AMERICAN GOODS IN VENEZUELA
American goods have always been welcome in Venezuela, even when
Americans were _personae non gratae_ in the country. The greatest
obstacle in the way of increased sales of American goods in Venezuela
is _American selling methods_.
In selling the Venezuelan market, German and British merchants
have always evidenced a readiness to adapt their goods to meet the
requirements of Venezuelans, while it has been the policy of Americans
in general, to attempt to force their customers to alter their
requirements to fit American goods. The World War, by shutting off
Europe from South America, helped certain American dealers to force
on Venezuela goods which the merchants of that country did not want.
A homely example of American "strong arm" selling methods occurred
during the war in the matter of an order for a quantity of stickers, or
labels, to be pasted on small packages. The Venezuelan house ordered
the labels without the usual gummed back, as the climate of the country
propagates myriads of mucilage-hungry insects and was clearly not
favorable to the usual form of gummed-back stickers. Therefore, the
order was given for a certain number of printed labels with plain
backs, the intention being to apply mucilage to the labels as needed.
The American exporter, however, promptly sent the usual gummed-back
labels with the intimation that he was selling labels with gummed-backs
and not labels with another kind of back and that he did not think
it advisable to change his wares in order to fill a small order. The
Venezuelan house needed the labels and as Europe was isolated, it was
forced to accept, under protest, an article which was clearly doomed
to prove unsatisfactory. This is but one example of what I have been
told is one of the greatest defects in American selling policy. Now
that the war is over and Europe is hastening to pick up the slack ends
of her world trade, America is liable to lose a large part of her
war-won trade if she does not immediately alter her previous attitude.
"With the exception of flour, lard, lumber, cement, certain lines of
dry goods, typewriters, cash registers, sewing machines and a few
other articles in which Europe does not compete, the main current of
importation into Venezuela has been from European countries, which
have for many years made a careful study of the merchandise and packing
requirements of the Republic. Backed by ample banking facilities,
European firms have given liberal and long credits to facilitate the
sale of their products."[26]
[26] "Market for Construction Materials in Venezuela," Bureau of
Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
The necessity of careful packing has been systematically dinned
into the ears of American exporters and as consistently ignored. As
import duties into Venezuela are in many cases charged on commodity
and container alike and as the chief means of transportation in the
interior is by burros, over mountain trails, the packing should be as
light and at the same time as durable as possible. In this connection,
there is a story current in Caracas with reference to a shipment of
small balloons for testing purposes, which may or may not be true, but
which vividly illustrates the point. The American house, upon receiving
an order for a number of balloons to be delivered to Venezuela, is
charged with having inflated each and every balloon, enclosed each
balloon in a separate case and shipped the entire order in this form!
In the near future, Germany will again be a dangerous competitor in
Venezuela. At the present time there is a German trade commission
touring the country and plans are also in process of formation for
German immigration on a huge scale. Though the present government of
Venezuela is more than well disposed towards the United States, it is
clearly evident that the mass of Venezuelans while not hostile, are
rather more suspicious than friendly, while the feeling of sympathy
for Germany is and always has been manifestly very strong. There is
strong German propaganda now at work in Venezuela for the future sale
of German goods. The idea is deeply set in the Venezuelan mind, as
deeply rooted as his feeling of distrust of the "Norte Americano," that
what is made in Germany is the best. There have even been instances
where American goods have been sold as "Made in Germany," because of
this skillful insinuation of the superiority of German goods. For a
long time "Reuter's soap," manufactured by a New York concern, sold
widely in the Republic, and every Venezuelan merchant would have sworn
that the Reuter Company was a German concern, in spite of the fact that
"REUTER COMPANY--NEW YORK," was plainly marked on every package. The
United States should institute a counter trade-propaganda in favor of
goods "Made in America," if she would retain and increase the volume of
her trade with Venezuela.
Experience has shown that the best means of furthering the sale
of American goods is through the establishment of agencies in the
principal cities of the country. Formerly much good American energy
was wasted through the practice of sending out commercial travellers
who toured the country without first studying the field and reporting
regularly to the head office in the States. A resident American
agent, with several assistants to alternate on selling trips into the
interior, forms friendships, observes, and establishes liaison with the
government, which is of prime importance in commercial dealings with
certain Latin-American republics. Especially in meeting the peculiar
customs regulations by which so many incoming shipments are questioned,
held up, fined or confiscated, is the resident foreigner more apt to
secure expeditious treatment while the native handling an agency would
be without the recourse always at hand for the American representative.
A serious obstacle to Venezuela's trade and to the future extension of
the sale of American goods in the Republic is the complicated system of
customs collection. The complaints heard are those of friends anxious
to facilitate trade and eliminate sources of friction. "There are nine
classes in the customs tariff, ranging from 0.05 Bs. per kilo gross
for the first class to Bs. 20 per kilo gross for the ninth class. In
addition to the regular schedule, some articles are subject to specific
or ad valorem surtaxes, two surtaxes of 12½% each, the National Tax
and the Territorial Tax were authorized in April, 1901, and a 30% duty
established by a decree of February, 1903, for the purpose of paying
off the foreign indebtedness and continued by decree of June, 1912, to
be used for internal improvements. There is also the sanitary tax of
1% and a surtax of 30% on imports from the West Indies (since June,
1881) designed to promote the establishment of wholesale houses and
warehouses."[27]
[27] Compilations from "Ley de Aduanas," and "Ley de arancel de
Derechos de importacion de 16 de junio de 1915."
"American exporters have been discouraged by the intricate system of
fines and penalties imposed by the customs regulations for slight
errors in invoices."[28] The customs collectors and officials receive
meager salaries, but the discoverer of an error in an invoice, or other
violation of customs regulations, receives one half of the resultant
fine. Consequently, there is a natural zeal in discovering errors,
frequently resulting in fines for the omission of commas, faulty use
of semi-colons and for abbreviating. "As compared with other South
American countries, Venezuela is placed at a distinct disadvantage and
many American merchants have refused to continue doing business in the
Republic."[29]
[28] Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, "Venezuela."
