exact dimensions of each box and how he wishes it strapped and packed,
in accordance with the transportation which he will have available at
the time the goods arrive. Obviously a llama or burro cannot carry as
heavy a load as a mule, and the buyer, who generally owns his own pack
animals, gives his instructions in accordance with the nature and size
of the animals which will form his caravan. Extraordinarily heavy cases
may be carried suspended from poles between two mules.
[Illustration:
_Copyright by Underwood & Underwood_
Llamas in Cerro de Pasco, Peru, bringing in their burdens of copper
ore from nearby Indian mines
“Custom has decreed the exact weight each burro, llama or mule will
carry, and let me add that these animals know to a nicety their
load, and are life members of a union that prohibits its initiates
from carrying more than is expected of them.”
_See page 315_
]
Follow these shipping instructions to the letter. The man who makes them
out knows all about the difficulties that are to be overcome and is
familiar with every inch of the road that must be traveled. Do not let
the superior judgment of your shipping clerk alter one word of these
requirements. Near Durango, in Mexico, there lie practically all the
parts of a large plant, not made according to the instructions given the
man who took the order. In the draughting room of the shops which
constructed the machinery, they could not understand why the fly wheel
of the engine should be made in so many sections adapted to be bolted
together, and so they constructed it as if intended for shipment to
Buffalo, and not so that a mule might carry each component part on his
back. The entire order was executed in the same manner. As a result the
equipment they turned out is gradually resolving itself into iron oxide,
at the railway station nearest to the mine it was designed for, while
the people who purchased it are filled with contempt for American
methods and the American machinery company that received the business
has long since vowed never to accept another Latin American commission.
If the packing instructions read:—“Each case to be made of half-inch
pine boards, strapped with iron bands, half an inch wide around each
end, and wrapped first in waterproof paper, then sewn in burlap, and NOT
TO WEIGH more than 40 kilos (about 100 pounds)”—do exactly this and
NOTHING more.
The iron bands and the heavy wood of the packing case insure protection
against breakage during its ocean and railway voyage. The waterproof
paper will serve to keep the contents of the case from rain and snow
storms, to say nothing of preventing the spray of the ocean while it is
in the lighter, from damaging its contents. The burlap sewed over all is
a visible defense against theft en route, either by the customs
authorities or by the pack train men. The weight of 40 kilos means that
it may be strapped to the side of a burro, and form one of two such
packages to be carried by him. Furthermore the wood of the case being
half an inch wide, means that when the box reaches its destination, it
can be sold to the coffin maker for conversion into a baby’s casket,
because wood of this nature is scarce in many of these lands. The metal
strips will find another use and the waterproof paper and burlap
covering will serve some particular purpose, perhaps be sold to the
upholsterer.
Your shipping instructions will also tell you exactly what signs or
marks to put upon the outside of the case or its covering. Observe this
with precision. The net and gross weights must also be marked thereon in
a legible manner. Be sure that in weighing and marking the case you use
the metric system for this is the only one used through all of Latin
America. They know nothing of pounds and ounces. It is a wise plan to
have your shipping clerk familiarize himself with this method, so as to
avoid mistakes in marking, which may cause the importer much trouble at
the custom house when the goods arrive.
Never place anything of a foreign nature in a packing case unless
expressly instructed to do so by the shipper. Many exporters often take
advantage of a small space available in a box to enclose a package of
cards or some other advertising material. In most Latin American
countries it is against the law for a case to contain anything more than
what the bill of lading or the consular invoice expressly states, and
the trouble that ensues from this desire to really help the purchaser
can never be understood by those so far away from the native customs
official who seizes every opportunity to extort money from the local
dealer in the shape of fines and fees.
The merchant in ordering will generally definitely state just how he
wants the goods which you are shipping him declared, so as to properly
conform to the classification in vogue in the local custom house and its
tariff regulations. Here it again behooves you to follow his
instructions word for word, otherwise the officious custom house employe
sees another chance to levy a fine and the unfortunate importer becomes
correspondingly disgusted with your methods of doing business with him.
Finally, the packages should agree in number, weights, markings,
declarations and contents with the consular invoice and the bill of
lading. This will help materially all along the line from the receiving
clerk of the steamship company to the merchant who accepts the
consignment at its destination.
