The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-01
U.S.ISLOSING
FOREIGN TRADE
Unfamiliarity With European Con-
dftions Costing American Bus
mess Firms Dearly.

Riga, Lativa-MiIlions of dol
lars in ready cash are going to
English, German and Dutch firms
from the Baltic states because Of
the almost unbelievable unfamili-
arity of even the largest American
firms with foreign trading condi-
tons, and even geography, say
Americans here.
Dozens of big orders for which
cash was actually in the banks in
| New York have been lost to Amer
| lea because of what American rep
resentatives in tie Baltic states
term absolute stupidity.
1T is time" said one of these
Americans in Riga who has had to
place many orders in Germany and
in England when America could
have had them, that the heads of
American firms realize what the
subor6inates in charge of their for
eign trading departments are do
ing to them
Most of them. brought up on
so-called American efficiency sys-
tens that may work welk at home
but are absolutely hopeless abroad,
try to do business in Europe &C
cording to form 90 or form "a
or whatever form they would ap-
ply to similar deals in America
ITO illustrate, not long ago 1
had an urgent cash order for 49,
600 suits of underclothing for a
Baltic state. l telegraphed to a
big American firm: What your
price 10000 suits heavy underwear
cash against documents New York;
Two or three days later, when
some bright young credit man had
tried to digest this telegram, re-
ceived a cable saying: W re your
credit rating and references
Now, l suppose his form %
required him to do that, but 1
wired back: My credit references |
are cash in New York. What are
your pricesr
Some days later I received a
telegram saying, Price 1920 or
something like that
More valuable time was lost in |
an exchange of kilograms asking |
what they meant, per garment or |
per suit. The result was that l !
wired an English firm My answer
from it was complete-fust what I
wanted. The telegram gave the
price per suit, weight of shipment, |
probable date Of delivery, and ev-
erything that I wanted to know.
The English firm got the order and
took the cash in the New York
bank.
Germans Take Orders.
when l write American firms
for catalogues. 1 get catalogues
without prices I suppose they
think it is undignffied to print
them Then write for price lists
and get price lists without cata-
logues-
German or British firms print
complete catalogues, giving Just
what one wants to know. They
save valuable weeks of mail cor
respondence and get the orders"
Another American in trade in
Riga showed the correspondent
cablegram from one OF the biggest
oil companies in America, IN reply
to his telegram which said: Quote
me price refined coal OIL delivered
Riga" The answer read Crude
oil has gone up 20 cents barrel"
Now" said this American deal
er, 81 didn't want to know about
crude oil and I haven't time to
figure out what effect rise in its
price would have On coal oil that
was badly wanted by my buyer.
TN many Of such ridiculous
cases 1 have autographed directly
to the heads OF firms in America
the situation and have
received prompt satisfaction But
I haven't the time to write all of
them So the Germans and Eng
lish get the orders"
Incidentally, perhaps half of the
letters sent by American firms tc
the Baltic states bear only two
cent postage stamps, causing in
dignanf prospective buyers to dig
down IN their pockets to pay post
age due in rubles or marks OF
whatever the unit happens to be.
Some OF them bear fantastic ad-
dresses, such as Riga, Russia, via
The Pacific" One letter in reply
to request to ship for cash a big
consignment of goods from New
York to Riga said the firm was |
sorry but had no shipping facil-
tiles on the Pacific"
ACCEPTS NAVY BILL.
W@ShfuOfop Julv 1-Cnnafa