Evening star., 1898-06-11

thorough American and has at the same
| time good knowledge of the Peruvian
character and the needs of the people and
| country. l had a long talk with him this
afternoon, during which he gave some
points for American shippers. Said he:
THE chief trouble with our manufacturers
Is that they will not study the wants of
their customers and try to satisfy them
they don't pack their goods well nor mark
them plainly. All goods sent to South
America should be put in new boxes. Then
| you can tell if they have been opened on
the way. If they are put in secondhand
boxes and renafled they are sure to come
here with something missing. 1t is easy to
open an old box. The steamers specify the
condition of each case and do not hold
themselves responsible If the cases are sec
ond-hand. If goods are not stolen on the
ships they may be stolen at the custom
houses. The marking of the boxes should
be with letters from six to ten inches long.
The Germans are the best shippers in this
regard. They use letters ten inches long
and two inches wide and put them on so
plainly that it is impossible to mistake the
directions. Our shippers will use letters of
not over two inches in length. Their marks
often rub off and the boxes are lost. They
are careless also in billing the goods prop
erly, and especially so in packing Goods
are handled roughly on the ships and the
strongest cases are needed. Another i'm
portant thing is to pack SO that the du lies
here will be as small as possible. Many
classes of goods are taxed by weight and
have had stuff sent to me in such heavy
cases that the duties amounted to fifty
times the value of the goods. Samples
should always be shipped as samples and
every factory should have a copy of the
tariff laws of the countries to which they
snip and study to pack so as to cause the
least cost to their customers. Goods that
Will go into small cases should not be put
into large ones, as freight is charged for
by measurement. Every German house has
copy OF the tariff of every country to
which it sends goods, and packs accord
ingly."
Commercial Pirates of the World,
you speak of the Germans, Mr. Crosby"
said I. "Do they do much business in
Peru7"
Yes, they are fast monopolizing the
trade everywhere. When came here over
twenty years ago there were no German
houses and from twenty to thirty big Eli
glish houses. Now thera are more than a
score or big German establishments and
only one or two large English Ones The
Germans are driving out the English every
where They are INSCRIPTIONS as to meth
ods and Will do anything to get trade They
are, In fact, the pirates of the commercial
world. The American sells his goods and
is proud to call them American. He will
not make poor article because he does not
mink 1t fair to- do SO. This is also the case
with the English and French but the Ger
man cares for nothing but to sell. He will
call his goods American, French or English
according as these goods are the most in
demand. and by putting in poor material
Will make cheap article which looks like
that he claims to sell. The Germans maks
Rogers knives which will not cut butter
unless they ara heated. They label them
rogers Sheffield and use the Rogers
trade marks. They make holdings splash
ed with gilt and mark them from the
United States and they initiate our wall
papers and mark them American. They
sell cheap limitations Of French and
English stockings under pirated trade
marks. They sell Havana cigars made in
Hamburger and kitchen furniture from
Germany labeled made in the United
states. fhey do not care whether their
goods are honest or not. All they want is
to SELL"
What We Sell in Peru,
What do We sell to Peru, Mr.. CrosbyY'
asked.
Our total sales are now about three
quarters of q million dollars a year, and,
as Peru buys more than eleven millions
annually, you will see that more than nine
tenths Of the Peruvian trade is with Eu-
rope. Before the war with Chile, when
Peru was rich, she bought almost three
times as much American goods as she does
now. The trouble Is that we do not buy
great deal of Peru. Trade Is reciprocal,
and people buy where they sell. II the
reciprocity treaty which the Peruvian min
lister at Washington is now trying to ar
range can be carried through 1t will In
crease our trade 100 per cent. At present
lHo CIleI dTtlcieS shipped mere from the
United States are petroleum, lard, hard
ware, machinery and lumber. The best of
the American petroleum, that Of the 150
test, ts sold In Peru, The cheaper oils come
from the native fields and the Peruvian arti-
Gle Will not refine so well as ours. All Peru
Wan families use lard for cooking, and
American lard sells In Lima for seven cents
and turpentine used here come from our
southern states. American glassware. made
with natural gas, beats the world, and
from Pittsburg and Johnstown. We are