It would be well if shipping clerks engaged in the export trade would
make a careful study of the geography of the Latin American countries,
and the various ways of routing goods, as well as the topography of each
state. This would do much toward eliminating complications. As an
illustration of the ignorance so frequently displayed in this
connection, let me recite what happened to a joint shipment of beer and
mineral water, intended for Leon, Nicaragua. In ordering goods from this
country the Latin American merchant will often have a shipment made up
of goods from different cities. He will instruct or request the exporter
living at the port from which the shipment is to be made, to assemble
the several cases which make up his various orders, and send them under
one consular invoice, his idea being to save money, in the many
incidental charges made by consuls and those handling his freight. The
beer came from Milwaukee and the mineral water from the warehouse in New
York City. The shipping instructions read as follows:
“Ship via Isthmus of Tehuantepec, to Salina Cruz then via first
opportunity to Leon, Nicaragua.”
The intellectual shipping clerk could see no valid reason for sending
goods intended for Nicaragua through Mexico, so he took upon himself
their routing, and as a result the goods were sent direct from New York
to Bluefields, Nicaragua, on the east coast of that country, with
instructions to a forwarding agent there to dispatch them to their
destination on the west coast. That was three years ago and the last I
heard of them was that they had been sold by the customs authorities to
pay storage and other accumulated charges. Of course the forwarding
agent in Bluefields realized that it would be easier to send goods to
the North Pole than across the country, as he had been instructed, owing
to the fact that there was hardly a mountain trail over which they might
be transported. In addition to this it would take several weeks to make
the journey, and the expense would be enormous. These facts were
communicated to the shippers who promptly decided to abandon the goods,
replying that they did not care to do business in such an inaccessible
country. As a result of this colossal error goods to the value of more
than $2500 were lost to the exporter and the importer, and bad feeling
engendered on both sides. The speculator who bought them at the custom
house sale, told me that the contents of the bottles had deteriorated so
that the goods were unsaleable after their long stay in the tropical
warehouse, and as a result he was the possessor of a large quantity of
bottles for which he had no sale.
Shipments from the United States to a foreign country require what is
known as a consular invoice to accompany them. This document states
briefly the contents of the invoice, its weight, and value, from whom
and for whom intended. This paper must be made out before the consul or
vice-consul of the country to which the goods are to be exported, the
idea being to keep track of the business between the nations. This
document should always be in the language of the country for which the
shipment is intended, although all the consuls do not require this
condition to be rigidly complied with. They must be taken to the office
of the consul or vice-consul empowered to issue and sign them and as a
rule he requires one or more copies for his files and for forwarding to
his government, or to the customs authorities at the port to which the
goods are going. For this service he charges a fee, generally specified
by law. Great care should be exercised in the preparation of these
papers, as before intimated. The importer generally states just how he
wishes his goods declared in these documents and it is best to follow
his commands instead of those which may be issued or suggested by some
of the employes of the consular office, or even the consul himself.
Besides if you follow your shipping instructions there can be no cause
of complaint, on the part of the buyer, should unfavorable conditions
arise.
It might be well in order to impress upon the reader’s mind some of the
great difficulties to be overcome and the many handlings that are
received by goods in transit to follow in detail a shipment actually
made from New York City to La Paz, Bolivia, the route being the usual
one taken by merchandise intended for that place. The order was placed
in February, 1913, early in the month and the goods arrived December
22nd, 1913, being more than ten months on the way. When the American
salesman received the order at La Paz, it was immediately forwarded by
the next mail to New York City, where it arrived in about five weeks.
The shipment of 854 cases was made from the factory in the middle West
about the 15th of April, 1913, and the vessel containing them sailed
from New York harbor, May 1st, 1913. Exceptionally bad weather in the
Atlantic, delays in the Straits, storms in the southern Pacific, and
time lost in discharging cargo intended for intermediate ports made it
September 1st, before the goods reached Mollendo, in Peru, the port of
discharge for the interior. Here, owing to bad weather, Mollendo being
one of the worst ports on the Pacific, and the further fact that the
roads and custom house were both congested with freight, a common
occurrence in this part of the world, another month was consumed before
the cases were finally got ashore and passed by the Peruvian
authorities. A few more days were lost in loading them on the narrow
gauge railroad that runs from Mollendo to Arequipa, an inland city of
Peru, and the end of the first railway. Here the goods were
trans-shipped to the road running to Puno, Peru, on the shores of Lake
Titicaca, where they were again discharged and allowed to wait for many
days before their turn came to be stowed on the small steamer plying
across this perpetually storm-tossed lake in the clouds, to Guaqui,
where after being put ashore they were again examined by the Bolivian
customs officials. They were next placed on the train which took them
across the wind swept plateaus of Bolivia, to the edge of the tea-cup
rim, at the bottom of which La Paz is situated. Here again they were
transferred, this time to an electric train which took them down the
face of the canyon wall, 1500 feet, to the station at the outskirts of
La Paz. At this point Indian cargadores took the cases, one at a time,
on their backs and carried them to the merchant’s warehouse, where they
were again opened, and checked up, after which they were repacked and
sent on into the interior towns, mining camps and his branch stores, via
llama, burro and mule.
