The East Coast is connected with the cables of the West Coast by three private wires of the All America Cables over the Andes from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, so that they can handle messages to the Argentine metropolis, 7452 miles from New York, by automatic methods in 15 minutes. Another cable company has a land line from Valparaiso to La Plata, where connection is made with its Trans-Atlantic cable to Africa and Europe. Both companies have short lines to Montevideo, the focus of the East Coast lines. From here the All America has a cable to Santos and one to Rio de Janeiro. The other, the Western Telegraph, has one to Chuy, Uruguay, thence to Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catharina, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, Fortaleza, Maranhão, and Pará, Brazil; and one from Chuy direct to Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco. Four cables from the latter port connect with Africa and Europe. The Western Telegraph was to lay a cable from Maranhão to Barbados, there to connect with the Western Union line to Florida. The All America expects to lay a cable from Cuba south to Rio de Janeiro. The Amazon Company has a cable up that river from Pará.
Metric System
The Metric System of weights and measures is legal and official in all the Republics and obligatory in most, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. In the other countries and in some of these, the old Spanish measures (Portuguese in Brazil) are more or less used, but these differ in the various countries and are nowhere like ours. Always to employ the metric system is highly important and in the above mentioned countries necessary, though for shipping to some, the weight in pounds must also be given. In Chile the use of other weights and measures is prohibited; also in Uruguay, where their importation is forbidden.
APPENDIX II
LEADING BANKS OF SOUTH AMERICA
Including the branches and affiliations of American banks and banking houses, British banks, and the most important local banks of each country.
United States Banks
The National City Bank, 55 Wall St., New York City, which led the way, has branches in six of the South American Republics,
The Mercantile Bank of the Americas, 44 Pine St., New York,
The American Foreign Banking Corporation, 53 Broadway, New York,
W. R. Grace and Company’s Bank, 7 Hanover Square, New York,