[29] Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, "Venezuela."
Other obstacles to the furtherance of the sale of American goods in
Venezuela are poor steamship connections with the States and the
resultant slowness of mails and the unwillingness of the larger
American export houses to ship small trial orders which the merchants
in Venezuela frequently insist upon.
In closing, the writer may use the privilege of a patriotic American to
say a word concerning the impressions he received as to the character
and ability of the salesmen of American goods encountered in Venezuela.
While there are many young men in the field who are models of strong
character and efficiency (for the most part Porto Ricans), it must be
confessed that the larger cities and the capital, Caracas, are not
over-supplied with energetic young American salesmen of steady habits
able to command the respect of the Venezuelan buyers.[30]
_George A. Townsend._
[30] Together with this report the writer has submitted detailed
statistics containing the following information; the tables are on file
in the School of Foreign Service:
1.--Ten year table of foreign trade of Venezuela.
2.--Value of imports by ports in bolivares.
3.--Principal articles of export for the years 1917 and 1918 valued in
bolivares.
4.--Exports by ports, 1917 and 1918 (bolivares).
5.--Destination of exports, 1918 (bolivares).
6.--Entrance of ships by ports--1918.
7.--Entrance of ships by flags--1918.
8.--Sailings by ports--1918.
9.--Sailings by flags--1918.
10.--Imports for the six years 1913 to 1918 (in bolivares).
11.--Exports in the six years 1913 to 1918--bolivares.
APPENDIX
I
LECTURE DELIVERED BY DR. PEDRO ITRIAGO CHACÍN ON JULY 30, 1920,
IN THE SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
CARACAS, MARKING THE END OF THE COURSE OF STUDY CARRIED ON BY
THE STUDENTS OF THE SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE OF GEORGETOWN
UNIVERSITY IN CARACAS, VENEZUELA.
_Professor Sherwell:_
_Students of the University of Georgetown:_
We are pleased that you have had the opportunity to experience the
affection of the Venezuelan Government and people for your illustrious
country, a country admirable in every respect and especially because
of the fact that when our nationalities began their lives, she was the
stronghold of American rights.
Through a magnificent destiny, which you are loftily fulfilling, you
proclaim yourselves the champions of a democracy whose models will be,
on the American continent, amid glory common to us all, Washington and
Bolívar; the one representing the equanimity of the great Saxon race,
and the other embodying the dreams of progress, at times impatient, but
always magnanimous, of that Latin soul which vibrates in our veins and
inspires our conduct.
These two souls come into symbolical contact to-day,--and God grant
that it be forever so!--in this intellectual communion of youthful
students at the foot of our Ávila, students who may one day be the
citizens of that future country announced by Rodó, which may then
call itself by a single, glorious name--simply and grandly,--America,
a country created not through political combinations or sordid
calculations, nor through imperialistic and warlike expansions, but
through community of interests and community of ideas; a country
created through confraternity, supported by justice, and made
everlasting through right.
Gentlemen:
The noblest edifice that has reared its ideal shield over the world is
Law.
No institution created by mortal beings (by its grandeur, law has been
thought divine, and indeed, _jus_ and _fas_ were identical in their
origin) answers more fully the higher aspirations of the human soul.
Man, who has lived in a hole in a rock, or on his native plains, under
the roof of heaven, can build for his residence dwellings more or less
sumptuous; for him a ray of a torrid sun is an abundance; when he loves
or dreams he is satisfied with a moonbeam and is able to boast that he
has destroyed darkness; man, who carries within himself the essential
substance of all beings, the substance which, by its manifestations,
is the synthesis of the world, and through which great silent men can
live happily by themselves, may traverse distances with the wings of
the condor and, at will, join his fellow-beings for pleasure or for
labor; he inhabits palaces with Agrippa, partakes of banquets with
Lucullus, and is carried with Cleopatra, in the bark of pleasure, the
nuptial, dream-hued ship. * * * But is that all, the final purpose of
his destiny? Is such perchance, the essential? Does that answer the
cravings of his own soul and the conscience of humanity?
No; that is not the test of value, not even of progress. For in the
face of such philosophy a thousand queries will ever rise to his lips.
Is he free or not? Does he enjoy equality and, on his part, does he
not tyrannize? Does he hold among his fellow-beings a place, great or
humble, but a place, none the less, from which he can work out his
own destiny and that of a group such as his family, his city, or his
country? May he think, live, produce, build up a fortune and a home
for himself, thus ennobling with a serene dignity his existence and
finally perpetuating himself, through his ideas, his children, and his
achievements? In order that we may always freely answer "yes," man
has forged Law. And I repeat it, he has truly forged law because that
process, though begun with man himself and continuing through all the
ages to be his glory in history and for eternity, this science which he
has produced is like those lofty structures which have exhausted the
effort of one generation after another, their formidable architecture
forever providing unfinished work for generations to come.
In that great total, one of the most modern and perhaps one of the
noblest parts is International Law, whose subjects are not merely
individuals, but the groups we call states.
When, in the midst of the dismay produced in our souls by the European
war, I began, in 1917, my lectures on the History of International Law,
I made an optimistic profession of faith, a profession of absolute
faith in the efficacy of those principles of justice which must
regulate the relations of peoples.
Permit me to repeat what I said on that occasion:
International Law is truly a triumph of reason. Applying to this
subject a well-known saying spoken, however, with reference to
broader fields, it is "human reason itself in so far as applied to
the government of nations." For although some of its rules are obeyed
crudely and instinctively as manifestations of social requirements
in primitive groups, force, which is the negation of Right, has
prevailed over those rules to such an extent that only through the
supreme influence of religious ideas, which are all powerful in the
infancy of social organizations, have they been applied to some extent
in safeguarding rights such as the respect due to ambassadors, the
inviolability of sacred truces and the burial of soldiers fallen on
battlefields.
