Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-04
MISUNDERSTANDING
/ |NLAT|N AMERICA
Dr.. W. E. AughKbaugh Tells of
Needs of Successful
II Statesmen.
MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK
LANGUAGE OF COUNTRY
Then the Social Niceties So Dear to
the Spaniard Must Be Rigid
ly Observed.


must be and know is told in an article
written by DR.. W. E. Aughinbaugh, a
former Washingtonian, for the purpose
Of promoting the export trade of this
country in consequence of the war in
Europe and the inability of European
firms at this time to furnish their ex-
ports to South and Central American
countries.
Dr. Aughinbaugh has had twenty
years experience in Latin America,
and his knowledge of the financial and
commercial possibilities open in those
fields to United States business men Is
regarded as being expert. In the arti
in Latin America. which will appear in
the forthcoming number of Leslie's
Weekly, he says, in part:
THE success or failure of business
venture in Latin America depends ma
terially on the appearance and char
acter of the representative. Never hav-
ing seen or heard of you or your goods,
1t is most natural for the foreign mer-
chant to make his deductions from
your emissary.
1.-The ideal ambassador of commerce
for South American fields should COM
bine elegance of dress and courtliness
of manners; be a linguist, a scholar. a
diplomat, philosopher, always stu
dent and a business man as we'll. He
should continually bear in mind that his
visit is unsolicited: that in a sense he is
an aggressor, and he should conform to
the usages of custom wherever he may
be. European merchants and their trav-
elers, with the hope of Strengthening
warranted idea that the Yankee is
tricky in all his dealings, and this con-
dition must at all times be combated.
Be frank with prospective customers.
Do not try to load them up with goods.
Keep your agreements to the letter.
Follow exactly whatever shipping in
structions are given.
Be Sociable and Pleasant.
after an initial visit to a possible
client it is advisable to develop his So
cial side. Ascertain to what clubs he
belongs and get put up at them. SO
that an opportunity may arise to see
him after the cares of the day are over.
You will find the Latin American a
Chesterfield in matters of decorum and
an agreeable companion. He, like our
selves, has his weaknesses. Find what
they are and cater to them. Do not for
a moment get the idea that you are
dealing with child, for though, like
the Chinaman, he presents a bland ex-
terror. he is uncannily wise. He knows
his line and prices and market condi-
tions.
Existing in a world of little excite
ment, few amusements and one foreign
mail per week, his mind is not diverted
and he unconsciously concentrates and
becomes a specialist in his business.
Having always lived thousands of miles
from markets, he has learned to prog
nosticate trade developments years
ahead.
He expects to talk with you in
Spanish, excepting in Brazil. where the
language is Portuguese, and he will
fe1 hot oil aHyaJr
the world speak his tongue. including
European statesmen. Obviously, if you
can discuss affairs with him in his own
idiom you are on the road to success.
you cannot talk in the language Of the
Dons he will ask you to do SO in that
of the Gauls. Only in the largest es-
Establishments of the big seaport towns
miliar with English.
knowledge of Spanish Essential.
rs is, therefore. obvious that without
q knowledge of Spanish salesman in
this territory is hopelessly handicap
ped. Europeans recognizing the i'm
portance of this employ only repre-
sentatives speaking the language of
the countries wherein they travel I
recall meeting a German in Assam
speaking fuently the native tongue and
later ran across him in Arabia con-
versing in Arabic in the market place.
Americans have never been linguists,
but in our business lexicon there should
be no such word as impossible
"I remember an American traveller
for an oil machinery house startling
those In the dining room of the lead
ing hotel in Peru by pointing to the
menu and alternately grunting and
squealing aloud He could not talk
Spanish. In a few moments the place
was in an uproar. Some thought he
had gone crazy; others that he was in
sulting the Peruvians, or the pro-
prietor of the hotel The head waiter
rushed to me and asked that 1 ascer-
tain what the trouble was.
Imagine my surprise when my
countryman, in explanation of his
barnyard impersonation, said: I was
trying to tell these burned fools that
/ want ham," Incidents Ike this are
never forgotten, are always magnified
riously, socially and otherwise. This
little affair. happening in foreign
country where news is scarce, was
talked of In the hotels. clubs and
cafes. printed in the journals and IL
Illustrated In the comic papers.
Common Sense Required.
Il have long since ceased to wonder
at the lack of common sense exhibited
by some large American houses in Sc
1ecting men to send to South America.
/ recall one well known concern in
this country sending a man to sell car
bon paper and typewriter ribbons, who
spoke only English. Personally, he