Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-20
Hechts Greater Stores 513=515=517 Seventh Street.

prectice. and why American exporters
| ought to come over here personally and
| study the local conditions and require
menus in Manila. for by complying with
them they could secure much of the trade
| that is now going to Europe.
II have charge, among other duties" said
Mr.. Ham. "of the handling of the imported
merchandise that comes into the Manila
| custom house. And this is large amount.
for, If Manila were In the states, II would
rank fourth / believe, in amount Of Gus
toms business. So much of these importa-
lions come from Germany. Great Britain.
France and Spain that 1t often strikes me
what market for American manufacturers
and exporters exists here, If properly Guilt
waited.
"One thing necessary to this end, how
ever. besides right prices. is more attention
paid to the manner of shipment and proper
packing. American goods come here proven
bally in bad condition, due to weak and in
secure cases or outside covering, and i'm
proper packing. The European goods, es-
pecially those from Germany, come in
strong cases or other covering with suffi-
cient cleats and bands of iron to hold the
cases together, even If nails give away,
they frequently do. The American cases
frequently fall apart when landed upon the
custom house wharf or are so broken In
other ways that the contents either roll
out are otherwise injured-all at a loss
to the importer. This morning, for instance,
a lot of nails in pine boxes were landed
from New York: despite the fact that the
boxes
inch stuff. bound with wire, many We're
broken so that at every move out fell the
nails at loss to the importer.
european exporters not only ship In
stronger cases, but pack in better man
ner For instance, European textiles are
packed In tin, that even If the outside
ca Sc is broken the cloth will not get wet or
injured. American shippers are not so
careful. European nails, bolts and nuts
and such articles are shipped in sheet iron
kegs instead of wooden boxes. Many of the
American boxes are of too light stun Tor
foreign export. Yesterday / saw case or
California canned goods fall apart when
landed the wharf by customs steam
crane and the cans went helter-skelter ev-
erywhere. week ago piece of expensive
machinery came from the states with a part
broken because protected by iimsy quar-
ter-inch board instead of something heavier.
The machine was partially ruined.
Americans Must Learn.
american exporters must learn TO make
stronger IL they wish to secure or
hold this foreign trade. Importers here will
| not buy of them If they subjected to
these losses through faulty packing or
cases. The percentage of loss Is too great.
even to overcome lower price. The Ameri-
can shipper must bear In mind not only the
distance by sea, but that lighterage must
be used to bring goods ashore, involving
double handling, and also that the Filipino
coolies on the lighters. wharfs and ware
houses have utter disregard of care in
handling merchandise, If foreman some
one is not standing over every man.
Not all American exporters are derelict,
however. Many ship goods in fine condi-
ton. There is d big market here for evap-
GRATED cream, which reaches NJ inila from
Illinois in good shape. Flour from Oregon
and Washington usually comes well, and
also print paper in rolls for the newspapers
but many cases containing book and finer
papers come in bad shape. Chicago canned
meats come insecurity packed, many cases
being broken. Carromatas (two-wheel gigs,
so much used here, from South Bend Ind,
come in good shape but much American
machinery does not.
In this same connection they are lame In
other respects. The Americans publ sh
tistic and complete catalogues, complete in
everything but the most important item, the
price. The distance is too great for rapid
mail correspondence 0en weeks for letter
and answer and unless the importer IS
given some price upon which to base BIDS
he sees the business go to a European
competitor. Shipping weights and meas
urements (the volume when packed are
also necessary. Another requisite where
American exporters fail is in the prepara-
ton of their shipping papers. The Philip
pine customs service requires certain ma
pers like invoices, bills of lading etc
which the exporter in the states should fur.
nish study of the Philippines customs
laws should be made by every American
exporter. Different classes of goods should
be packed separately, so as not to unnec-
essarily increase the tariff for the importer
here to pay.