It was through an effort of reason, ever progressing and steadily
receiving more enlightenment, that, with the passing of centuries,
those standards which now impose unavoidable obligations on modern
states have been established. The evolution has been harmonious in its
changes, and reflects the different stages of civilization through
which mankind has advanced.
Reason has striven to replace the reign of violence, the negation of
thought, by effecting the progressive development of human society
through the force of justice; and, hence it is that every day more
perfect relations have been established among civilized countries
through respect for the equality of all and through the acknowledgment
of mutual individuality, which is in effect a consequence of the
respect we demand for ourselves. In short, this advance rests on the
realization of the dignity of man, a realization which, in this case,
leads men logically to admit the sovereignty of the people and the
sovereign independence of the state, which implies that each is free
to organize as it seems fit in order to fulfil its destiny without
foreign interference.
It is only too true that the present catastrophe which shook the
world has given rise to the thought, the sad thought, that the work
of centuries has failed; and truly the spectacle appals us with its
magnitude. The leaders of humankind, who led the forward movement
towards spiritual freedom, who had fostered congresses and conferences
designed to draw men closer to one another and thus to settle their
differences, who had established at The Hague a supreme Tribunal of
Nations, have seen themselves compelled to adopt the very expedient
which seemed forever repudiated because of universal condemnation.
England, prudent England, the model on which all free nations chose to
shape their institutions and their lives; vigorous Germany, as learned
as she is strong, whose power is established through the maintenance
of that discipline and virile rule of life admired by Tacitus who
proposed it to the decadent Romans as reproach since it could not
serve as a model; Italy, our teacher in arts as well as in the science
we profess, favored as she was with the subtle, deep and harmonious
genius which made forever famous the schools of Proculus and Sabinus;
France, admired and admirable France, alma mater of so many happy
innovations and of so many generations of high thinkers, especially of
that generation of a century ago, deemed heroic as Carlyle understood
heroism, and which aroused by Bolívar translated idealism into action
and immortalized the most transcendental moment in the history of these
Americas;--Russia,--I shall refrain from mentioning Russia because a
dark cloud has obscured for the great majority the spiritual strength
of that people, weighed down with future problems but permeated with
a sentimental and deep mysticism which some discovered when they grew
to admire Tolstoy and Dostoievsky whom Enrico Ferri has compared to
Dante,--all these nations and those they strongly influence, all these
peoples who occupy so prominent a place in history, we see fanaticized
by the fire of war, sowing death mercilessly, spreading ruin from one
hemisphere to another and planting pessimism, if not despair, in one
conscience after another. This, too, just when it seemed impossible
that any of them, at the present stage of development, should need to
engage in contest other than those through which life could be more
secure and comfortable, physical welfare greater, and nations brought
nearer the tranquil reign of the spirit.
But we must never lose sight of the fact that all this is but a crisis,
one of those great convulsive crises of the moral organism, from which
the concept of right and the necessity of employing the only formulas
truly protective of equity and justice shall emerge more vigorous than
ever.
After this great war, the desire for a lasting peace will be more
intense, and the means to make that peace certain will be applied with
greater energy.
These hopes, cherished by many of us during the struggle, we have
seen synthesized in the Wilsonian concept and incorporated with the
precision of a code in the Covenant of the League of Nations. Since
the appearance of Christianity, only the Thirty-Years war terminating
in its Congress of Westphalia, and the French Revolution, with
its declaration of the rights of man (which Grégoire intended to
supplement with a declaration of the rights of states), will leave on
international law as deep a mark as the World War with its Covenant of
the League of Nations.
A flight of eagles, but happily not of imperial eagles, crosses
all borders; a magnanimous feeling of solidarity struggles to
conquer sterile distrust, and the members of the human family begin
to recognize each other. It seems as if we were approaching the
realization of the generous idea of Cicero and Seneca; man is nowhere
a foreigner; his true country is the universe. The dream of a _Magna
Civitas_, the ideal city of humankind, is taking shape.
Wilson's plan tends to that end. We have seen that it is not new, but
it is great. Among others, Sully and Henry IV, the Abbé Saint-Pierre
and Rousseau, cherished this idea, which Voltaire, the skeptic,
considered chimerical. Kant, the philosopher, used to say: "What we
desire is a General Congress of Nations, the convening and duration
of which would depend entirely upon the sovereign will of the several
members of the league."
The lineage of statesmen, of dreamers, and of philosophers is a single
and privileged moral descent. Prudent forethought, creative imagination
and profound grasp of the supreme laws which regulate nature and man
are crystallized in the souls of liberators. Bolívar also strove to
establish an Assembly of Nations at the Isthmus of Panama. And it is
worthy of notice that these nations in Bolívar's plan, as well as in
the Covenant of the League of Nations, would be forced to obey the
principles of International Law. The Congress, in his first project,
was intended to be established somewhat rigidly, and, in that, too,
Bolívar anticipated the ennobling of an idea, fostered by modern
writers like Blunstchli, Dudley Field, Fiore, Pessoa (now President
of Brazil), and which has been the subject of numerous international
conferences.
What deep sadness must our great liberator have felt when in figurative
language he compared his ineffective plan for a congress with the
insane Greek of old who thought that standing on a rock, he could steer
the ships passing on the sea!
The immediate genesis of the Covenant of the League of Nations is found
in the famous Fourteen Points of President Wilson.
Some of them follow:
In the first, President Wilson proposes international
agreements of peace entered into frankly and openly, and the
obligation of proscribing secret international agreements of
any kind in the future.
In the second, he proposes the freedom of the seas in time of
peace as well as in time of war, exclusive both of territorial
waters and of seas which may be closed by international action
with the purpose of carrying out international agreements.
