September 15, 1910] 



NATURE 



!5i 



United States, have made up their minds to have, and 

 have already succeeded in obtaining, a larger proportion 

 of tile world's trade than was previously lett to them by 

 Great Britain. 



Our leading manufacturers are so strong, and their 

 work of such excellence, that they can push themselves 

 in any market ; but it is not the same with other firms, 

 and if these were to amalgamate they would acquire great 

 strength. Cooperation is adopted in our shipping business 

 with marked success, and should serve as an e.xample for 

 other industries. 



The Britisher believes in competition and the survival 

 of the fittest. The results, it is alleged, are a limited 

 number of robust units and a mass of mediocrity which 

 cannot resist foreign cooperation either in the home or 

 foreign markets. 



The great trouble is the lack of enterprise on the part 

 of British firms in sending out travellers. Lamentation 

 on this head is loud and frequent. Figures for two 

 European countries are given to me. The first country is 

 eminently suited for trade with England, more especially 

 just now vi'hen the two countries have so much in common, 

 and when " things English " are so much in vogue. The 

 total number of commercial travellers' licences issued at 

 " A " (the capital) during igog was 1203. During the 

 same year 357 licences taken out at other towns were pre- 

 sented to the " A " police for visa. The 1203 licences 

 were issued as follows : — to German commercial travellers, 

 605 ; to British, 142 ; to other nationalities, the remainder. 

 Of the 357 the Germans had 146, the British 37; the 

 remainder were distributed among various nationalities. 

 The other country is also one which would also appear 

 to be eminently suited for British trade. In the year 

 1908 (the figures for iqot) were not available) 7000 com- 

 mercial travellers visited this country ; 4700 were of 

 German nationality, 1500 French, 61 represented Great 

 Britain, the rest various. 



In general, there is no complaint against the natural 

 qualities of the British traveller ; " a smart British busi- 

 ness man accustomed to travel and deal with foreigners 

 has no equal the wide world over, but, alas ! there are 

 too few of them." Another says: — "As regards the 

 other qualities — push, activity, enterprise, and so on — 

 they all seem to e.xist in such satisfying degrees in the 

 British commercial man that if he direct his attention to 

 rectifying the faults arising through this insular attitude, 

 and the lack of commercial education which so narrows 

 his outlook, the future would then look at least as hopeful 

 as it does in any other country." \ third maintains: — 

 " There is no inherent quality in the Britisher which pre- 

 vents his being able to compete successfully, not only in 

 capturing new markets, but also in ousting his rivals 

 who have been there before him. On the contrary, he 

 possesses in as great as, if not in a greater, degree than 

 any other nation just those qualities which eminently fit 

 him for such work — endurance, perseverance, reliability 

 (a very great adjunct), and concentration." -And so on. 



Until by scientific education the British realise that 

 commerce means an intricate and complex organisation of 

 intimately interconnected parts, they will lose many an 

 opportunity, and their Consulates and Chambers of Com- 

 merce will be unable to do for them the %vork which could 

 easily be done. Engineering, it is pointed out to me, is 

 looked upon as a science, but commerce is not. 



Uclr 



Measures, 



Failure to adopt the metric system places British manu- 

 facturers at a decided disadvantage. A French merchant, 

 accustomed to one system of weights and measures, 

 uniform and exact, resents receiving quotations from 

 England in g^uantities which are absolutely mysterious to 

 him. Circulars and price-lists, printed only in English 

 with English weights, measures, and prices, are often 

 sent to the Continent of Europe beautifully, even artistic- 

 ally, printed and illustrated ; but they are of no practical 

 use, as they are not understood by the persons for whose 

 inspection they are intended. Only in cases where it is 

 known that some member of the foreign firm is w-ell 

 acquainted with English, or has already dealt with EngUsh 



NO. 2133, VOL. 84] 



firms, can any practical result be looked for by sending 

 out English catalogues. Further, a good deal of delay 

 and inconvenience is sometimes caused at the Custom 

 House through the use of the English system of weights 

 and measures, owing to the fact that all weights and 

 measures have to be reduced to the metric system before 

 the goods are cleared. 



Foreigners will not buy goods simply because they are 

 British. The man who wishes to sell and to increase the 

 number of his clients must seek the goodwill and favour 

 of the buyer, and not look to the buyer so much to 

 accommodate himself to the ideas and business rules of 

 the manufacturer. Enough stress cannot be laid on the 

 vital importance of personal acquaintance with the country, 

 the people, their customs, needs, weaknesses, Ukings, and 

 prejudices ; and also with the local methods of doing 

 business — in short, with ever}thing and anything that can 

 and does affect the market. 



In this connection I would like to recall what Lord 

 Cromer said to Lord Reay's Committee on the Organisa- 

 tion of Oriental Studies in London : " It is quite possible 

 for an Englishman to pass half his life in the East and 

 never understand anything about Easterns." 



Foreign Languages. 



If the requirements, industrial and commercial, of any 

 country are to be understood thoroughly, a knowledge of 

 the language of that country is essential. One Consul 

 says : — ■• I have seldom met a foreign traveller who does 

 not speak one or two languages besides his own." 

 Another says :— " I have very seldom, I might say almost 

 never, met an English commercial traveller who knew a 



word of " Cthe language of the European country 



from which he writes). If I were at liberty to identify 

 the individual, bv naming the country, it would be seen 

 that his statement, while appearing incredulous, would 

 really appear to be highly credible. Another Consul says 

 —and others write to (ho same effect : — " Lastly, but 

 perhaps first in importance, is the fact, which cannot be 

 brought home too stronglv to every young commercial 

 man, viz. the absolute necessity of learning foreign 

 languages. English, it is true, is spoken everywhere 

 abroad, and although fresh business may possibly be 

 secured in foreign countries by men who speak nothing 

 but English, the circumstances are exceptional, and point 

 to the "fact that the goods are absolutely wanted and 

 none others, and not to any special acumen on the part 

 of the salesman. The majority of travellers, however, 

 have ^oods to offer which are bv no means unique, and 

 in the sale of which thev will have to compete very 

 severely with rivals. The case of the man in this country 

 (an extensive country, with large trade possibilities) who 

 speaks nothing but English is too obvious to need any 

 elaboration." . . 



I w^ill add but one further quotation :— Until it is 

 realised in the English system of education that modern 

 languages are useful as means of communication between 

 persons, and are not merely theoretical subjects in which 

 a knowledge of grammatical rules results in the pupil 

 bein;< awarded a prize, thev will probably continue to be 

 handicapped." He adds, " I speak feelingly on this 

 subject, as my own children have been able to converse 

 comfortably in four or five languages, and after two or 

 three years at a first-class school have since entirely for- 

 gotten how to use them, although two of the said 

 languages are in their regular school course. I under- 

 stand, for instance, that although when conversing they 

 use the subjunctive mood naturally and correctly after 

 certain coniunctions, thev are unable to write out a list 

 of all the coniunctions which govern the subjunctive, and 

 consequently thev are made to spend their time learning 

 this and such-like rules instead of adding to their vocabu- 

 lary as an infant does bv daily practice." ti • • u 



the languages which these officers call upon the British 

 traveller tp learn are French, German, and Spanish. A 

 knowledge of French will carry any commercial traveller 

 through France, Belgium, Russia, Italy, and Switzerland, 

 as well as through niany parts of Germany. For Germany 

 and Austria, German is necessary. Spanish is wanted for 

 the Peninsula and the South American trade. 



