Evening star., 1921-11-06
BY BEN McKELWAY.

| A SIX the man on the street for
| ~ his views on foreign trade
| ~ and in many cases he will re-
ply by stating his interest or
otherwise in Latin America. So wen
and SO steadily has Latin America
been advertised in the United States
as the happy hunting ground for the
| American exporter that the mention
| of "foreign trade" brings TO the lay
mind the picture of a South America
the streets of>her cities paved with
golden cobblestones which await
the languidly swung pick of the first
American who comes along.
| The booming business years just
passed helped to root deeper this inn
preston. and now that they are replac-
ed by hard times American business
men are learning through bitter ex-
perience that while Latin America does
represent a market, ii Is a market to
| be cultivated only with the greatest
pains and care and under expert
guidance. Many undercapitalized
concerns which attempted to engage
lin foreign trade without previous eX-
perience are dropping out of the race.
ldiced many against foreign trade in
general and Latin American trade in
! particular. Many old and established
firms with records of many years OF
honest and successful dealing in
South America are said to be actually
embarrassed by the present attitude
of many of our manufacturers and
financial institutions on foreign trade
However bad conditions in Latin
America may be now. the future
holds promise for those who weather
the storm. And with business slow
and competition keen. those Ameri.
leans who wish to take advantage OF
the future must get firmly establish
ed no the ground floor or prepare for
the Consequences.
With this idea in view, the bureau
lof foreign and domestic commerce is
lgoing about carefully planned pro-
lgram of education-largely an educa-
!tion of disillusionment. 1t is telling
1.-The American business man that while
there is an excellent market in South
America for the right thing to sell.
lit is no market for the amateur IN
foreign trade. and it is a market with
;own peculiar problems to be solved
Ionly by earnest application and care
lful study.
| Under the able direction of DR..
Julius Klein. a man who has travel
led widely and studied at first-hand
the problems of Latin American
}lesson that many of the high-sound-
ling and fanciful ideas in regard to
Jour commercial relations with Latin
IAmerica must be substituted with
lcold. hard business sense.
| For instance, the much -heralded
Understanding" of the Latin Ameri-
can, his customs and his language
j-has been so overrated that the casual
business man who intends to develop
a Latin American trade believes the
tive is a knowledge of Spanish and
how to act at bullfght. The Latin
American is a good business man. \
dealers fluency in Spanish or Portu-
guese does not impress him salf SO
much as arguments for his goods
selves.
Another misconception of Latin
American trade lies in the belief that
the American business man must
! sell American ideas SO camoufaged
that the South American Will come
to think of them as his own. There
is no reason. it is pointed out why
the South American should not be
educated in American ways. instead
l. of changing American methods to
suit the South American client
The bureau is endeavoring to
ispread the knowledge of actual con-
ditions in South America among
American business men, and it is
building up service or adNice ana
information which should prove OF
great value to those who know how
to use it. ,,
According to DR.. l. S. Rowe. di-
rector general of the Pan-Amerlcan
Union. one is impressed with the
ht
to the work of the bureau as Well
as with the magnitude of the service
1t renders to the country: He points
out the important service the ou-
reau is performing for Latin America
in addition to its service to this
Through its commercial attaches
in Buenos Aires, Santiago. Havana
Lima. Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro
. the bureau secures timely informa'
d which are reported by cable. Through
. | it's technical commodity experts II
helps American exporters to find spe'
, cific trade opportunities in Latir
: America and helps Latin American
iexporters find market in this ceun'
try.
The Pan American Union. DR.. Rowe
states, has become the great center
and clearing house of commercial ant
:, technical information for the repub
lies Of Latin America. 1t IS to The
. Pan American Union the citizens o.
, these countries look for accurate in
: formation of the industrial activitie.
!, Of the United States. Every mai
brings hundreds of inquiries from
every section Of the continent re
ouesting information as to the pefsoH
or firms to which the inquirers shoult