In the third, he proposes the suppression, as far as possible,
of economic barriers, and the establishment of equal commercial
conditions for the states which would accept the peace and join
to maintain it.
In the fourth, he proposes the reduction of armaments to the
minimum limit compatible with the internal safety of each
country.
Lastly, in the fourteenth, he proposes the creation of a
General Society of Nations to guarantee the territorial
integrity and the political independence of the small as well
as of the large states.
Certainly, this helmet of Mambrinus suffered numerous bruises, as
happens to all generous dreams when they come into contact with
selfishness or with the consuming breath of the passions of the
moment; let us have faith, however, in that saintly philosopher who
teaches, on the contrary, that the perfect being is he who passes from
understanding to reality, and let us hope that it will evolve toward
superior forms.
Let us hope that such a helmet will not prove to be the shaving dish of
a barber.
The purposes of the League are condensed in its admirable preamble:
"The High Contracting Parties,
In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve
international peace and security by the acceptance of
obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of
open, just and honorable relations between nations, by the
firm establishment of the understandings of international law
as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the
maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty
obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one
another," and so on.
In order to realize these purposes, it is necessary to establish means
which will enable nations to settle their differences without having
recourse to war. It is necessary to reduce present armaments and to
eliminate for the future this burden which weighs upon modern peoples
as the hateful war tributes of antiquity, and which is nothing less
than a resurrected form of slavery. In order to obtain this, the
Council of the League is charged with the work of formulating a program
for the reduction of armaments, based upon the inquiries and decisions
made by the respective governments, and with the purpose of keeping
under control the manufacture of ammunition.
Regarding the first point, a set of measures already established by
international law is ordered, and strongly sanctioned by provisions of
the Covenant.
The states between which disputes or conflicts may arise will have
recourse to the Council or to the Assembly, or will submit their cases
to arbitration. They are forbidden to resort to war until three months
have elapsed after the decision of the Council or the Assembly or of
the third state to which they may have recurred; all this with the
purpose that the counsels of prudence, the strength of just decisions,
and that the calming and tranquilizing action of time itself may have
their effects on the irritated feelings of men.
In order to obtain its principal object, the Covenant also provides for
the creation of a permanent Court of Arbitration, an institution which,
with the economic sanctions established in the same Covenant, will be
the most effective instrument of its civilizing action, for we know
well that peace will never exist among men while justice is denied.
The project for the establishment of a permanent code of international
character met at The Hague, and has always met, one formidable
obstacle: How can all the states be represented in a body which must
necessarily be small?
It is noted that the omission of some of them is considered as
a flagrant violence of juridical equality and derogatory to the
sovereignty of those states.
In the second meeting of the Council, held in London, this topic
was carefully studied, and after a brilliant report by Bourgeois,
it was agreed to submit the matter to a committee of prominent
internationalists in order that they might devise means to obviate
such difficulties as impeded the realization of the purpose. Among
those international figures two South Americans were included: Clovis
Bevilacqua and Dr. Drago, the name of the latter now being associated
with sad memories, a man for whom Venezuela retains grateful and
respectful affection.
Another project of the League is the organization of labor. Do you know
any human beings more worthy of the consideration of the mighty and the
pity of the world than the child, the woman and the workman who spends
his strength in fruitful labor?
After having presented the more remote antecedents and the genesis of
the Covenant of the League, as well as the ends it aims at and the
means it follows to realize them, it only remains to say something of
the working of the new organism of the international law created by the
Covenant. In this I shall follow the Covenant itself:
MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE
The members of the League are of two classes, the original
members and those later incorporated.
The original members are:
1. The Allied and Associated Powers signatory of the Treaty of
Peace.
2. States invited, which may have acceded without reservations
to the Covenant.
Thirteen states, among them Venezuela, were invited, and all acceded.
The incorporated members are:
Any fully self-governing State, Dominion or Colony which may be
admitted.
Any member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention
so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its international
obligations shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal.
The Assembly is empowered to receive new members of the Society by a
vote of two-thirds of its members.
Any member guilty of non-fulfillment of the obligations established by
the Covenant may be expelled from the League by the unanimous vote of
all the members of the Society represented in the Council.
* * * * *
ORGANS AND FUNCTIONS
The organs of the Association are:
A. The Assembly;
B. The Council.
They will be assisted by a permanent Secretary.
* * * * *
The Assembly will be composed of not more than three representatives
for each member of the League, who will have the right to one vote only.
The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere
of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world.
The Council shall consist, at present, of representatives of the
principal Allied and Associated Powers, together with representatives
of four other members of the League, as follows: one representative
of the United States, one of the British Empire, one of France, one
of Italy and one of Japan; and four other members who, until new
appointments are made by the Assembly, will be representatives of
Belgium, Brazil, Spain and Greece.
Since the Covenant of the League has not been approved by the Senate of
the United States, that Power has not had the stated representation,
and the meetings of the Council have taken place with the other eight
members.
* * * * *
The Assembly and the Council shall decide (as a rule) by the unanimous
vote of all the members represented at the meeting.
All matters of procedure (appointment of investigation committees,
etc.) will be decided by a majority vote.
* * * * *
The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the Council with the
approval of the Assembly.
* * * * *
The representatives of the Association shall enjoy diplomatic immunity.
Their meetings, buildings, etc., shall be inviolable.
The Council may select the seat of the League. For the present, the
Covenant establishes that seat in the city of Geneva.
* * * * *
A Military and Naval Commission shall be established to advise on
military, naval, and aerial questions generally, and especially on the
execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8, that is, regarding the
Members of the League and the reduction of armaments.
* * * * *
The Council is empowered to
1. Prepare the plans for the reduction of armaments, in view of the
investigations and decisions made by the several governments.
2. Take steps with regard to the private manufacture of ammunition and
war materials.
* * * * *
The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against
external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political
independence of all members of the League. The Council shall advise
upon the means to assure guaranties for territorial integrity and
independence. Any war or threat of war against any member of the League
is a matter of concern to the whole League.
