212

XX
FOREIGN  TRADE  WITH  LATIN  AMERICA  AND
HOW  IT  DEVELOPED
No  military  campaign  was  ever  planned
with  such  exactness  of  detail  and  precision  as
that  which  characterized  the  preliminary
movements  of  the  exporting  nations  of  Europe
to  acquire  control  of  Latin  American  markets.
When  the  Franco-Prussian  war  was  over  and
the  Powers  of  the  Old  World  had  settled  down
to  a  development  of  their  resources,  it  soon  became ­
  apparent  that  foreign  fields  must  be
sought  in  which  to  dispose  of  the  excess  products ­
  of  their  industry.  With  that  object  in
view  governments,  trade  associations,  manufacturers, ­
  shippers,  exporters,  civic  and  social
societies,  colleges,  merchants,  and  individuals
united  in  one  harmonious  movement  to  accomplish ­
  this  purpose.  While  each  nation
followed  more  or  less  the  same  general  plan,