In this shipment there was nothing unusual. It went over the route
commonly selected and took about the average length of time. If you have
followed its many handlings by rough men, in all kinds of weather, you
will admit at once the necessity for strong packing cases and you will,
I am sure, cease to wonder why it takes goods intended for interior
cities so long to reach their goal.
A wise precaution, and one to be recommended for all shipments to Latin
America, is to insure them against theft en route. This may add a little
to the cost of the article, but it is the only protection against petty
pilfering. The fact is that the minor employes of the custom houses, as
well as the porters, trainmen and pack train attendants are so poorly
paid, and so completely lacking in honesty that there is every tendency
in the world to appropriate whatever appeals to their fancy. I have
known what should have been cases of toilet soap to arrive at their
destination, filled with scrap-iron, so as not to attract suspicion by
their weight, and this after duty had been collected at the custom house
and freight paid by the shipper. Unless there is an insurance against
these depredations one has absolutely no protection, for it is
practically impossible to prove where and by whom the theft was
committed. Furthermore if a conviction were obtained it would mean that
in future all goods bearing your particular shipping mark would be
forever doomed to trouble.
I am always forced to laugh when I think of the experience of a
traveller for a well-known baking company in the United States who was
making his initial trip to South America. The port at which he landed
was, as it generally is, the scene of a yellow fever epidemic. Fearful
of contracting this disease he decided to take the first train for the
capital, located in the mountains and as a rule free from the scourge
which infests the port. Inasmuch as the train left early, he deposited
his twelve sample cases at the custom house with the keys and the
request that after they had been inspected one of the men whom he had
tipped should send them by the evening train to his hotel. After waiting
for three days without receiving the trunks, during which time he
frequently sent telephonic messages to the customs authorities and
telegraphed and wrote the United States consul on the subject, he
decided to go in person, despite his fear of contracting fever, and
secure his samples. You may imagine his surprise on reaching his cases
to find every one empty—the cakes and biscuits and dainties had been
eaten by the customs employes. Of course it was impossible to place the
blame on any one, and his loud demands for redress resulted in the
police escorting him to the railway station and threatening to arrest
him if he persisted in continuing his demonstrations. His cable to the
house,
“Samples eaten by the customs authorities. Send duplicates,”
confirmed the belief of his employers that he had gone suddenly insane
and brought this brief reply:—
“Return immediately.”
As far as I know, this big company have made no further efforts to enter
these really profitable fields, which are still dominated by English
cracker and biscuit concerns. I trust that the moral will be patent to
my readers that it pays to keep close to your sample cases and never
trust them with unreliable or unknown natives.
XXVII
ADVERTISING
Advertising is in its infancy in all parts of Latin America. It has been
given neither thought, study or attention, by the native, and where some
particular article has made a “hit” or developed into a profitable
seller through publicity, the chances are that the campaign was
conducted by some foreigner more or less familiar with modern methods.
Thousands of dollars are yearly wasted by inexperienced persons in
trying to market goods along erroneous lines.
The great thing which militates against successful work in this field is
the enormous percentage of illiteracy—some authorities placing it as
high as 85 per cent. Chile admits that 49 per cent. of her citizens
cannot read or write; Argentine 54 per cent.; Cuba 56 per cent.; Mexico
75 per cent.; Brazil 85 per cent. and Guatemala 92 per cent. This
condition is easily conceivable when we stop to consider the scarcity of
either public or private schools, and the large percentage of
aborigines, Indians, negroes and mixed breed population, especially in
the northern countries of South America, as well as in Central America,
Mexico and the Spanish-speaking West Indies.
How to reach this class, each member of which is a potential possibility
from a purchasing point of view, is a problem requiring much
consideration. Bright colors attract them and posters and cards
illustrating your article, and showing its application and
practicability have their value. Such souvenirs are never thrown away
but are preserved for years. If any member of the village can read he is
asked to transcribe the printing on the medium, and this will in all
probability form the subject for much discussion so that ultimately
everybody becomes acquainted with whatever may be thereon related or
depicted, thereby fulfilling the mission for which it was intended.
