The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-11-16
COMMERCIAL FIRST AID.
SYSTEM TO HELP AMERICAN
TRADE IN FOREIGN CITIES.

! SYSTEM TO HELP AMERICAN
/ TRADE IN FOREIGN CITIES.
Consulate Useful Bureau-Plan of Civ
ing information to Those Desiring
Goods From This Country Started
by Consul Ledoux, is Spreading.
So frequent are the complaints OF
American manufacturers that they are
unable to find a reasonable market
in Europe that a report of the trav-
cling representative of the CONNER
cial Museums concerning a system
which is growing up among the Am
erican consulates is interesting. This
system, which is described by the
representative as "a commercial f1rsS
aid" is designed to be a bureau OF
information about American manu-
features that will abolish great deal
of the lengthy correspondence that
must take place between manufac-
turers and foreign consumers before
sales are made.
The real reason why American
goods do not have a larger sale in
Europe is, that it takes the purchaser
SO long to find out about them, since
two or three communications must
travel thousands of miles. In the
smaller European cities and even IN
the larger ones, there have been no
places where a purchaser desiring
American goods could get information
about them. He has had to write to
America probably several times before
finding out what he wanted to know.
BY that time he has decided that all
too much trouble was involved, so ne
bought elsewhere.
The honor of instituting system
whereby this difficulty may be over
come belong to Urban ]. Ledoux,
United States Consul at Prague, Bo-
hemia. At present this little out OF
the way town, unknown to many Am
erisans, contains the most complete
directory Of American manufactures
in Europe. Attracted by Mr.. Ledoux's
success, many Consuls all over Eur
ope are beginning to establish similar
directories. American sales in Eur
ope are sure to boom when this sys-
tenn shall become general.
For year previous to February,
1905, Mr.. Ledoux worked on this plan,
indexing, classifying, filing and col
lecting. On February Is, 1905, he
gave a reception to all of the other
Consuls and the officials of the city,
and formally announced that his Am
erican Commercial Intelligence De
partment was open to the people OF
Prague Since then the business men
of the town have constantly patron
lied it, and American trade has
tripled.
Information about every American
product that could possibly be needed
in Prague is on Mr.. LedoUx's files.
He has everything properly classified
and can give the fullest details at
moments notice. Under each heading
can be found descriptions of the ar
ticle required, statistics as to its
manufacture, names of the various
manufacturers in the United States,
their prices and their own catalogs.
Another feature is the Commercial
Reading Room at the Consulate. In
this room 100 of the leading CONNER
cial and trade papers of the United
States are ON file and accessible.
This room has become so popular in
Prague that it is always crowded. In
deed, the Consulate's Commercial Sys-
tenn has proved so successful that it
Is one of the best-knOwn places in the
city.
A third feature is the direct assist
ance given to those interested in con-
Meeting with American houses in the
way of help and correspondence. The
Consul has prepared series of pos
tai cards covering the more frequent
forms of request. All that is neces-
sary for the Bohemian business man
to do is to sign his name and mail the
card.
This system gives an example of
how the best type of American Goa
suls are doing practical, systematic
work in furthering trade interests.
Prague has the best system, a few
other Consuls are following Mr.. Le~
doux's example, and in time it is hop
ed that the scheme will be in effect
in every city that has an American
lsal.-Philadelphia Record.