government for the assertion of those demands is fully entitled to the approval and to the moral support of the civilized powers. The sympathies and good wishes of most of the powers are with France in this controversy, which they feel is largely a common quarrel of civilization against barbarism, while there is no power which will move a finger to help Turkey in the scrape into which the folly and dishonesty of her rulers threatens to plunge her."

Although intervention by Germany or Russia was out of the question, the Sultan was in no hurry to comply with the French demands. A telegram from Constantinople of Sept. 10 stated that the Porte promised to pay M. Tubini 162,000 Turkish pounds ($712,800). It was expected that the Lorando claim ($2,464,000) would be shortly arranged. However, matters dragged along for weeks, there being no agreement as to details. On Oct. 5 M. Delcasse insisted on the immediate payment of 340,000 Turkish pounds ($1,496,000) for the Lorando claim. The Ottoman government was too poor to pay this without a loan and applied to Russia for mediation with the view of obtaining a reduction in the amount. Weeks passed and nothing was heard from Russia. Owing to the unsettled conditions in the interior of Turkey, the French government delayed taking coercive measures until Oct. 30. Then the Sultan's day of grace was up, and the French Mediterranean squadron under Admiral Caillard was dispatched to Turkish waters. The fleet arrived at Mitylene, a small island on the western coast of Asia Minor, Nov. 5. The marines landed without any resistance on the part of the Turkish subjects. This move had the desired effect. The evident intention of France was to seize the customs of the ports. The Sultan promptly agreed to settle. It was reported. (Nov. 8) that he sent drafts on the customs department in full payment of the Lorando and Tubini claims, and on Nov. 9 the troops were ordered withdrawn.

A dispatch from Constantinople, dated Nov. 8, says that the Sultan, "in accepting the French demands, first authorizes the working of the French schools, hitherto unrecognized; secondly, he recognizes, officially, the existence of the religious and hospitable institutions already founded and accords them customs immunity and exemption from certain taxes; and, thirdly, he authorizes the reconstruction of the schools and hospitable institutions destroyed at the time of the Armenian troubles, of which a detailed list is attached to the French note."

In foreign countries some ill feeling was aroused at France's summary action, but discussion subsided when the explanation was received that France did not intend to occupy Mitylene permanently.

That the incident ends here is hardly to be believed. French policy toward Turkey will be somewhat different in the future. According to the Paris correspondent of the London Economist (Oct. 12, 1901), "payment of the claims put forward by French creditors against the Ottoman government and supported by France will not terminate the strained relations between France and Turkey, but will be followed by fresh demands, this time of a political character. The Porte has never recognized

the Treaty of the Bardo, by which the Bey of Tunis submitted to a French protectorate, and has always affected to consider the Tunisian population as Ottoman subjects. Letters from Constantinople foreshadow a demand by France for a formal recognition of the treaty of 1881, and also a rectificauion of the frontier between Tunis and Tripoli, extending the limits of the protected Regency."

The comment of The Nation (Nov. 7, 1901) on the latest development of the Turko-French dispute is suggestive: "The event is significant chiefly because it marks the complete downfall of the traditional British, and one might say European, theory of dealing with the Porte." In the future other nations will adopt the same tactics of coercion. Abdul Hamid's authority is nearly at an end. The shaky structure of the Ottoman Empire may topple over at any time. Its doom cannot be much longer stayed by treaties framed a generation ago.

Mitylene is famous because of its classic associations. It is one of "the isles of Greece" of which Byron sang. It is the Lesbos of ancient history, renowned as the home of Sappho, Alcæus, and other poets. Under Turkish rule the people have degenerated. The island now has a population of about 40,000, principally Greeks. Its trade is unimportant. It exports grapes, figs, cotton, and pitch. It formerly produced wheat in abundance and wine of superior quality. As the revenues of Mitylene are small, France selected it doubtless for its strategic importance as a naval base.

