The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-25
FOREIGN TRADE.
An American In Cuba on some Pro, inciai
Notions Of His lountrymrD

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir.
have read with much interest the speeches
Of j. J. Hill James A. Farrell and Fair
fax Harrison at the National Foreign
Trade Convention held In Washington in
May. The remarks OF these gentlemen are
true. but they do not go far enough. Mr.
Harrison does suggest the establishment
OF agencies on the ground, but does not
go further than the suggestion. This Is
the important point. 20 sell the goods. and
the hard thing is to get the man TO be
the agent.
You cannot pick out every commercial
traveller who may be- working for a firm
and send him down to the Latin Amert.
can republics ana hope to ind him a
success. There must be In the makeup
OF the successful commercial traveller a
large dose of "wanderlust" and the feel
ing take me somewhere cast OF Suez"
az an antido;e to the many things he will
encounter that are not up TO his prccon-
ceived ideas. II he finds fault with every
thing he meets and thinks the man TO
whom he is selling is an inferior being
his attitude viii be resented with a ,or-
responding loss OF business He should
speak the language OF the country and
know the trade names OF the articles lie
represents.
There is another point In this subject
that should be- treated The American
resident In these foreign countries Is
looked upon by the present Adminstra-
ton and by many of our citizens at home
as an "cNpatriate" ana a soldier of for
tune ! was much amused last summer
on trip 10 Panama by a party of school
teachers, many Of them principals OF high
schools in Philadelphia. New York and
Boston They would ask II | had re-
nounccd my American citizenship. and
with tears Ina their voices" would in
quire n ] did not long 10 return to my
native land Neither they nor the Ad-
ministratun nor our Secretary OF state
thinks that the American residents in "A
country arc any help to the foreign trade
OF tine United States, bu; they are de-
cidedly mistaken.
American contractors and holders of
concc Ssiuus can look for no aid from the
present Administration. The Adminlstra-
ton does not know that American con-
tractors buy American plant and equip
ment. and this often needs American, me-
chanics to operate or repair. and these
men have tastes for American food and
wear American clothes. and so little by
little things roll on. The natives see
this plant and equipment, and they try Il
because they have become familiar with
ii, and buy II I'm preference to something
not so well known. Right after the Span
American war | went into the to-
bacco growing business with some friends
and introduced one OF the first American
ploughs in the district. The natives were
using the same kind the Pharaohs used
in Egypt Well, We lost our money, but
that plough got in It's good work and
long ago put out of business the old
style plough OF the country.
An aRen, who lives in the country Is
much better than a travelling salesman
who comes at odd times and is forgotten
when he is gone and hardly recognized
when he comes ON his next trip.
am not one Of those who believe that
II an American is killed accidentally In
some riot or the start of revolution
we should land marines and capture a
town, but due protection should be given
legitimate business interests and the lives
of citizens and our Government should
act quickly and with despatch IL the lives
OF American citizens are threatened or
taken because they are Americans. Some
will reply that not one American boy
should be sacrificed TO defend these mon
eyed interests and these "expatriates :"
on the same principle, we should not let
policemen risk their lives catching rob-
bers.
On the other hand. We can take our
choice OF letting our foreign trade go by
the board, and instead of few OF our
boys dying on a foreign shore. fighting
for the rights OF their fellow citizens, they
can stay AT home, and they and ,heirs
have short rations or starve because we
have let some other nation take the trade
from us by defending Its nationals
HAVANA, June 90. AN ExPATRIATE