Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-16
RISING,
TINES HARD, IN
SOUTH AMERICA
Salesman Finds Scarcity of Money
TraCeabIe to the War in the
Balkans.

NEW YORK, Nov. Isl H.
Holmes, who for three years has been
travelling in South America for an
American commercial concern, says
that while Argentina is the biggest
market in South America for manu-
featured goods, Chile is the easiest
for an American to sell in. At the
present time, however, most of the
lower countries are suffering from a
great business depression.
u made Buenos Ayres my head
quarters, and travelled in Brazil, Uru-
quay, Chile, Peru and, of course, in
Argentina" said Mr.. Holmes. ITO a
man who is used to the splendid train
service of this country, getting about
seems to take a great deal of time.
Most of it is done by boat, and, while
that is all right on the east coast,
when you travel along the west coast,
unless you happen to catch one OF
the big liners, 1t can be very uncom-
Portable and the food very bad. Then
YOU always have to laid off the shore,
and if you are carrying sample cases
they are apt to get a wetting. Out
side of the bigger cities, the hotels
are uniformly bad.
Food Prices High,
In Argentina it Is difficult to get
sea food. In a restaurant in Buenos
Ayres paid one night $40 for lob
ster-SS.SO in our money The cost Of
living there is three times what II is
here.
ut is a great mistake for anybody
who goes down to South America TO
do business to imagine that you can
just pull gold off the trees" observed
Mr.. Holmes with a sigh.
people down there dislike doing
business through an interpreter, IN
less they have been doing business
with your house for q long time,
Firms which send men down there to
represent them ought to pay enough
to attract men who can converse with
the merchants in their own tongue.
Then business is bad pretty gen.
orally in South America just now.
Two years ago what promised to be
record breaking crop in Argentina
was ruined by tornadoes, and the
planters have had an uphill cIlmb
ever since. In Brazil it is impossible
10 give away things. In Argentina, OF
course. the Balkan wars have had
very depressing effect, because their
source of money supply has been cut
| off. For another thing, the country
is experiencing the reaction from a
big real estate boom. The banks have
! closed in on the borrowers, and the
| latter are having a hard time.
Money Tight in Chile.
1.-THE Chileans haven't any money,
| either, partly because Of the wars in
J Europe Still, 1t is easier to do bust
! ness in Chile than in any other coun-
| try down there. People tell you the
| Chileans don't like Americans. If that
! is so, it is a good thing, for it seems
as if they can not get too much OF
| our manufactured goods. In Argen-
tina the market is bigger but the
merchants are much harder to deal
| with. Many of them insist upon hav-
| ing goods made in Italy or in France.
! The commercial traveller VINO
strikes Peru does not always have an
easy time. In Peru you pay about ~
a day for your hotel board on the
| American plan. Everything that Is
/ brought to you without your or
dering it you have to pay for extra.
Merchants in South America are
usually very easy to approach, but
YOU can not always tell whether
man is going to give you an order or
! is stringing you He Is just as apt
/ as not TO keep you on tenterhooks for
| three weeks They will do nothing
on the spur of the moment. Manu-
! facturers who send statesmen down
| there in the expectation that they
will burn up the earth have another
guess You have to make a lot OF al
! loWance for the manana habit. why
! doing business in Mexico used to De
a cinch to what 1t is down there.
THE cost of living in Chile is not
what it is in Argentina, but even
there things have gone up 100 per
cent in the popular restaurants in the
last two years. Business In Monte
video is in an awful state.
81 would inform any American
| travelling man who Is about to go 10
| South America that living is much
more costly there than here. In Bue-
nos Ayres they ask $175 gold month
for a little unfurnished fiat Of four
rooms. Argentina is like Mexico; II
is managed by d few, and the poor
man pays for everything"