SPHERE OF ACTION OF THE LEAGUE
The League, through its contractual character, establishes unavoidable
obligations for the states which enter it. Accordingly, the remaining
states shall be foreign to it, since it is well known that the
conventions impose obligations only on the parties signing them or
adhering to them.
But the nature of this international organism itself prevents its being
entirely so. The League, considering the ends at which it aims, could
not limit its actions to the states forming it, even though those
states may be, as they are, almost all the countries of the world. It
is obvious that the League, on reducing its armaments, could not see,
without concern, another state extraneous to it increasing its own
armament.
We have already seen that the Assembly has to take cognizance not only
of all that is comprised in its field of action, but of all which may
affect the peace of the world, and this gives it an unlimited sphere of
action.
In the event of a dispute between a member of the League and a state
which is not a member of the League, the state not a member of the
League shall be invited (among other measures to preserve peace) to
accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purpose of
such dispute.
In general, regarding states not members of the League, the League
shall endeavor to bring it about that they accept in their disputes the
same juridical procedure as the members of the League, that is to say:
mediation, arbitration, commissions of investigation, etc.; and the
League may even apply the sanctions which the member states may incur
for non-fulfillment of the Covenant, and which range from measures of
economic isolation to acts of warfare.
A formalistic and narrow criterion alleges that international law is
not law at all, since the three elements which make law tangible for
all persons,--the legislator, the judge, and the executive, are lacking
in it.
The Covenant of the League of Nations undertakes to present all those
personages. It offers all to us simultaneously, the legislator _par
excellence_, the judge and the executor of all great decisions, in one
and the same organ, namely the vigilant public opinion of humankind.
Here, in brief summary, as prepared for a lesson, is the Covenant
of the League. If it fails to-day, it will reappear. That idea is
immortal, and it will come back purified and more beautiful. The fact,
now unquestionable, of economic solidarity must bring about political
solidarity. Nations will no longer be able to attack and dismember each
other without injuring themselves.
Solidarity and cooperation; diplomacy frank and open, and at the
service of the peoples, not, as heretofore, a false art of courtiers
and lackeys; permanent freedom for navigation and commerce; economic
liberty; general disarmament; equality among states, the great as well
as the small, these are the ideas expressed, with the conviction and
the prestige of an apostle, by President Wilson and which the universal
conscience of mankind, although it had known them before, has now taken
up as a new gospel.
The thinkers of the French Revolution could well be proud of having
proclaimed the right of man. To President Wilson will belong the glory
of proclaiming the rights of peoples, because the League of Nations
does not mean the denial of patriotism, the denial of country, but the
glorification of this sublime concept, as the idea of country does not
exclude the mother idea of family and home, which was and ever remains
its necessary foundation. These are the links of a mystic chain, not
of oppression but of salvation, of unity and harmony. Build honorable
homes and you will have a great country; ennoble your country through
virtue and you work for the world.
I thank you all, especially Dr. Sherwell, for having been so good as to
honor with your presence this simple ceremony.
II
EDITORIAL COMMENT ON THE GEORGETOWN MISSION TO VENEZUELA
GOOD TRADE AMBASSADORS
[_From N. Y. Post Express, August 11, 1920._]
Georgetown University has a foreign service department in full
operation, the worth of which this paper testified to when the project
was first announced. Recently twenty-five students of this department
were sent to South America to study trade conditions and they made
their headquarters first at Caracas, Venezuela. Now note what has
happened. These young people set up official and domestic housekeeping
at the United States consulate; they went about among the Venezuelans,
who found them likable, and soon the consulate became a rendezvous
for business people of Caracas. And there have been more sales of
household articles and of office equipment of various kinds in Caracas
and throughout Venezuela than the regular commercial letter, and the
traveling agent who rushes through the land have achieved in the past
five years. Moreover, there is correspondence relating to bigger orders
coming in to business houses which have been quick to communicate
with Georgetown University. Here is the sort of trade embassy we need
in South America and the world around. Train our young people to the
idea and the knowledge needed for foreign service, both commercial
and political. And then send them abroad to become known as well as
to know. We are the least well known of any great nation outside our
own borders, for we have been least well represented. It is time to
change all this and other higher schools might well follow Georgetown's
example.
STUDENT FRATERNIZATION
[_From El Nuevo Diario, Caracas, June 20, 1920._]
Students, as a general rule, are free from prejudices and are exempt
from the burden of preconceived ideas which in most cases distort the
judgment of the individuals who purpose to learn from the bottom the
problems of a distinctive nationality. By reason of their temperament
they are optimists and like to view with dispassionate eyes the
phenomena of life. Therefore their impressions possess a high value of
sincerity, which contains perhaps more worth than the observations of
experience. The North American students who are going to Venezuela,
we are sure, will be able to carry back on their return a fresh and
pleasing impression of the noble Venezuelan land, and will be able to
understand that on the part of the students of Spanish America there
exists toward those of the United States nothing but warm sympathy and
a generous brotherhood.
It is to be desired that in years to come the University of Georgetown,
which now has given the example, and other North American Universities
will organize student trips such as this to other countries of the New
World, sending groups of students who for some months will live the
life of the Spanish Americans.
In turn, it is to be desired also that the Spanish American
Universities will inaugurate these student trips to the United States,
supervising them in a proper manner, and sending each year a certain
number of students, not to study in the cloister but to put themselves
in touch with the daily life of the country and the activity of the
masses.
For the Venezuelans it will be a matter of satisfaction--this visit
of the North American students--and with all confidence the society
of this country will endeavor to prove its worth in making their stay
agreeable to them, facilitating for them the necessary means whereby
their voyage may be in all respects profitable in order that a definite
judgment may be formed of the importance of our nation.
