Herman L. Dillingham papers

Herman Louis Dillingham (1886-1958), a 1909 graduate of Dartmouth College, was an assistant secretary to the Boston Chamber of Commerce from 1912 to 1914. As assistant secretary, Dillingham helped to plan a variety of trips and tours for members of the chamber.

In 1913, Herman Dillingham, then twenty-six years old, was appointed secretary of a Boston Chamber of Commerce trade delegation that toured South America. The construction of Panama Canal was nearly complete, and the organizers of the trip proposed that “our manufacturers and merchants should therefore begin now to prepare themselves for this expected trade stimulus by personally learning the needs of the people of Latin America and their methods of doing business.” Mr. Dillingham helped to organize the trip and recruit the members of the trade delegation. On April 24, 1913, the delegation boarded the United Fruit Company steamer S.S. Metapan at Boston and embarked on a three-month voyage to South America. After a brief stop at Kingston, Jamaica, the group traveled to Panama, where they inspected the new canal. On May 4, the thirty-eight members of the official delegation boarded the S.S. Guatemala, a Pacific Steam and Navigation Company steamer, for the trip down the Pacific coast of South America.

The Bostonians visited several ports along the Peruvian coast before arriving at Lima, Peru on May 12, 1913. Local dignitaries greeted the delegation with welcoming speeches, and a marching band accompanied the party to its hotel. The delegates met with local politicians, business leaders, and American diplomats. Over the course of several days, the Boston businessmen toured mines, factories, farms, and other local sights. The Peruvians held numerous receptions, banquets, and concerts in honor of their northern visitors. The Lima visit was typical the entire tour; the Boston delegation was received in a similar fashion in each city it visited.

The delegation left Lima on May 16, and the members spent the next ten days visiting several towns high in the Peruvian Andes. The group toured Inca ruins and sailed across Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. They crossed the Andes by train and arrived at La Paz, Bolivia, on May 26, 1913. The Bostonians visited the cities of Antofagasta, Valparaiso, and Santiago, Chile, before traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via the Trans-Andean Rail Road. On June 17, the delegates sailed for Montevideo, Uruguay, which Herman Dillingham described as “the Boston of South America.” The final country on the itinerary was Brazil. The group arrived at the port of Santos, Brazil, then visited Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia. On July 7, the Boston delegation embarked for home aboard the S. S. Vassari. After brief stops at the British West Indies islands of Trinidad and Barbados, they sailed into New York Harbor on July 23, 1913, and returned to Boston by train.

Upon his return, Herman Dillingham worked to publicize the Boston Chamber of Commerce delegation’s efforts. Dillingham made speeches to other chambers of commerce about the opportunities for trade with South America. He also authored a lengthy travelogue entitled “Twentieth Century South America,” which was published in twelve installments in Weekly Auto News from November 1913 to February 1914. Dillingham left his position with the Boston Chamber of Commerce in 1914.