Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-06-02
|. 5. SHOE MAKERS WILL SEEK SOUTH
 AMERICAN TRADE
Federal Bureau Now is Busy Measuring" The Latin
 Foot.

Washington, June 1.-For the assis- tance of American shoe manufactur- CTS in enlarging their South Ameri-
 can trade, the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has imported mora than 150 samples of the kinds ot footwear most generally used in Latin-America and will publish soon series of special reports on the South American shoe trade by Her. man c. Brock of Brockton, Mass, who recently returned to this country after long tour as a special agent for the Bureau.
 The best opportunities for the sale of American shoes were found by Mir. Brock to be on the west coast of South America. High grade shoes are scarce there, while the countries are very prosperous from the sales of un. usual quantities of pyrates, other minerals and fOodstuffs al war prices. On the east coast there is an over production of fine shoes by the nu- merous and up.to-date factories in Argentine, Uruguay and Brazil. Ar gentina recently doubled the duty on imported shoes for the protection of nome industry and traff;cs in the other two countries also are high.
 Peculiarities of the Latin-American foot must be considered in making goods for sales in those countries. It was with this in mind, particularly, that the bureau collected representa- tive styles of shoes to illustrate the very high instep, broad ankle, short vanlp and high heel, which the South American demands.
 In styles, the South American fac tories generally copy American types, adapted to focal conditions. The modes are varied frequently to main tain the advantage of domestic over. imported shoes. Niceties of finish are required, rather than long-wear- ing qualities, and objection frequent ly has been made to high-grade American-made boots for women be- cause there was some .rOughness of detail or because they were too heavy. The South American buyer wants a ''piano finish" even on the bottoms of the soles, which must be flexible and light, and any loose threads are likely to present a sale.
 Another demand made is that shoe uppers, should come together over the instep, which directly contrary. to ideas of perfect fit ill this coun- try.
 Except in the very. large cities, there is no such thing. as a fixed price for an article. Every purchase is the occasion of much bargaining, so that the American custom of stamping prices on the soles of shoes is not in favor.
 American machinery is used almost exclusively in the South American factories. Buenos Aires alone has more than 200 factories some of which have , daily capacity of s. 900 pairs.
 Before the war, England led in the sale of mems shoes to South America. Austria, France and Switzerland sold the bulk of women's and children's shoes, but all of the Austrian product was cleared through Hamburg com mission houses and the trade statis- tics gave Germany the credit for the sales. American firms have an excel. lent reputation. for fair dealing, the quality of their goods and the manner in which the goods are packed, which probably accounts for the increase in business in recent years.
 MT. Brock pointed out that the small of Cuba buys more Ameri- can shoes than the 50,00Q,000 inha'bit- ants of South America. He said that in spite of export restrictions neces- sary for successful prosecution of the war and notwiths tanding the diff faculties of doing 'business abroad at present, American manufacturers who are seriously interested in building up "a permanent export trade, cannot be too strongly urged to acquaint them selves now with South American needs.