The Washington herald., 1908-04-09
JAPANESE BUSINESS METHODS
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Tokyo. Feb. 24.-There is a great hue
ana cry among foreigners about the poor
business methods Of the japanese. These
new rivals for the trade OF the East are
openly charged With every phase Of COM
mercial malpractice, from petty till-tap-
ping TO the abrogation of treaty rights
There has been q merry row over the
piracy Of trademarks, and beId imita-
tions OF standard brands Of goods have
caused the Orient to be fairly shaken
by an uproar Of protest. The glad chorus
of acclaim, which so recently greeted
the japanese for their military efficiency,
has been changed into an indignant round
robin, because Of their failure to observe
the established rule of trade. These com
plants are numerous and come from
many quarters.
A Manila rice buyer openly denounces
the japanese as unsafe 10 trade with.
and says that he has reached this con-
clusicn from personal experience. Prior
20 the Russo-Japanese war he had dealt
exclusively with Chinese merchants. He
found them shrewd in making a bargain,
but once they enter into an agreement,
even if there is nothing more than an
oral understanding, the contract will be
faithfully carried out. no matter whether
the Chinese profit or lose by the trans
action After the war he was solicited
BY japanese traders for some Of his busi-
ness. He admired the japanese extTav-
agantly for their military prowess, and
was glad OF an opportunity to show his
friendship IN q substantial way. He
placed a large order for rice with a
japanese firm. and had a written agree
ment covering the transaction. In a
short time notice was served on him that
no more deliveries could be made at the
coatract price, and an advance was de-
manded He endeavored TO hold them
10 the bargain, but failed in the attempt.
He tried three other firms with equally
unsatisfactory results. and then aban-
doned the japanese for good and all His
orders are now going exclusively TO the
Chinese.
An American who handles large guam
titles Of japanese porcelain asserts that
since the war the dishonesty of the Jap
anese has increased with their spirit Of
independence. They viii not keep their
goods up 10 sample, and never hesitate 20
break a contract IL 1t Is 70 their advan-
tage to do so. The complaints from
abroad became so numerous that a Jap
anese consul IN the United States wrote a
letter to tfe governor Of the province In
Japan where this trade centers, strongly
urging an Improvement in business meth.
ods as a preventive measure against the
almost certain loss of the American mar
ket, The governor called meeting Of
the managers OF all the large concerns in
his district, read them the eommunica-
ton. and delivered a short lecture on the
subject. What effect did it have? The
buyer said. They bowed down 10 the
floor, sucked their breath in through their
teeth, and went right on in the same old
way. A costly lesson will have TO be
taught them before they win ever i'm
prove their methods
An importer Of peanuts IN Portland,
Greg, was approached by a japanese
salesman. who suggested that inasmuch
as his countTymen were branching out in
business. there was no longer any neees-
sity for doing business through a third
party. as had been the custom prior 10
that time. Why not deal direct? The
American felt Ike encouraging the jap
anese commercial enterprise. and a con-
tract was made. The Portland man soon
had reason 10 regret his action. In ex-
planation he says: THE price OF peanuts
went up and my man refused TO deliver
at the contract price. I got stung for
$3.50. No more direct deals with the
japanese for me-
The imitation of standard brands of
manufactured goods has caused much
complaint Fer instance, a certain Japa-
nese firm put out a lot of thread which
was an imitation Of both the Coates and
Clark brands. TIC the eye this fraudulent
stun appeared exactly like the original
article. but later the customer would
discover that there was only one-third Of
the usual amount Of thread, the size be-
ing maintained by making the body OF
the spool larger. Thus the shrewd takers
sold wood at the price OF thread. A
cheap substitute fer American kerosene
was also put out in tins similar 20 those
used By the Standard OIL Company The
perpetrators OF these frauds had a double
purpose IN view. namely. to make 4
large profit from the sale OF inferior
stuff, ana 20 dissatisfy The public with
brands 1t was accustomed to using. so
that the way would be made easier for
articles Of native manufacture.
Great interest has centered in the case
from the infringement of the
trademark of Messrs. James Buchanan
& Co, the British manufacturers OF
BLACK and White" whisky. This firm
has had an enormous trade In the East
for years. and had It's trademark properly
registered at the patent ONCE in Tokyo.
A Japanese dealer initiated the label and
put a substitute On the market There