COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE. 181

The Welsh colliers have an advantage, however, in lower freights
to South America, and in the combinations which unite the interests
of the owners of mines, ships, docking and delivery facilities, and
large foreign consumers of coal, such as British-owned railroads,
ras works, and similar enterprises. A large part of the British export
trade from Wales is in the hands of a few powerful combinations,
such as the Cambrian Coal Combine, which includes coal operators,
distributors, railways, and ship lines, and the Wilson interests, an
important group of English producers and exporters. (See pp. 333
and 338.) The connection of the coal-producing interests with the
shipping interests assures them not only favorable freights but
sufficient carriers. The following incident concretely illustrates this
advantage: In February, 1916, in Buenos Aires, a large consumer of
coal endeavored to contract for a cargo of American coal. The
American firm applied to was not able to find a vessel which could
be chartered, even at the high rates then being required. At the
same time, however, the Buenos Aires company received the offer
of three vessels, loading with coal in Wales. The American firm
lost the sale of its coal through its inability to get a ship.
Certain lines of American manufacturers do not appear to have
been hampered to any great extent by European combinations. In
such articles as typewriters, adding machines, cash registers, sewing
machines, and agricultural machinery the American trade has no
reason to fear the competition of any form of European combination.
 In fact, in most of the articles known as American “‘specialties”
 the development of the trade seems to have been independent
of the size of the company producing them, so long as the sale of
the articles was adequately pushed in the foreign markets. It isin
regard to the class of articles known as staples, which have to meot
competition from similar goods produced in other countries, that
the European manufacturers, by virtue of the greater liberty allowed
for combinations, price agreements, and division of territory, have
an advantage over their American competitors.

SECTION 6. THE NEED OF AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION OF
AMERICAN GOODS.

The greater part of the goods of American origin sold in Brazil,
Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile are imported into those countries
sither through American export houses, dealing either as merchants
or commission men, or through local importing houses. In practically
all cases the distribution of these goods to the consumer, after their
importation into the foreign countries, is not in the hands of Americans.
 The importing houses are almost all owned and managed by
Europeans. The British lead in this line, the Germans come next,
and the French. Italian, and Spanish houses are numerous. Com-