The trip organized by Dr. Sherwell in the form we have already noted,
seems to be a precedent of great importance for the relations between
the student societies of the two great portions of the continent, as it
must redound in the near future to the benefit of all.
To labor in this furrow signifies to water a fertile seed, a seed of
true progress and democracy, and whoever dedicates his efforts to this
end deserves the congratulations of the public.
LLEGADA DE LOS ESTUDIANTES AMERICANOS
[_From El Nuevo Diario, June 27, 1920._]
_La Guaira_, 26 de junio,--Hoy, como estaba anunciado, llegaron en el
vapor _Caracas_, el notable profesor señor Sherwell, de la Universidad
de Georgetown, y el grupo de estudiantes americanos que vienen a
Caracas a pasar vacaciones y a practicar sus conocimientos de español.
Al vapor subieron a presentarle sus salutaciones varias comisiones: una
del Ministerio del Exterior, otra del Ministerio de Instrucción Pública
y otra de la Federación de Estudiantes Venezolanos.
En la Aduana, el señor M. A. Falcón Rojas ofreció varios brindis de
champaña a nombre de los nombrados Ministerios, y además en nombre del
señor Ministro de Hacienda.
Luego, el señor Sherwell, todos los estudiantes y las diversas
comisiones pasaron al hotel "La Alemania," de Macuto, donde se sirvió
un espléndido lunch.
Como a las cuatro de la tarde partieron todos en automóvil para Caracas.
En todos estos actos reinó la mayor cordialidad. Los estudiantes se
alojan en las mejores casas de pensión de esta ciudad.
El Profesor Sherwell, en sus palabras de respuesta a los cordiales
brindis de que fueron objeto tanto él como los estudiantes que lo
acompañan, expresó su profundo agradecimiento por la espléndida manera
con que se les ha recibido en Venezuela y manifestó que no le
sorprendían en manera alguna, las atenciones de que era objeto, pues
bien sabía que en este país así se demostraba la cordial y sincera
simpatía que se siente por los hijos de la gran República.
* * * * *
En esta ciudad, desde su llegada, los distinguidos huéspedes son
objeto de múltiples atenciones; en especial el señor Sherwell, a
quien presentaron sus saludos en su alojamiento, numerosas, altas
personalidades, además de las comisiones nombradas por los Ministros
del Exterior, de Hacienda y de Instrucción Pública.
EL NUEVO DIARIO, de la manera más cordial presenta su saludo de
bienvenida al señor Sherwell y a los estudiantes que le acompañan, y
les desea todo género de satisfacciones en su estada entre nosotros.
Con el mayor placer publicamos de seguidas la nómina de los jóvenes
estudiantes que van a ser nuestros distinguidos huéspedes y a estrechar
con su presencia, los lazos de tradicional y fuerte amistad que ligan a
los pueblos de los Estados Unidos y de Venezuela.
Doctor Sherwell, Director; Walter Donnelly, James O'Neil, Paul Babbit,
George McKenna, Thomas Morris, John Heiler, David Schlesinger,
Tounsend, Frazee, Costello, Philip Sullivan, Chirieleison, Johnson,
Murphy, Fanning, Joseph Quinlan, Hopkins, J. Homer Butler.
EL PROFESOR SHERWELL
[_From El Universal, June 27, 1920._]
Desde ayer es huésped de Caracas el eminente hombre de Ciencias
norteamericano señor Guillermo A. Sherwell, Prosecretario del Segundo
Congreso Financiero Panamericano y Consultor jurídico del Consejo
Central Ejecutivo de la Alta Comisión Internacional.
Desde su desembarco en La Guaira el señor Sherwell ha sido objeto de
cordiales agasajos por parte del Gobierno de Venezuela y de los centros
más notables del país.
Por designación del Ministerio de Hacienda el señor Ramón Jiménez
Sánchez, Inspector General de Aduanas cumplimentó a su llegada al
Profesor Sherwell y le ofreció hospitalidad en nombre del Gobierno
Nacional.
MISION ESTUDIANTIL
Como estaba anunciado, ayer hizo su arribo a La Guaira el vapor
americano "Caracas," a bordo del cual llegaron el doctor Guillermo
Sherwell y el grupo de jóvenes estudiantes de la Universidad de
Georgetown, Estados Unidos.
A recibirlos al vecino puerto bajaron en automóvil, además de las
delegaciones del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y del Consejo
Nacional de Instrucción Pública, una comisión especial de la Federación
de Estudiantes Venezolanos compuesta por los bachilleres Atilano
Carnevali (Presidente de la Asociación), Efraín Cayama Martínez, Miguel
Zúñiga, Jacinto Fombona, Rodolfo Moleiro, Germán de las Casas, Gonzalo
Carnevali y Eduardo Calcaño hijo. Después del saludo de bienvenida que
se les dió a bordo, los estudiantes americanos fueron invitados por sus
compañeros de Venezuela a un almuerzo en Macuto, de donde se dirigieron
a Caracas en las últimas horas de la tarde.
La visita de tan distinguidos elementos de la juventud norteamericana
tiene especial significación en estos momentos en que se acentúa un
acercamiento espiritual más estrecho entre los pueblos de América.
Igualmente el señor Manuel Segundo Sánchez, Director de la Biblioteca
Nacional, comisionado del Ministerio de Hacienda para atender al
distinguido huésped y facilitar sus labores en Caracas, le presentó sus
saludos a bordo del vapor americano.
El doctor Sherwell subió a Caracas acompañado de los señores Sánchez
y Jiménez Sánchez y ya en su domicilio fué visitado por el doctor
Alvarez Feo, Director de Aduanas en el Despacho de Hacienda, quien le
cumplimentó.
La Alta Comisión Internacional recibirá hoy á las 11½ a. m. al
distinguido huésped en su salón de sesiones. El señor Sherwell,
Profesor del Departamento Español de la Universidad de Georgetown, trae
encargo del Consejo Central Ejecutivo de la Alta Comisión Internacional
de presentar a la Sección Venezolana un cordial saludo y tratará con
ella diversos asuntos. Con este objeto la Comisión celebrará algunas
sesiones a las que asistirá el doctor Sherwell.