UNITED STATES, TRADE WITH SOUTH AMERICA. What is the cause of the unsatisfactory condition of our trade with South America? That it is unsatisfactory cannot be doubted when its record is examined in comparison with that of other parts of the world. For many years we have bought from South America from 2 to 3 times as much as we have sold to it, while from the world at large we have meantime bought much less than we have sold to it. Yet to other parts of the world our exports have gone on increasing, while to South America they have been practically stationary. Our total exports grew from 857 million dollars in 1890 to 1,394 millions in 1900, and our exports of manufactures from 151 millions to 433 millions in the same period. Yet the record of our exports to South America in 1900 was practically the same as that of 1890, the exact figures being, in 1890, $38,742,648, and in 1900, $38.945,763. In 1890 we took over 11 per cent of our imports from South America, and it took about 4% per cent of our exports. In 1900 we again took 11 per cent of our imports from that continent, but it took less than 3 per cent of our exports. Its countries are our next-door neighbors, and we have stood for nearly a century as their guardian and protector against encroachments of European powers; yet their purchases from Germany exceed those from the United States, from France they are 5 per cent greater than from this country, from the United Kingdom more than double those from the United States, and from Europe as a whole they are nearly 5 times as much as from us. They sell us 30 per cent of our exports, yet they buy

from us but 11 per cent of their imports. The exports from the United Kingdom to the seven principal countries of South America-Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela-were in 1899 $87,800,734; those of France, $45,962,520; those of Germany, $37,490,712; and those of the United States, their next-door neighbor and avowed protector, but $32,371,870.

With Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies, the situation is not so serious. To Central America our exports increased from $5,269,478 in 1890 to $6,542,101 in 1900; to the West Indies, from $33,197,222 in 1890 to $48,560,682 in 1900; and to Mexico, from $13,285,287 in 1890 to $34,974,961 in 1900; and to all

these countries our exports are greater than those of any European nation. In 1897 we supplied 11 per cent of the total imports of the South American States, 20 per cent of the total imports of the West Indies, the Central American States 33 per cent, Venezuela and Colombia 27 and 35 per cent, respectively, and of Mexico, in close communication by rail, 50 per cent.

The following table shows the exports of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela in South America, and to the Central American States and Mexico, in 1899, the latest year for which the figures for France and Germany are available:

A more detailed study of our commerce with these countries, especially in the light of proximity and accessibility, suggests that the cause of the unsatisfactory condition above noted may be found largely in the lack of transportation facilities. As already shown, we supply practically 50 per cent of the imports of Mexico, 33 per cent of those of the Central American States, 27 and 35 per cent, respectively, of those of Venezuela and Colombia, and 20 per cent of those of the West Indies. With the countries of South America fronting upon the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, however, conditions are less satisfactory, and as distance increases and transportation facilities decrease, the percentage which we supply of their imports also decreases. Of the total imports of South America. 87 per cent. is taken by the countries fronting upon, or receiving their imports by, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. To Brazil, whose imports in 1899 amounted to 105 million dollars, the United States supplied about 10 per cent.: to Uruguay, and Paraguay, whose imports amounted to 26 millions, we supplied less than 7 per cent; to Argentina, whose imports amounted to 112 millions, we

68,341,812

35,670,250

supplied about 10 per cent; to Chile, whose imports amounted to 38 millions, Peru $8,500,000, Bolivia, $8,600,000, and Ecuador, $7,000,000, we supplied on an average about 10 per cent of their total imports. Taking the northern coast of South America, which imports annually goods to the value of $36,000,000, we supply an average of about 25 per cent. The eastern coast fronting upon the Atlantic imports goods amounting to $275,000,000 annually, and the Pacific Coast, $60,000,000, and of this our proportion is in each case about 10 per cent. It cannot be asserted that this condition is a temporary one, for a comparison of conditions in earlier years with those of the present time gives an equally unsatisfactory showing. In 1870 the entire group of American countries lying south of the United States, including Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and all of South America, took 18 per cent of their imports from the United States; in 1887, 13 per cent; in 1897, a little less than 18 per cent. Comparing the figures of our exports to these countries with our total exports, the percentage is still less advantageous. In 1868 exports from the United States to the American coun

tries south of its borders were 20 per cent of the total exports; in 1878, a little less than 10 per cent; in 1888, slightly above 10 per cent; in 1898, 7 per cent, and in 1901, about 9 per cent.

Nor can it be urged by way of explanation that we are not able to offer to these countries the class of goods which they desire to purchase. On the contrary, their imports from European countries are the very class of articles for which the people of the United States are striving to find a market.

