do a big business, and you find them in evéry block. Many of the stock companies pay good dividends. The Lima Waterworks Company pays 12 per cent quarterly, and the Lima Gas Com- pany, which has a capital of $2,000,000 (sil- ver), pays,5 per cent. and the probability is that the stock was largely watered. The Peruvian Telephone Company, which fur- nishes Lima with its service at about half the rates charged in American cities, gives annual dividends of 10 per cent. The capi- tal of the telephone company is $100,000_4 One of the insurance companies here pays dividends of 15 per cent. A flour mill- ing company pays 8 per cent and a wheat warehouse company a like amount. Some of the stock companies which do the best are those which deal with or through the government. There is the Society for the Collection of Taxes, which buys the right able | allowed it to go almost entirely into | There are of the government to collect the taxes on alcohol and tobacco. It pays, I believe, a lump sum, and has in place of it the reve- nue receipts. This company has a capital of a million silver dollars, and its stock ts 100 per cent above par. It prid a dividend of almost 100 per cent last quarter, and is cne of the best things in Peru. Then there is the San Lorenzo™Company, which has vaults out in the Island of San in which all importers of 4y other explosives are compelled by store their goods. The shares in 1 pany have a face value of $0 (sily share. Another company which owns le concession for m. aring to- bacco has a « 1 of 3200, pays a 12 per cent dividend, whil olent Society, which 1 and with the proce ings keeps uy pitals, pays 8 per cent ay FRANK ( wanes WEST AFRICAN CURRENCY. mages the the weekly HOS CARPENTER. Only Cowrie Shelix and Slaves Used im Business Transact From the Contempor: Review The only recognized curreney in Kano and throughout the greater part of the | West African hinterland consists shells and slaves. Nearsthe coa rie shells represent the value of an I n | penny. In the far interior the value of a~ shell is doubled. Even here 10 shillings’ worth cf money weighs 100 pounds. Cowrie shells are, indeed, a perfect cari what a currency should be, do the three characte ing to political econom change lacking as they ies s, a med — namely slaves are dium ef exchange. A sort of feudal sys prevails throughout the greater part West Africa, the smaller towns paying a das the me- nual tribute to larger. Thus Kano has upward of 2” towns which pay tribute to its king, while it in turn pays tribute to Sokoto. Nearly the whole of this tribute is |paid in slaves. Were slavery only abolished, the w would be disorg: possible fe system of ov , and it would rnment im: most of the towns to cther currency in which to pay. What ob- viously is to be done is to introduce @ regular coinage. This can only be done by the presence ly Increas>d numbers Surope country, by whose ans a! which mig! be th nt de- Sirable would soon obtain a ation, The only coin which is at 5 recog nized in the interior is th> Maria Theresa dollar. This coin, which is made in Vienna, and bears date 1780, is manufactured ex- clusively fc to Central Afri contain hillings’ worth of value in t . Gd. It will but not, z Th> wholesale intro- y similar coin which can, howeve with the g fluence, wou ily decre difficule | ties con: ted with the of the | Slave tra As the AS€ hen @ | well-to-d ve sets out on a journey of | any length, beforehand the | probable « a corr>sponding number he tur into cowrie he various markets which his route. The value of a | Slave varies from 100,000 Kw) shells, jor from £% to 2. Thes | market prices; slaves sold | rangement, and whose char: fetch much higher prices. h traveler who objects on priiciple to pting slaves payment of a debt is often s er s inconvenlence in | conseq native king to whom I had sold some of silk became indebt- | gd to me to the extent 000 cowries: s I refused to receive payment in slaves I | had to wait al her two moz s due to me yrhood in thousands of shells wer2 only advantage, as far as I « ch the native derives from the as money the u imited ties which it af rim for cheating th: white man. The latter, who | has seldom « patience to count ja is d to pt from 10 ic cent less than what the native |r to pay. — es Periods in Weathe | From Nature. | A number of investigations have been made on the connection of various terre trial phenomena with the period of rota- tion of the sun, but the results obtained have not definite 1 to estab- been ough Ush the reality of a twenty-six day period of meteorological phenomena. In connection with this question Prof. Arthur Schuster subjects the methods of finding hidden periodicities—small periodic variations hidden behind irregular fluetua- tions—to vigorous analysis in “Terrestrial Magnetism” (March), with the object of introduc little more scientific preci- sion into the treatment of problems involy= ing hidden periodicities, and of applying the theory of probability in such a way as to assign a ite number for the prob- ability that the effects found by means of the usual methods are real, and not due to accidental circumstances.’ The methods described show the lines which investigas tions on the periodicity of phenomena should follow, and point to several interest- ing subjects to which they may profitably be applied. As to results already pub- lished, Prof. Schuster conclud “The general result of a critical exami- nation of the published investigations on the twenty-six day period leads me to think that, although tlle magnetic elements and the occurren be affected by 3 and of its first multiple, the subject re: quires a good deal of further study before We can be sure as to the exact nature of the period. Even though it may be con- sidered as proved, it must not be neces- sarily assumed that it is due to solar ac- tion. If it was a question merely of mag- netic disturbances, there does not seem to be any great improbability, however, that some periodicity may be connected with the sun’s rotation about its axis, espe- cially at times of great sun-spot activity.’ SE CO Birds as Surge: From Public Opinion, Some interesting observations made by M, Fatio on the surgical treatment of wounds by birds were recently brought before the Physical Society of Geneva. In these it was established that the snipe had often been observed in repairing damages. With its beak and feathers it makes a very credite able dressing, and has even been known to secure a broken limb by means of a stout ligature. On one occasion M. Fatio killed a snipe which had on its chest a large dressing composed of down from other parts of thé body and securely fixed to the body by coagulated blood. Twice he had snipe with interwoven feathers strapped on to the site of a fracture of one or other limb. The most interesting example wad that of a sn’pe both of whose legs he ha@ unfortunately broken by a misdirected shot, He only recovered it on the following day, when he found that the wounded bird had ‘contrived to apply dressings and a sort of splint to both limbs. In carrying out this operation some feathers had become en- tangled round the beak, and not being able to use its claws to get rid of them, the poor creature was almost dead from hunger when found. ———_+ e+ ___ Bertha—“Charley says that when we are married mamma shall stay with us as long as she lives.” Edith—“And yet you persist in believing him a truthful man?’—Boston Transcript. “GREAT Joss: (Copyright, 1898, Life Publishing Company.) ANOTHER ONE?”