To advertise a luxury to the uneducated classes is a waste of money, for
they have neither the means nor the desire to indulge in such
extravagances. Very naturally the great demand among these people, as it
is among persons of this class elsewhere, is for the necessities of
life—cotton goods, textiles, patent medicines, shoes, farming
implements, hardware, machinery, tools and the like. These are the
things required by the farmer and the laborer who make up the greater
proportion of the world’s population, and perhaps the very best way to
reach them is through the influence of the middle man, the jobber and
the local storekeeper. Of these three, the village merchant is by far
the most important with the masses. He is always a man of standing in
his community. He is invariably respected and looked up to. His word
among many amounts to law—his judgment final. He is the moneyed man of
the neighborhood. He carries the peons on his books—helps them along in
hard times, and when crops are short—extends credit when he thinks it
wise to do so and curtails it when proper. He is therefore in a position
to force on this great class of the people whatever he wishes. I recall
one of these typical country merchants telling me that practically every
man in the neighborhood owed him money and that therefore he had them
all in his power, so that he could tell them just what he wished them to
do or buy or be closed out. The control held by such a man in these
remote communities is far-reaching and conclusive. It is quite obvious
that the proletariat may be reached through direct appeal to him. He
usually takes the local papers, and those published in his immediate
vicinity, and is certain to subscribe to one or more of the leading
metropolitan dailies, so as to keep in touch with the markets and
shipping conditions. He knows almost to a ton what this year’s crop will
amount to; what the output of the neighboring mines will be; how much
rubber will come from up country; if wool will bring a high price, or if
cattle will be lower than last year, and is generally an all around
encyclopaedia of useful information on every local subject. The course
to pursue is obvious—advertise in the papers he takes, and at the same
time cultivate his friendship. Get to know him personally and
intimately, and seek to do him favors when the opportunity offers.
The educated and better class of people demand all the luxuries and the
nicer things that the markets of the world afford. In addition to their
native language, they have been taught to speak French and most of them
use this idiom as frequently as they do their mother tongue and have
perhaps at various times in their careers lived in the capitals of
Europe. Their tastes are most modern. They demand the best and have the
money to pay for it. Obviously it is a comparatively simple problem to
reach this class. In each Latin American country are to be found
numerous weeklies and monthlies, most of which are well got up
typographically and profusely illustrated, which are an excellent medium
for placing one in direct touch with this desirable portion of the
purchasing public. They also take the leading metropolitan dailies and
these papers are very effective in bringing to their attention articles
which they may desire.
Sign boards are beginning to be well thought of and are making their
appearance throughout the larger cities. Posters, well executed, but in
glaring colors, and if possible displaying a portion of a nude female
always attract universal attention and for many lines are excellent
mediums. Some of the countries charge an internal revenue tax on all
sign boards, posters, placards and street announcements proportionate to
their size. Before undertaking a campaign requiring the use of this
class of material, it is therefore well to ascertain what this fee will
amount to and arrange for its payment. In some cities the hoardings are
sold for a period of years, to the highest bidder, who in turn rents
them to the user for a specified time. These spaces are often the
property of the municipality which contracts directly with the user for
them. In Buenos Aires these stands are so highly thought of that they
are often leased years in advance.
Moving picture theatres abound in the larger cities as they do with us.
Between films it is the custom to run advertisements which are thrown on
the screen for a few minutes. This is a rather cheap and practical means
of announcing one’s wares, inasmuch as it reaches a good class of
people.
Street cars are used as extensively as in the United States, and are
worthy of serious consideration in conducting an elaborate advertising
campaign. Not only are the inside spaces in the car for sale, but in
many cities the spaces outside both above and below the windows and the
front and rear dashboards are effectively used.
Electric signs are as yet comparatively unknown. Some of the larger
cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires have a few but they are
the exception to the general rule. The streets are usually so narrow
that good locations for display purposes are difficult to find. This
condition will be overcome in time, in many of the metropolitan towns,
with the advent of municipal improvements, the broadening of streets and
the laying out of modern avenues. Another element which militates
against the universal use of the “flash” sign is the fact that they are
apt to get out of order and mechanics experienced enough to repair and
keep them in operative condition are not numerous in these localities.
It therefore follows that for some years to come, the fixed electric
sign would be the more ideal for this section of the world.
I doubt if any business house in any part of Latin America is really
familiar with the value of the follow-up letter system such as we use so
satisfactorily in the United States. I am certain that its introduction
and regular use will be found profitable in developing any line of
trade, especially when intended for those who in the course of a year
receive comparatively little correspondence.
With regard to advertising rates the Latin American publisher is
becoming more consistent of late. Time was when he asked $600.00 a year
and took $60.00. To-day he keeps closer to an established price,
although diplomacy and politeness can accomplish much toward a generous
reduction on his first quotation. Local dealers always are given a far
better rate than foreigners and before doing business with a paper it is
highly advisable to find out by some means the price paid by the larger
business houses of the place. This will serve you as a guide in
determining what to pay for your space. It is always customary to run
little “readers” in the columns especially if you have contracted for
much advertising, and as these cost nothing, it is well to provide
appropriate manuscript for them and insist upon its being used.