Feukuarv 1, 1914. J 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



231 



for collection by the local bank. When the merchant is offered 

 an article from the English manufacturer on these terms and 

 by an American at the same price for spot cash, which the mer- 

 cuanl must i iirrmv at tvveul\-four per cent., there is little doubt 

 as to which will get the ofder. There are many Xew York 

 banks where exchange may be had at a very reasonable rate. 



The currency of Colombia is based on the peso, which is one- 

 fifth of a pound sterling, or a little less than the American dol- 

 lar. There is, for local use, a depreciated paper currency which 

 the government is working to retire. A story is told of an 

 American who ordered toast and coffee in a Cartagena restau- 

 rant and was horrified to receive a check for eighty dollars. 

 He was game and passed up a one-hundred dollar American 

 gold certificate. There was great consternation in the cashier's 

 office and a hurried trip to the bank across the street. At last 

 tlie waiter came back with many apologies for delay and brought 

 back the change, $9,920.00, of Colombian paper money. That is 

 the rate today, one hundred paper dollars for one dollar in gold. 

 Of course it never will be redeemed at par. But neither was 

 the continental currency issued by our patriotic forefathers — 

 $242,000,000 — ever redeemed. Not a cent of it. The issue of ir- 

 redeemable paper currency is a bad and c'umsy kind of taxation 

 on the business of the country, the depreciation being gradual 

 as it passes from hand to hand. But as foreign goods are paid 

 for on a gold basis, the exporter need not worry about currency. 

 Information about taritY rates and consular invoices may be ob- 

 tained from the Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 



In the matter of packing, the first thing for the shipper to 

 remember is that he has a special problem on hand and that he 

 must give it special attention. The goods must be packed lightly 

 and strongly, for they are going a long way and freights, cer- 

 tainly, and tariffs, possibly, are involved when useless weights 

 arc added. They must have, in most cases, security from the 

 tropic rains which are pretty certain to beat on the package be- 

 fore it reaches its destination. When possible the package 

 should be split into convenient units for handhng, as the diffi- 

 culties of managing heavy packages are greater in new countiies 

 and frequently must be paid for in damage or extra cost of 

 handling. Second-hand cases should never be used, especially 

 11 ■ nich Dear irrelevant and obsolete labels. The labeling 

 should be very distinct, with the name of port, ultimate desti- 

 nation and consignee conspicuously shown. Labels indicating 

 contents, method of handling, etc., should invariably be in 

 Spanish. Suppose a package comes from Colombia to New 

 York marked "Con Cuidado." What would the husky freight 

 handlers of Hoboken make of it? It means "Handle With 

 Care," but how is Mike going to know that? On the other 

 hand, if it is marked "Handle With Care" and sent to Colombia, 

 Miguel will not know that it means "Con Cuidado" and will, 

 no more than Mike, care what the preposterous foreign label 

 means. In addition to all else, the shipper should take warning 

 from the experience resulting from the mistakes of a thousand 

 who have gone before and not "take the liberty" to deviate in 

 the least from the instructions he receives from his customer. 

 The latter knows why he wants his goods packed a certain way. 

 It may have to do with interior transportation, with climatic 

 conditions, with customs regulations or with something un- 

 dreamed of by the shipper. In fact, the more strange-appearing 

 the request the greater, usually, is the necessity for strict com- 

 pliance. The customer is vexed at being taken for a fool, still 

 more vexed at the added cost for inconvenience to which he is 

 subjected — and he gives his next order where his instructions 

 may be heeded. Invoices should be in both English and 

 Spanish, and a politely worded letter should be forwarded at 

 the time of shipment. 



The postal service of Colombia is efficient and shows steady 

 improvement. A parcels post system exists between the United 

 States and Colombia by which parcels up to eleven pounds may 



be sent at twelve cents a pound. To articles shipped in this 

 manner a charge of twenty per cent, extra is made in customs 

 duties, this in lieu of all other charges for invoicing, etc. There 

 are ten thousand miles of telegraph wire, besides several wire- 

 less stations. Telephone systems exist in the principal towns. 

 The cost of living to commercial travelers is somewhat greater 

 than in the United States. As low as seven dollars, as high as 

 fifteen dollars a day is considered reasonable by different au- 

 thorities. A traveling agent should be conversant with both the 

 Spanish language and Spanish customs of poHte dealing, as well 

 as having tlie indispensable adaptability and tact of the accom- 

 plished salesman. As there are no mercantile agencies, the mat- 

 ter of credit must be left to the judgment of the agent or refer- 

 ence may be made to the local bank. The Colombian merchants 

 as a whole have a reputation for integrity as high as those of 

 any country on earth. 



Of the Carribean ports, Barranquilla, with a population of 

 50,000, stands first in exports and imports. Cartagena, famous 

 in history, has a population of 40,000, and is the seat of extensive 

 .American capital. It stands second. Santa Marta is a flourish- 

 ing town, the center of the banana-exporting trade. Cucuta, with 

 20,000, is an interior town on the \'cnczuelan border, reached 

 by railroad. 



The port which will derive the most benefit from the opening 

 of the canal is undoulitedly Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast. 

 .A small town at present, its trade is fast mounting into the 

 millions and these will become tens of millions with the com- 

 pletion of the canal and of the system of railways which connect 

 che port with the rich interior of Colombia. Plans have been 

 made for dredging, docks, public buildings, water-works, sani- 

 tation and electric light, all-sufficient for a great city and under 

 the control of the Colombian government. The present railway 

 reaches Cali, tlie chief town of the fabulously rich Cauca Valley, 

 and thence extensions are being built to reach the chief towns 

 of the interior, including Bogota, the capital. The American 

 Consul-General at Bogota is Charles H. Small. Other consuls 

 and consular agents are: Barranquilla, Isaac A. Manning; Car- 

 tagena, Graham H. Kemper ; Santa Marta, William H. Trout ; 

 Medelin, Silas H. Wright, and Cali, Edward H. Mason. 



The attitude of Colombians toward the United States, on ac- 

 count of political happenings of recent years, cannot be ignored. 

 Every effort should be made both by the administration and in- 

 dividuals to soothe the wounded amour propre of the Colom- 

 bians, who regard us as having been instrumental in that most 

 grievous of national happenings, the dismemberment of their 

 territory. But the past is past, the canal has been dug and 

 Colombia is going to prosper vastly as a consequence. Possibly 

 a majority of Americans and a majority of Colombians are un- 

 able to approve of all that was done by their respective govern- 

 ments in 1903. A thought that may not be amiss is that the great 

 reef of rocks called the isthmus, by preventing communication 

 between the oceans, was a gigantic international nuisance, worth 

 less than nothing bj' the four hundred million dollars it cost to 

 cut the canal and abate that nuisance. That any nation having 

 political control over those rocks and swamps should be entitled 

 to a colossal sum for permitting the nuisance to be ended cannot 

 well be defended as a matter of equity or morals. The Colom- 

 bian does not need be told this. We have the canal and can 

 afford to be contrite and courteous. And in matters of commerce 

 we have the goods. 



Go into any good residence section of New York City and you 

 will find greybeards sitting around telling about the fortunes 

 they could have made if, in their youth, they had invested in 

 Harlem lots. They could have invested, but they did not. They 

 thought that the growth of the city was completed. Are they 

 investing in Bronx lots now? Oh, no! They are convinced 

 that the city is done growing northward. The manufacturer 

 who does not take advantage of the tremendous opportunities 



