TRADE  WITH  LATIN  AMERICA  217

from  England’s  manufacturers,  on  this  line  of
goods,  was  combated  with  the  unanswerable
argument  that  the  seller  would  be  pleased  to
bill  the  order  at  eight  months  if  desired.
Samples  of  native-made  articles  that  sold
well  were  also  purchased  by  the  wide-awake
representatives  and  sent  home  with  full  and
complete  data  as  to  price,  cost  of  manufacture,
quantities  consumed,  and  any  other  useful  hint
that  practical  observation  might  suggest,  so
that  those  in  Germany  might  have  an  opportunity ­
  to  experiment  with  a  view  to  reducing
the  cost  of  the  article  and  thereby  obtain  commercial ­
  control  of  this  particular  line.  In  a
word,  no  stone  was  left  unturned  to  accomplish ­
  the  object  always  in  view,  namely—the
complete  capture  of  these  markets.
As  orders  began  to  come  in  and  were  ready
for  exportation  Germany  suddenly  realized
that  she  was  confronted  with  a  problem  which
she  had  not  seriously  considered  before—that
of  a  national  merchant  marine.  Without
ships  this  vast  business,  now  practically  acquired, ­
  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  foreigner  who