El distinguido huésped preside un grupo de estudiantes de la
Universidad de Georgetown cuya visita a Caracas propenderá a un
estrecho acercamiento estudiantil entre los dos países. Traen el
propósito de ofrendar una corona sobre la tumba del Libertador y otra
en la estatua de Washington.
Tal circunstancia hace más simpática la visita del profesor Sherwell a
Caracas donde se le preparan algunos homenajes.
Al presentar nuestros saludos al ilustre huésped hacemos los votos más
cordiales porque su misión en Venezuela tenga el más feliz éxito.
* * * * *
EL UNIVERSAL se complace en presentar su salutación de bienvenida a los
estudiantes norteamericanos, cuya visita a Caracas contribuirá a hacer
más sólidos y eficaces los lazos intelectuales que unen a Venezuela con
la gran patria de Washington y a establecer un más activo intercambio
de ideas entre las juventudes estudiantiles de ambos países.
DR. SHERWELL ARRIVES DELIGHTED WITH THE SITUATION WHICH HE
MET IN VENEZUELA--WHAT MOST IMPRESSED HIM WAS THE HIGH
CHARACTER OF THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS STRICT DEVOTION TO THE
ACCOMPLISHMENT OF ITS DUTY, HIGHWAYS, RAILROADS, MONETARY
SYSTEM, ETC.--FINDS ALSO THAT THE PEOPLE "IS ONE OF THE BEST
TYPES OF HUMANITY THAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD."--ALL THESE
TOPICS WILL BE TREATED IN THE THESES WHICH THE STUDENTS OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGETOWN WILL PRESENT IN THEIR NEXT
EXAMINATIONS TO OBTAIN THEIR DEGREES.
[_From La Prensa, New York, August, 26, 1920._]
Washington, August 25th.--Dr. William A. Sherwell, Professor of
Spanish in the University of Georgetown and Expert Adviser in the High
Interamerican Commission, who has just returned from Venezuela with
the group of 18 students from the School of Foreign Service of the
University, has come from Venezuela impressed with the high class of
the Government employees which that country has, as well as with its
business men, where he was warmly welcomed by the same people, whom he
characterizes as "one of the best types of humanity which exists in the
world." The Professor was in charge of the students who are preparing
to enter the field of foreign trade, several of whom, he says, have
received offers from commercial houses, notwithstanding which they will
continue in their University studies until next June. Each student has
prepared an account or report of some one of the various phases of
industry--economic, industrial or commercial, of Venezuela. The coffee
and sugar industries, the petroleum exportation, and the operation
of the mines, the banking and monetary system, immigration laws,
education, public debt, are some of the topics which the students will
treat of in their reports.
Dr. Sherwell spoke of the great development which has taken place in
Venezuela, of the great extension of railroad work, which in many parts
crosses the mountains, and of the splendid automobile roads already
constructed and those planned for construction. In Venezuela there are
many automobiles, but orders will continue. Tractor machines are being
introduced in the farming sections and the cattle industry is taking on
a new impulse. New models are being introduced, especially from the
United States, and industry in the large is well advanced. There is
opportunity for further development of the cattle industry, according
to Dr. Sherwell, since there exist several districts not yet utilized
for this purpose.
Venezuela is the South American country nearest to the United States,
and the opportunity exists for a more extensive commerce between the
two countries. And yet, says Dr. Sherwell, there is no large passenger
and freight service between the two nations. He thinks that it is
necessary to remedy this need.
In going to Venezuela as the official representative of the High
Interamerican Commission and instructor of the students, the Doctor was
in touch with General Juan Vicente Gómez, President-Elect, the members
of the Cabinet and other prominent officials. The Minister of Public
Education gave a dinner in San Juan to the Sherwell party, General
Gómez and the President being present. One of the features of the visit
consisted of a trip in automobiles across the country in four days in
which they were able to inspect the places of industrial and historical
interest. They visited the sugar cane and coffee plantations; Valencia,
the most beautiful of tropical cities; La Victoria, famous in history
through having been the place where at the beginning of the last
century the Spanish forces were defeated by the Independents; and the
old farm of San Mateo, belonging to Bolívar, where Captain Ricaurte,
seeing that he was not able to hold the hill which he was defending
much longer, sent his men to the plain, and set fire to the park
of artillery when the Spanish arrived, all being blown up with the
explosion.
Dr. Roman Cardenas, Minister of the Interior and President of the High
Interamerican Commission, is a man--says Dr. Sherwell--for whom he
entertains the highest regard. He conferred with all the members of
the Cabinet, with some of whom he was in close contact, and he finds
that they, as well as the employees in the Government offices, are
competent and are steadfastly devoted to their work, without mingling
in politics. Dr. Sherwell spoke also of the wonderful painters that
Venezuela had produced, mentioning Señor Tito Salas, one of the great
painters of the day. There are in Venezuela many poets and writers of
high merit.
The money system, similar to the French, is functioning efficiently.
There is gold in abundance, says Dr. Sherwell; and during the war, when
most countries suspended payment, Venezuela continued paying its debts,
observing strict economy, and now has on deposit in the banks a large
quantity of gold.
GEORGETOWN STUDENTS WELCOMED IN VENEZUELA
[_From Sunday Star, Washington, July, 1920._]
Prof. Guillermo A. Sherwell, professor of Spanish at Georgetown
University, and the eighteen students of the university's School of
Foreign Service, who left Washington a little more than a month ago
to gain first-hand and practical knowledge in Latin-American trade,
have been most cordially welcomed in Venezuela, both by officials of
the government and by the people there, according to a letter which
has just been received by a friend here. In addition to representing
Georgetown and acting as preceptor to the students, Dr. Sherwell also
went as representative of the inter-American high commission, of which
he is judicial expert.
