TRADE  WITH  LATIN  AMERICA  219

and  as  a  result  her  export  trade  as  well  as  her
import  trade,  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds,
making  her  the  envy  of  all  Europe,  a  condition
which  in  the  opinion  of  many  people  undoubtedly ­
  had  much  to  do  with  precipitating  the
European  War.
This  briefly  is  the  story  of  how  Germany
secured  control  of  not  only  Latin  American
trade,  but  much  of  the  over  seas  business  of  the
world.  In  the  republics  to  the  south  of  us  the
national  effect  of  this  commercial  invasion  is
very  noticeable.  Natives  were  invited  to  visit
and  get  acquainted  with  Germans  in  Germany,
and  when  they  accepted  were  the  recipients  of
such  courteous  treatment  and  became  so  thoroughly ­
  impressed  with  the  perfection  of  the
German  nation  in  every  field  of  enterprise,
that  they  returned  enthusiasts  on  the  subject.
One  of  the  results  of  this  is  seen  to-day  in  the
armies  of  Colombia,  Mexico,  Chile,  Argentine, ­
  Venezuela  and  some  of  the  Central
American  countries.  They  have  all  been  instructed ­
  by  German  officers,  imported  for  the
special  purpose  and  kindly  loaned  by  the  Ger ­