Brazil is a fair example. In 1897, the latest year for which accurate comparative statistics of all South American countries are available, its imports were larger than those of any other South American country, being in that year, 105 million dollars, against Argentina 95 millions, Chile 24 millions, Uruguay 20 millions, Venezuela 13 millions, and Colombia and Bolivia 111⁄2 millions each. In 1899 they were 105 millions, against 112 millions into Argentina. The imports into Brazil in 1897 aggregated about one-third of the total imports of all South America. A study of her imports as to character and countries of origin may therefore be considered as fairly representative of the South American trade. Owing to the insufficiency of Brazilian commercial statistics, the analysis can best be made by taking the export statements of the principal countries supplying goods to Brazil. An examination of the commercial records of the principal countries from which Brazil drew her imports in 1899 shows that the exports to Brazil from the 5 principal countries from which her imports were drawn were as follows:

EXPORTS ΤΟ BRAZIL FROM FIVE PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES IN 1899.

United Kingdom

.$27,412,693

12,239,036

Fancy goods, including

fans, perfumery, etc....6,748,702 Fish, packed in oil, etc.... 169,499 Hair of all kinds...

6,530,558

172,412

39,814

73,932

88,955

299,778

.2,817,674

2,991,567

Jewelry and watches.....1,087,437 Leather and skins, and manufactures of

1,369,477

Oils, olive

6,064,585 38,905

5,080,414

77,952

1900.

Paper, books, engrav

ings, etc.

..2,308,711

2,427,573

Value of mark 23.8 cents.

The above statements may be considered a fair indication of the sales which European countries are making in the South American countries. It would be entirely practicable to present similar statements with reference to the exports from European countries to the other countries of South America, but limits of space forbid. The figures already quoted, however, indicate clearly that the articles are of a class which could be readily furnished by the United States if proper facilities for supplying them were at hand.

This suggests the question as to the cause of the failure of American goods to make their way into this great market aggregating nearly $300,000,000 a year for South America, and over $500,000,000 for South and Central America and the West Indies.

I do not include Mexico in this list because our exports to Mexico are satisfactory owing to the presence of ample transportation facilities between the two countries.

That the failure of our exports to invade South America is chiefly due to lack of transportation is. I think, equally apparent. I have also omitted from all of the above discussion the figures for 1901; the reason for this omission will be seen in the statements which follow:

During the year 1900 lines of steamships were established between San Francisco and the Pacific ports of Mexico, Central and South America, and for the first time that part of the

Falkland Islands..

1900

1901

Increase (†) Decrease (-)

or

Dollars

Dollars

Dollars

-20,569

†93,092

11,558,237 11,537,668

59,223 152,315

11,578,119 12,034,267 †456,148 3,287,565 5,294,726 †2,007,161 2,710,688 3,142,052 †431,364 1,216,008 2,015,085 799,077 1,915,192 1,734,404 -180,788 493,985 610,987 +117,002 189,910 200,007 †10,097

4,884 12,695 +7,811 1,662,475 3,126,934 †1,464,459 1,816,720 1,637,074 -179,646 2,452,757 3,271,877 +819,120 797 +797

Total S. America 38,945,763 44,770,888 +5,825,125 Central America.. 5,926,579 6,707,465 †780,886

ex

The figures of the above table are extremely suggestive. In the fiscal year 1901 our ports to South America showed for the first time in many years a marked increase, the growth being from $38,945,763 in 1900 to $44,470,888 in 1901. An examination of the above table of exports to South America, country by country, shows that practically all of the growth has been in the exports to the countries fronting upon the Pacific, while the figures of the exports to Central America and Mexico, whose ports are also reached by the newly established steamship lines, likewise show a material increase.

An examination of the entire field covered by our trade with the countries lying south of us seems to justify the conclusion that the unsatisfactory condition is largely due to lack of regular and reliable methods of direct transportation. As has been aiready indicated, our exports to Mexico, with which there is close intercommunication by rail and steamship, are satisfactory; to Central America and the countries fronting upon the Caribbean Sea, reached by frequent steamship service, our exports form a much larger percentage of the total purchases than is the case with the countries farther south fronting upon the Atlantic and Pacific. To the latter we furnished prior to last year but little more than 10 per cent of their total imports. To the countries bordering upon the Pacific, our exports during the last year have, as already shown, greatly increased, while to those fronting upon the Atlantic they have remained practically stationary. An examination into the transportation facilities between the eastern coast cities of the United States and South America shows that while the transportation from South America tó