New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-13

and our South American neighbors have
excellent reasons for complaint in some
directions.
1t is fair to say that in some cases
orders taken were of 4 tentative char
scter and subject to confirmation by
the home Office, but in all too many
cases this was not made clear and the
buyer did not understand IL that way.
OF course, manufacturers in the United
States had a perfect right to reject
orders, or to notify the purchaser that
the prices had advanced, if no positive
agreement for the delivery of the mer-
chandise was made when the order was
taken. But all too many agreements
of n binding character were made
which have not been kept. In practi-
cally all of the principal centres mer-
chants are able to show correspondence
and agreements which put our mer-
chants on the defensive at once. More
over, there is abundant evidence cited
by responsible American residents in
the American countries of opera
tions that are far from creditable TO
business concerns in the United States.
Despite ali of the education and agi-
tation that has been going on about
our methods Of packing goods, our
propensity for smothering South Amer
lea with catalogues printed in English,
our habit of putting two cent stamps
on letters which call for five cents and
similar juvenile indiscretions. there is
no doubt that they still continue to
surprising extent.
1t is also true that We daily try TO
find markets for articles quite united
for the tropics. For example, 1t is not
a joke, but fact, that inquiry was
MI
recently by concern of considerable
standing in the United States as to the
market for snow scrapers during the
coming winter, and there are well au-
thenticated instances where American
business houses write about having
agents in Buenos Aires selling goods
for them in Chile or Peru. thousand
to two thousand miles away on the
other side of the Andes.
Despite all of these annoying ana
discouraging incidents, however, the
fact remains that the great volume OF
our business in the tropics is conducted
intelligently and efficiently. There is
little doubt that we blundered a good
deal twenty-five 10 thirty years ago,
when we first began to do business IN
a serious way in Central and South
American countries. A large part OF
the first orders TO American houses
came through men who were more or
less of the adventurer type ana VINO
were in the new countries because IL
had become uncomfortable for them az
home or there was not excitement
enough These men wrote back to the
United States. AFTER a little experience
in the country, seeking opportunities
TO handle goods on commission. Many
times has the head of some manufact-
urine concern called in his sales man
ager TO say: John, what's become OF
that line of spring stuff we got stuck
on last year and have been trying TO
work off? Here's a letter from fell
low in Chile who says they need some
thing Of the kind down there. II seems
10 me we can take a chance on 1t and
give him the commission he asks II ne
can move It."
The idea usually appealed to the
sales manager, and so the stuff was
sent to Chile or some other dlstant
country to clear II out. Usually the
manufacturer did not realize that by
/ his action he was. first of all, giving
| standing and reputation TO some
man of whom he knew notn,
/ ing and through whom ne "oulu
not think of doing business at
] nome. IN many INSTANCES ''N"
secured recognition in this way MADE
/ unfavorable records, which were later
pointed to as those of representative
Americans. When goods were sold on
commission through such men there
was generally no thought about the
significance of the act or more ousi-
ness later on. In fact, large proper
ton of our manufacturers twenty
wears ago had about the same idea
as to the citizens Of the Pan-Ameri-
can countries as the average European
tourist of that period, who expected TO
find Indians and cowboys on every
street corner in the big cities OF the
United States.
In later years. as we became more
serious in our consideration OF tropl-
cal commerce, we sent really good men
into the foreign field, and to-day one
finds in Rio de Janeiro, Sac Paulo'
Wontevideo, Buenos Aires. Santiago
Havana and in the other centres a
lot of Americans we have right 70
he proud of, men who understand their
business and who are getting on splen-
didly. They have been building up
ronv.ations for American merchants