Argentina is essentially British in her sympathies. That is but natural, for England owns her railroads, public improvements and government bonds. Almost two billion dollars of British gold is invested in that republic, and perhaps fifty thousand of her subjects dwell there. There is not a boat that sails for Buenos Aires from an English port which does not carry some young English boys to that city, who expect to enter commercial life there. It is only natural that this should create a preference for English-made goods, for the Englishman always carries his atmosphere with him as well as his ideas of taste and style. And yet German houses have aggressively entered this field in the past decade and have made terrific inroads on English trade. The Germans have studied the markets; they aim to cater to its demands; they grant the terms asked by the merchants, and do anything to secure the trade—and they generally get it. One noticeable feature of the German commercial invasion is its imitation, and a desire to furnish “similar” articles at a cheaper price. As a prominent man told me: “Their goods are worth no more than you pay for them, and they are bound to lose out in the long run.” It is this commercial rivalry that has caused the intense feeling between Germany and England, for the German manufacturer has been somewhat unscrupulous in his methods. If a manufacturer in the United States or England has succeeded in evolving some new and valuable contrivance, it will not be long until a German imitation will be on the market, and bearing an English name. It is well known that the North American manufacturers have evolved the best and practically only successful typewriters, cash registers and computing machines. Within the last year or two, however, German imitations have appeared in all markets. The machines in some instances have such a wholly misleading name as “Columbia,” showing the plain intention of deception. In these lines their methods have had little effect. One can hardly go into an office anywhere in South America without seeing one or more typewriters with familiar labels, for a half dozen or more manufacturers are working in that field, and nearly every store has from one to a half dozen cash registers of one or two North American makes. “We are bringing them in by the shipload,” said an agent in Buenos Aires, who handled both lines, and there was not much exaggeration in the statement.