tions of the civilized world in which the dead statesman had served his country in various official and diplomatic capacities. It was in the performance of a duty whose ultimate results will still further cement the union of friendship between Chile and the United States-the opening of the Chilean Building at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition that Señor VICUÑA contracted the illness which terminated fatally. When the news of the Minister's death was received at the Exposition grounds, the Chilean Building was at once closed and draped in mourning, and after the religious services at Buffalo, the body was shipped to Washington under a distinguished escort, where it was met by representatives of the various Central and South American Governments and of the State Department of the United States. The Government of the United States and the American diplomatic body accredited to Washington, to which the Japanese representation joined with great cordiality, and the Bureau of the American Republics and the Chilean Commission to the Exposition made every possible effort to render to the deceased due honor. On the reception of the intelligence of the demise of Señor VICUÑA, Hon. JOHN HAY, Secretary of State of the United States, paid the following tribute to his fellow-diplomat: The death of Mr. MORLA VICUÑA will be profoundly regretted here and in Chile. He was a man not only of great learning and experience, of remarkable ability in the field of diplomacy and polities, but also a most charming and attractive personality. He neglected no occasion to act in the interest of his own country, but he was a man of such delightful address and such true amiability that he was a favorite everywhere among his colleagues and among those American officials who were brought into contact with him. He will be deeply mourned and greatly missed in this country, while his death will be to his own Government a lamentable loss." The active and valuable career of the deceased Minister is indicated in the following sketch, covering fifty-seven years of distinguished service: men. Señor VICUÑA was one of the best known South American statesHe began his diplomatic career in Washington in 1870 as Secretary of the Chilean Legation, serving in that capacity for two years, and was then transferred to London. Later, while filling the same office at the legation in Paris, he was appointed Financial Secretary of Chile in connection with the various European legations. In 1895 he was appointed Minister to Uruguay and Paraguay, and in 1896 became Minister to the Argentine Republic. In the latter part of that year he was made Secretary of State in the Chilean Cabinet, and after holding that office for ten months was sent as Minister to the United States, succeeding Señor DOMINGO GANA, who was transferred to London. He was also Commissioner to the Pan-American Exposition, and a member of the Chilean Claims Commission, which recently completed its work. The VICUÑAS have long been prominent in South American affairs. Señor Don ELIODORO INFANTE, Secretary of the Legation, and now Chargé d'Affaires of Chile, made the necessary arrangements for shipping the remains of the distinguished diplomat to his native country. GERMAN COMMERCIAL METHODS IN SOUTH AMERICA. The "London Times" of August 15, 1901, contains a communication from a correspondent, then in Paraguay, regarding German commercial methods in South America. The correspondent writes from the standpoint of an Englishman who sees in the German a strong competitor for Spanish American trade. In part this communication reads as follows: "The Germans are thoroughly systematic in their methods; they are also persevering and energetic. In South American countries the German commercial traveler is ubiquitous; he is much more in evidence than his English confrère. So much is this the case that in some of the larger cities there are clubs exclusively for the use of German commercials. These latter always speak fluently the language of the country which they canvass; this is not always the case with the English traveler, who may occasionally be seen going his rounds accompanied by interpreters and guides; it is needless to say that in such a case he is heavily handicapped in the race. "Another point in favor of the Germans is the thoroughness and care with which they study the requirements of their foreign customers and make every endeavor to conform to them. As an instance of this, a German firm of boot manufacturers not long ago wrote to its agent in Rio de Janeiro asking him to send as samples a complete set of boots of all kinds, purchased in the local market, with a note of their prices, wholesale and retail, the duties payable on them, etc., in order to enable the firm to fully understand the requirements of the Brazilian boot trade. This is no solitary instance; the same care, perseverence, and attention to minute details are characteristic of German traders in all parts of the world. "The Germans have been blamed for giving long credits and easier terms to their customers than those conceded by British merchants, in many cases compelling the latter to follow suit or lose trade. This is no doubt true, and accounted for by the fact that the Germans, on entering a field in which their rivals were already in possession, found it necessary to make some sacrifice in order to gain a foothold, which, once gained, they held with the most obstinate tenacity. * * * The British public in general are little aware of the steady and persistent bid for commercial supremacy which is being made by the Germans, notably in Spanish America, which was, and is still, one of the most valuable outlets for British trade. British trade, especially in Manchester goods, is still preeminent in most parts of Spanish America, but there are some countries which the writer has visited (such as Paraguay, Venezuela, and Mexico) where German activity is much more notable and where German trade shows a tendency to increase at the expense of British. "In making this comparison, published statistics of imports and exports will often be found to be misleading. Take, for example, Paraguay and Uruguay, countries nearly equal in extent and population. The export trade of the former country amounts to £500,000 per annum, and that of the latter to £6,055,400, or more than twelve times as much, from which the inference is drawn that Uruguay is twelve times as prosperous; and it has been stated that it is a consumer (per capita of the population) of British goods to a greater extent than any other country, the imports being about equal to the exports. This delusion arises from the fact that Montevideo, the capital and principal port of Uruguay, is the entrepôt of a large transit trade with the adjoining countries and with Paraguay. The bulk of the foreign trade of Paraguay is done through Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, helping to swell the published returns of those ports at the expense of Paraguay. In Paraguay there is scarcely a single English firm of any importance, most of the wholesale import and export houses being German. On the river Parana the British flag is never seen north of Rosario, though German steamers ply as far north as Asunción. Although the river is only navigable to this point by river steamers of less than 1,200 tons burden, some of the German steamers carry more than 2,000 tons. This they do by lashing barges of 500 tons or more on each side, a feat rendered easy by the great width of the river. It is characteristic that, while the principal German steamship lines give through bills of lading from the European ports at which their steamers call to Asunción, the English lines steadfastly refuse to do this, and will only deliver at Montevideo or Buenos Ayres. The reason for this refusal is not stated, but it is needless to say that this apathy has thrown the upriver traffic into German hands. "The same state of things was found to prevail in Venezuela. It is nine years since the writer first visited that country, since when there has certainly been no comparative gain to British trade. The visit was confined to the Orinoco region, and here also the trade was mainly in German hands. There was then no direct steamship communication between Venezuela and England, though direct German steamers touched at the principal Venezuelan ports at short intervals. "In Mexico, a country of 13,000,000 inhabitants, the condition of |