ARGENTINA AND THE GERMANS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3056, 18 April 1917, Page 7

ARGENTINA AND THE GERMANS

; WHAT THE AMERICAN BREACH ■ 'IMPLIES • BLOW TO GERMAN TRADE TTJie cabled reports of Argen- - _, tina's declared attitude of neutrality lend topical interest to the fol- : lowing • dispatch, from Buenos Aires', from\the special correspond- ■ ent of the New York "Evening - Post,"] ' .;.. ■ Argentina has not as yet realised all that the entry of the United Statesinto the war might mean 1 to the South , ' American republics' in herself in particular. ; Apart from -all questions of sentiment —and they are powerful—the present preponderance, of American trade in Argentina, and the fact that many sanguine legislators regarded the American loan so,; frequently referred* to of late as being, to / all intents and purposes, cash in hand, are both factors calculated ; to force the attention of this republic to the Jnew trend -of international J events.-. That the rapid diplomatic moves culminating in the official severance or relations with the Central Empires and their Allies were followed with breathless interest is a foregone 'conclusion.:, J3ut it may be worth while mentioning that, down to the last moment; and,,; even after the sinking of the Housa- • tonic had been announced,', the _Ger- : , mano-Argentine element, both privately, and through the .medium;-of.-it's press, scouted the idea that war was possible. At the moment their atti-' tiide is much more subdued. Indeed, many of the' leading Ger- ~ man firms here are said to be doing' their best to insist.still more than they, . have done in the past on their complete severance from European Germany, in principle as well as in fact, while the' rupture with the States they v describe as a .diplomatic blunder of the first magnitude, for ' the simple,-.. reason' that it cuts South American, trade from under them, not only 'at the present time, but also, potentially, when the war shall Fe over. That German interests were convinced of their- hold on this market, and their certain superiority of men oyer all their competitors, once German' manufacturers were available, to them, is mat- . ter of,common knowledge. Cheapness, good salesmanship, and the friendship of the Hispano- v Argentine element—.-._ these were the three factors of their sum, the last-named being almost as \ important as the -first awl'Vocand items. That friendship they fed they have lost for a very long time. — It is scarcely necessary to do more than mention the fact that-. GermanoArgcntine firms -have been handling the bulk of. the. Argentine export trade in hides, wool, and general produce to' the States, while most people who follow up Argentine affairs are also aware that it is"to America that the major portion of the republic's whole production in_ the first-mentioned, lines has been shipped. There is not likely to be a slackening in the demand; on the contrary, prices are likely to bo brisk arid rising;'hut as yet it is doubtful whether the same firms will be engaged in the business. AH figure on , the British statutory list, one was the official agent of the German Government, and in the early days of the war.'* all were concerned in the attempts made to send German vessels that had taken refugo in _ Argentine ports to sea, as . ■supply ships to the raiding squadrons. ■ It now remains to bo seen whether they will continue their shipments to the United States, and thus lend their aid to the Allies, oven indirectly, or whether they will susnend- business and stand on the capital they liave in hand.