74 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.

favorable to national interests as to disregard considerations of price,
even when the possible saving mounts to six figures. It says:
In the Argentine, in particular, we have encountered serious difficulty
 in selling to the railroads, as these are largely controlled by
British financial interests. Every possible preference is given to
British materials—even though substantial economies may be possible
by employing American construction methods and materials. The
consulting engineers in Londen receive a percentage on all materials
purchased on designs which they prepare or which may be prepared
by the engineers of the railroad and are approved by them. Their
antagonism toward everything American even led them in one case
to adopt a very expensive and antiquated construction, using local
materials, rather than approve a design which we submitted and
which would have effected a saving of upward of $100,000. Our
design was approved and urgently recommended by the chief and
assistant engineers in Buenos Aires, but their recommedations were
promptly overruled by the consulting engineers and the directors in
London.
Another striking case was in connection with a group of large
structures. Here again our design, which showed a saving of $60,000
to $70,000, was accepted and approved by the engineer in Buenos
Aires, but his decision was immediately set aside by the German
directors, who advised him that the financing of the project by German
 capital was conditioned upon German materials being employed
throughout.

A large American concern making metal-working machinery and
exporting some of it, states that where foreign capital has been invested
 it is often impossible to secure orders even at a heavy discount
on prices. It says:
This condition is most emphasized in South America, where it is
very difficult to sell American metal-working machinery, due to the
fact that most of the large enterprises, such as railroads, mines, etc.,
are owned by English or German capital. These concerns maintain
a resident manager at the property, and all buying is done through
some trading concern or organization in England or Germany that is
friendly to or controlled by the capital. We now and then are able
bo trace some of our special machinery to South America which was
shipped to Europe and bought from our European agent by these
trading companies at a price from 10 to 25 per cent higher than we
would have been willing to deliver directly.
A manufacturer of electrical supplies makes the following points:

(a) In the Argentine: The electric lighting and power companies
of Buenos Aires, financed by German capital and equipped with
(German machinery.
The electric tramways of Buenos Aires, developed and financed by
German and English capital and equipped with German machinery.
(6) In Chile: The lighting and tramway developments in Valparaiso
 and Santiago, financed by German capital and equipped with
German machinery.