Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-11-06
AMERICANS IN MEXICO.
WHAT THE BUSINESS MEN OF THE
 UNITED STATES MUST LEARN.
Why They Are Not More Successful in Getting Trade in MexieO-Too Grun in Their N.thod.-A Mexican Merchants Ideas-Lo.ing n Customer.

l Why They Are NOt More Successful in Getting Trade in MexieO-ToO Gruh in Their N.thods-A Mexican Merchants
 Ideas-Losing n Customer.
 Af,sr all the most reliable information in | n forpirn country must be derived from hear say IT. requires years of residence and ex- narience to entitle one tO speak intelligeutly | af ,ba so..ial. industrial or commercial condi- ,ion of n nation For this reason l never hesitate to apps to old residents, foreign or native for points on any given subject relat- | ing to the life of the people. prefer thls me,ho.i to that of which the Mexicans com plain so bitterly, as the one usually adopted | by Americans to gain knowledge or their | land. Your young Ladies come down here, they say. stay a week, buy ream Of paper and q bunch of photographs of interesting | nlaces. and then go back to wrlte uP-God save the name!-Our country and its re- sources. How can such superficial reports be other than misleadingf There Is grain of reason in this protest. Without knowing the language, without contact with the people | except the miscellaneous herd gathered m hotels and public vehicles, and amid the be wilderment of new scenes, sounds and faces, A 8 and judgment of ones surroundings IS as impossible as to a cat in n strange garrett make no apoloyy, theTefore, for resorting tO an old commission merchant of Mexico, thirty-three years resident in the capital, to supplement my own impressions of American trade interests in that country. or foreign descent. though chiefly dealing in American products. his criticisms are none the less Yalu- | able to us for coming from an outsider. AN OUTsIDERs < CRITICISMS.
 Seated in his cory office, lined with shelves | full of catalogues of American and foreign machinery, and with an accumulation Of lnl- plements greeting the eve in every direction, | listened to his ready speech, now m English, now in German, or French. or Spanish, as the necessities of the different persons calling de manded
 @American trade he said, 'outSide of building and running railroads, is In It's in- fancy in this country. You think you have done something. but the French, English and | Spaniaris control our commerce, both foreign and domestic There are not over dozen | American houses doing business in this city, | and they deal mainly in machinery. Yet with your vast industrial system and rapid means of communication by rail and steam ship. your people ought to mOnopolize the | Mexican market
 What is the reason that we do not have at least our share of the trader
 There are many reasons, and l am glad to have you lay them before the American pub lie
 aFirst-You are the latest comerS, and Mexicans are very tenacious of old commer- cial connections. Look at this letter, show | ing a large sheet closely written on both sides: this is an important business commu- nication from an old correspondent of mine. He begins bis letter by confding tO me full account of his family and farm concerns, and ends by asking after the interesting health, as he terms it, Of Lizzie and Mary, my daugh- ters, and sends long string f compliments to myself and the madam. hat is, he is not only bushes customer, but also a social friend There is little danger of Q new conner winning bis custom from me. And bis is | only an ordinary case.
 -Second-Again, your countrymen, when they come here, do not pay attention to those little cOurtesies which form large part of the life of these people, and in which they are drilled at home and in school from youth up. You are blunt, brusk and bluff in your busi- ness dealings, and the Msxicans don't take it kindly. Here k a case in point:
 LOSING A CUSTOMER
 "A customer of mine, dissatisfied with my prices, went to a much advertised American firm to buy a certain machine. Entering the store he found a man seated on the railing enclosing the office, his hat thrown back and his heels drumming on the palings. He nodded his head familiarly to my friend and said, so he indignantly told me afterwards: Que quieveF What do you want1 Now, we only '~aas' .4s sa.-- ''ey, s,i--s O'i siiv sUsted' your honor And when h. replied that be would like to see the head of the house without moving the merchant answered.: I'm the head of the house. Que quievet-instead of politely inviting him within the railing and awaiting his pleasure. This was enough for the Mexican He left in disgust. This is an extreme instance, doubles, but shows your tendencies When a customer comes tO my office be is conducted within as ceremO- niously as to my parlor. Perhaps decanter of wine is placed at his disposal. or over a cigar we talk of current topics awhile before proceeding tO business When be retires, We shake hands at the door, again at the head of the stairs, and he probably salutes ne a third time from the doorway. You cau this non sense. but here 1t is business. and don't you forget it. Unless you can conform in your business methods to the customs of a country. you had better keep out of it.
 sThird-Again,r he continued. ~you pro- pose to push things here, just as you do in the states, forgetting that to do 90 you must push aside at least 1OO years difference in age and civilization between the two coun- tries. These people are intensely conserva- tive, and can't and won't adopt modern methods in a jiffy, and l think you Amer jeans arc finding 1t out to your cost. What are your railroads that you have built at such cost An anachrOnism. They don't pay and won't pay for years to come Rich Mexicans don't put their money in railroad stocks, nor modern machinery. They know better As the great manufacturing nation of agricultural implements, you doubtless thought, when the railroads came, that you would flood the country with labor-Saving machinery, to your profit and our benefit. Have you done iti l notice that there are a great many strong house. selling implements in this city, but they are all contracting their business. Through competition blows are almost as cheap here ss in the United States, but how seldom do you see one used, even in the vast fields around the city. l sold q Mexican two rcapers a few months ago, and the other day asked him how be succeeded with them Very we'll be said, they are great economizsrs. But do you kow bow I have to run themg have two men on horse back go along, on either side, Co watch the driver, and every night lock them up her medically to prevent the laborers destroying them Mexico Cor. Cleveland Leader
 Automatic Cork PuIlers.
 Time was when a corkscrew and a strong arm would pull a cork from an ordinary beer botfle That vyas when coriSs were uilt n, fy