"There is a tendency--very successful so far--to make Venezuela
independent in industrial matters," writes Dr. Sherwell, this in
connection with a visit he and his party have just paid to an
exposition of natural resources and industrial products.
"The highroads are excellent," he continues. "The appropriation for
public education has been doubled this year. The monetary system is
simple. Gold circulates freely."
Referring to the government departments, of which he has made a special
study, he says they "seem to have the right man in the right place."
Dr. Sherwell reports that just before he arrived in Caracas, the
capital, the commercial travelers' convention had been ratified. The
purpose of this treaty, which has now been agreed to between the United
States and six of the other American republics, is to facilitate trade
relations by simplifying the customs rules and regulations for the
admission into the various countries of commercial travelers with their
samples.
The convention now being signed with the different countries will do
away with many of the inconveniences to which commercial travelers
have been subjected, such as the payment in some countries of numerous
local taxes and fees. Under the new system a single license fee in each
country will be all that is required.
Another important feature is that there will be liberal customs
treatment of samples carried by the "drummer." Samples without
commercial value will be admitted duty free, while other samples will
be granted temporary free admission under bond for their re-exportation
within six months. Delay in the clearance of samples also will be
avoided. In addition to Venezuela, the other countries which have
signed the travelers' convention are Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay,
Salvador and Uruguay.
A convention for the arbitration of commercial disputes between the
Chamber of Commerce of Venezuela and the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States, also has just been signed, writes Dr. Sherwell. All
of this, he said, was "good news." Similar conventions between the
national trade bodies of this country and some of the other American
republics already are in operation and the results so far achieved are
said to be excellent. This leads interested trade officials to believe
that such machinery for the prompt and efficient treatment of disputes
which may arise between business men and concerns of various countries
will be set up one after another in the countries with which the United
States deals.
NOTAS DEPORTIVAS
EL MATCH DE BASE-BALL
[_From El Imparcial, July 18, 1920._]
Esta mañana, en los bonitos terrenos del Centro Atlético y con una
numerosa concurrencia, florida por el elemento femenil, efectuóse el
desafío concertado entre dos novenas de base ball, formadas la una por
los estudiantes norteamericanos de la Universidad de Georgetown y la
otra por discípulos del Colegio Salesiano de esta ciudad.
En verdad, la proporción atlética no era muy justa: los americanos
llevaban la ventaja en todo: tamaño, edad, fuerzas; pero, los muchachos
del Salesiano hicieron el mayor esfuerzo por quedar bien y a última
hora, cuando en el _inning_ final los de Georgetown se anotaron un
"chorro" de carreras que hacía aparecer la "pela" como vergonzosa, los
criollitos se rehicieron y metieron otras tantas, salvando el honor,
por lo menos _in partibus_.
[Illustration: TROPHY PRESENTED TO GEORGETOWN STUDENTS BY MINISTER OF
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION]
Entre éstos hay que consignar un aplauso para la tercera base de los
Salesianos, Franco Russo, que fué el héroe de la fiesta. El juego se
cargó desde el comienzo sobre tercera; en sus manos estuvo toda la
defensa y el muchacho se portó como un campeón, pues en sus manos
cayeron por lo menos nueve _outs_.
También estuvo muy activo y eficaz Coraíto. Y se distinguieron Maal,
Castellano, Pérez, López, Ravelo y Arratia (M).
De los americanos, recordaremos especialmente un foul-out por el
catcher Fanning y otro por la 3a. base Hopkins; una estupenda cogida,
corriendo y de espaldas, por el Short-Stop Frazee y todo el "trabajo"
del día por la primera base Joe Quinlan.
De una y otra parte batearon duro y ninguno de los dos pitchers llegó
completo al final.
Después del juego las novenas y algunos concurrentes fueron invitados
al Colegio y obsequiados allí por los R. R. P. P. Salesianos.
Hubo vivas en honor de la Universidad de Georgetown, a los que
correspondieron los americanos con hurras a los estudiantes venezolanos.
El Colegio Salesiano regaló a los de Georgetown una bola, la última
con que se jugó, con la siguiente inscripción: "Caracas--Venezuela--El
Colegio Salesiano a los estudiantes de Georgetown."
Fué, en todo, una fiesta de simpatía y de confraternidad, sin otro
estímulo mayor que el verdadero amor al deporte, puesto que, sabido
es, los jóvenes norteños no son profesionales del base ball, sino que
tienen la innata afición de los jóvenes de su país por la cultura
física.
Y este juego con los Salesianos ha sacudido el dormido entusiasmo
beisbolístico, con sus mañanas llenas de sol y alegres de mujeres,
pues ya se habla de un próximo encuentro en los mismos terrenos y
a beneficio de la Cruz Roja Venezolana, entre los estudiantes de
Georgetown y un team escogido entre los mejores jugadores de clubs
caraqueños extinguidos y en actividad, como _Samanes_, _Independencia_,
_Salesianos_, etc.
Así sea y tendremos un juego sensacional.
_Score_ por _innings_ del juego efectuado esta mañana entre los
Estudiantes de la Universidad de Georgetown y los alumnos del Colegio
Salesiano de Caracas:
Estudiantes de Georgetown
-------------------------------------------
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5--Total 11
-------------------------------------------
Salesianos
------------------------------------------
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4--Total 8
------------------------------------------
A. MATEUR.
Transcriber's Notes:
The table on p. 139 titled "Importation by Parcels Post" is
incorrect by $2,000 in the column headed 1918. Unable to
determine if the total is incorrect or if one of the individual
items is understated by that amount.
Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
errors.
Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
Enclosed italics markup in _underscores_.
Enclosed bold markup in =equals=.
Enclosed fancy or unusual font markup in ~tildes~.
End of Project Gutenberg's Venezuela, an economic report, by Various