New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-06

AMERICAN MERCHANTS HAVE PROB
LEM IN DEALING WITH THEM.
LONG CREDITS THE CHEF STUMBLING BLOCK

| LONG THE CHIEF
| TOO MANY LITTLE SHOPS.
San Juan, Porto Rico. Sept 1S (SpecaD.
| American who has lived IN this city for many
years. and who Is thoroughly conversant with
| the business situation, said to The Tribune
correspondent the other day: There Is no
| doubt that eventually our people will capture
] the bulk of the trade with the residents CT
| Porto Rico. but IT isn't to he accomplished in a
! day, and the man who rashiy ventures into this
| field Is going to get btten-nnd bitten badly.
American merchants and investors who imag-
| Inc that Porto Rico is n twentieth century
| FL Dorado are laboring under a deluson. and my
/ advice to my countrymen would be to go
slow"
These remarks, coming from q man who Ia
thoroughly unseGsh In his motives, and who al
the time has the knowledge OF an ex-
pert, are probably nearly true as such pre-
dictions could we'll be. II IS no dsparagement
Of the wealth OF the island to say that money
| and energy Will for time be wasted unless
invested in the most careful manner. for the
local conditions such as to preclude daring
! operations, either in the field of trade or manu-
| facture.
In the first place. Spanish customs are so
thoroughly engrafted that 1t will. IN all proba-
y,
tute those in vogue in the United States. In
the happy go-lucky life OF tho tropics customs
change slowly, when they change at all, and
! for this reason the change incident to the
transfer of the island from one Power to an
| other will necessarily have to be accomplished
gently, and with due regard for conditions that
are the outgrowth Of the usages of four CEN
turtles Harsh measures will do more harm
| good hence American
moter who came here just after General Brooke
entered the city, said I'm this is another
| case Of doing in Rome the Romans do. and
while I'm bound to stay. can see myself here
| for long time before things will come my
way"
One of the most peculiar of local mercantile
! customs is the credit system In use. In the
| first place the amount OF money on the island
| Is so limited that merchants are driven to
| getting goods on long time. They are content
| TO make but little profit on what they SELL but
to even matters UP they insist on credits eX-
tending anywhere from eighteen months to
three years. OF course only merchants with
| frst-class financial standing can obtain the
longer time but those who practically live from
hand to mouth receive eighteen months time in
which to meet their obligations. One Of the
prevailing principles among the merchants Is
that tho longer time he hns the more he will
| buy. He doesn't care If prices are advanced on
him on account Of the long credit. but he must
have the credit. and he always gets 1t. When
the island shall have passed under the Amer
lean rule. end Americans are favored by the
| tariffs instead Of being Disseminated against,
| tho first problem TO be met by American firms
| doing business In Porto Rico will be this credit
scheme. Obviously, with American tariff laws
ATTENDED over Porto Rico the local tradcsmcn
WILL be forced to buy American goods or inn
| port from abroad and sell at higher prices-a
contingency which BODIES III FOR the importer
for the majority OF the natives have d'sposi-
ton such as is usually imputed to residents of
the New-England States. and can drive bar
gains aa shrcwdly as a Connecticut farmer 1t
can hardly be expected that American mer-
chants will sell their wares on such long time,
and yet it is almost equally as absurd 20 con-
ccive OF Spaniard or Porto Rcan changing
| his habits in a day. Tho condition exists now
| ever, and the prOhlcrn must be solved.
The experience Of d New-York Grygoods sales
man here in san Juan last week shows just
how local merchants look on the short-credit
system In vogue III the United states. TnlS
man after making a canvass Of the stores In
which he thought he might be sble 10 sell
goods. returned to his hotel in high state or
excitement. He able, he said. to sell cotton
goods of better texture and ar lower prices than
the local establishments had ever been able 70
purchase them. The merchants with whom ne
had talked agreed with him In that respect
and with few exceptions were willing to patron
Ze him but he must give them long credit
something he was not authorized TO DO. on MS
answer depended large sales. but the conditions
were such as to prevent him from consum-
mating the deal, which eventually fell through
Then Il was recalled to him that similar condi-
tions prevail In Mexico and that English ana
German firms. by granting long credits, were
getting away with the bulk OF the trade that
naturally should have gone to the states. lie
replied: IT know but Mexico ia foreign coun-
try We can't change their customs. we snail
have TO change those of the Porto Ricans. 1t
will simply result this way-the men who de-
cline our terms will have 10 get out Of bust
ness"
These long credits and the reckless manner In
which they have been extended have given rise
70 an enormous number of stores Of all classes
Every little town has enough stores to accom-
| MEDIATE n population five times as great az Its
own AS rule these establishments are
wretchedly small, and carry large diversity
OF wares yet with stocks that are mainly
notcea BILE for their meagreness. Except In TINS
city it Is the rule for storekeepers to sell nearly
anvthing-from jeweliy to salt pork. and from
silk laces to WheebarrOWS. Indeed, the Porto
Rican stores. with the exception noted are
miniatures of the big department stores Of
| Ncw-York In tho capital there are stores
where speclalties made OF drygOods or
groceries, shoes and other commodities, and
these taken with the smaller and more con-
glcmerate shops. could easily FIJI the wants OK
half the population Of the island. 1t Is the
small fry however, who would have TO suffer
( from the introduction OF American methods in
/ trading With them out OF the way and the
competition diminished II is possible that the
large shopkeepers would willingly adopt the
ways OF the Americans. But any one who looks
for such an eventuality at once Will doubtless
vyhi Ia N happen