The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-21
TRADE WITH MEXICO
.,,sr STUDY THE sPANIsH-AMER-
ICAN WANTS.
MERCHANTS RARELY FAIL.
spANIsH-AMERICA GOOD FIELD
FOR COMMERCE..

americans Have Been Very Slow in
developing Trade in That Quarter.
Mexican and Cuban Statesmen Have
nroyed Successful - A Floating
sample store to BE Sent Down the
pacific Coast-Our Trade in West
chants Extend Long Credits to
South American Buyers.
Washington, April 20.-Frederic
Emory. chief of the bureau of foreign
commerce.. to-day made public an in
teresting extract from that portion of
commercial relations of the United
states (now in press) which deals with
our trade with Mexico, Central Amer
lea and the West Indiess
our goods are favorably known in
Mexico, it is stated, but in certain
lines such as dry-goods, hats, shoes,
notions and men and women's furnish
ngs, our exporters seem to have made
practically no attempt to gain the
Mexican trade. Americans are more
fully realizing that they must accom-
modate themselves to the wants and
pecuiarities OF the Mexicans, and as a
result trade is growing. Many United
States houses have adopted the plan of
sending out young Mexicans or Cubans
as travelling statesmen and these men
have achieved excellent results. Bust
ness failures are rare in Mexico. For
example in Mazatlan there has been
only one in the last fifteen years and
that was due to the failure of the main
house in Paris. Commercial travellers
who come to Mexico, it is stated, will
find a conservative class of merchants
who take pride in paying their debts
promptly. Attention is called to an in
teresting experiment which American
firms are trying in the shape of
floating sample store. A vessel is to
leave the United States for the western
coast of Mexico. Central America and
South America having for sale, samples
of merchandise of all kinds suitable for
tropical trade, each line of goods being
in charge of an expert salesman.
in the West Indies.
In the Danish West Indies the i'm
ports from the United States are ad-
vancing yearly in. spite of trade de-
preston. The uncertainty of commun-
ication is the main drawback to our
trade it is. stated. At one period of
last year 50 days passed without
single direct steamer to the United
States.
In Guatemala our machinery is high
ly appreciated though it's delicacy will
not admit of the ignorant handling of
the Indian labor universal to the coun-
try However. it is realized that it
is far superior to other machinery in
the matter of fuel economy and as the
fuel supply of the country grows less
each year this fact is expected to
greatly increase the sale of American
machinery.
honduras Buys From us.
Three-fourths of the imports of Hon
duras come from the United States,
but trade that should have been ours
has been diverted to Germans on ac-
count of the close quarantine of the
louisiana Board of Health during the
last year. In Jamaica the United
States has supplanted England in
many lines of sale, and shoes, cotton
goods and coal are almost exclusively
supplied by us. An increasing quanti-
~ of goods is being consumed in the
Dutch West Indies, more than half of
the imports now being American. Our
machinery has a firm foothold in
Guadeleupe and our trade is good in
Hayti, though it would be improved, it
is stated, if United States merchants
We're willing to extend the credits
granted by European sellers. Three
years ago it was hardly possible to
fnd shoe or hat of American make
IN Santo Domingo. Now these arti-
a n
houses and trade in other lines is in
creasing largely. Besides IS per cent.
of the provision trade we supply all of
the lumber that is imported and
good portion of other building mate
rial.