THECUBAREVIEW 19 



AMERICAN OFFICE DEVICES IN CUBA 



Ralph W. Crain, Treasurer of the Frank G. Robins Co., Havana. 



All the better known makes of American tyi^ewriters, adding machines and other office 

 appliances are represented here. At least two German typewriters, the Stoewers and the 

 Continental, have also lieen represented in Cuba, for several years, but have never succeeded in 

 securing much of a foothold in competition with the American machines. In certain other 

 Hnes the Germans and other Europeans have had better success. In spite of the fact that the 

 United Startes enjoys an advantage of twenty to twenty-five per cent concession in the custom 

 duties, the Europeans are able to sell certain lines of office appliances, laid down in Havana, at 

 from ten to twenty per cent less than the same goods would cost if imported from the United 

 States. And in many cases the European goods are superior. Our American manufacturers 

 in certain lines ought to wake up and see that even with the odds against them, the European 

 manvifacturers are taking a big share of the business that rightly belongs to the United States. 



Now that shipments from many of the European countries have been stopped by the war, 

 the time is ripe for the Americans to step in and get this business; but in order to get it and to 

 hold it, certain improvements and concessions are necessary. 



All of the Euro])ean ex]jorters allow six months time for the payment of their bills. If at 

 the end of six months the customer wishes a further extension, he may get another three months, 

 or even six months, simply by the payment of interest at the rate of six per cent per annum for 

 the three or the six months' extension as the case may be. And nobody has to ask the second 

 time for these long time datings — -they are freely conceded; and, understand, the prices are 

 considerably lower and tlie quality of the goods often better than are the American prices and 

 qualities in similar lines. 



Germany has been supplying large quantities of paper — box paper and typewriter paper 

 — ^lead pencils, box files, bill books, inkstands, calendar pads, and many other similar articles. 

 The two German box files, "Leitz" and "Soennecken" are especially popular. (I refer here to 

 carton files similar to the "Falcon" and others of American manufacture.) The Leitz and the 

 Soennecken cost us, delivered in our store, considerably less than sinilar American files, and they 

 contain certain superior features that it would be well for our American manufacturers to copy. 



You have all heard it said that the American manufacturers do not pack their goods as 

 well as do the Europeans; this is true, but not so much so as formerly. The American manu- 

 facturers have learned at last — at least, some of them have learned how to pack goods for 

 export ; but they were a long time doing it, and many a shipment of wooden furniture has been 

 smashed into kindling wood, and many a shipment of steel fiu-niture dented and twisted and 

 warped out of shape liefore the American manufacturer tumbled. They probably haven't 

 felt it so keenly as they should, as in most cases the customer has pocketed the loss, or in 

 some few cases the railroad or steamship lines may have reluctantly paid the claim for damages. 

 But I think that usually the factory, where all the blame rested, has been able to dodge the 

 loss. Many have doubtless wondered why they didn't get repeat orders, and have never 

 awakened to the fact that good customers have been lost, and perhaps the opening up of big 

 fields of trade nijiped in, the bud simph' by miserably inefficient packing of goods for export. 

 We ourselves have suffered heavily at times from this score, Ijut as ours is an American firm, 

 knowing the factories with whom we deal, and being able to write them in their own language, 

 we have not lost heart in such cases, but have simply gone after our fellow countrymen, the 

 manufacturers, and bj- persistently keeping after them have at last gotten them pretty well 

 into line as to the necessity of proper packing. Had we been Cubans or Spaniards, unacquaint- 

 ed with our factories and obliged to write them in the Spanish language, with which the manu- 

 facturers are unfamiliar, we would probably have given up in despair, as many a foreign cus- 

 tomer of American factories has no doubt done ere this. 



Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; our typewriters and our adding machines have 

 never given as much trouble, and the same is true of certain lines of furniture, but unfortunately 

 not all of them. 



Another tiling that we have often heard is that the Eurojiean manufacturer is more 

 accommodating, striving to make up the goods as the customer wants them. This is quite 

 true. For instance, the Europeans will furnish diaries, calendar pads with Spanish dates, 

 names of days and months, etc., which the Americans will not do. The titles, indices, and 

 other wording for files and similar articles from Germany are properly translated into Spanish, 

 but apparently such a thing has never occurred to the American manufacturers. 



In short, my message to the American manufacturer would be that he study the products 

 and methods of our European friends, and endeavor to profit thereby. Of course, there are 

 many things in which the American excel; but why not excel in everything in the office supply 

 line? We have a good lead over the Europeans and with just a Uttle improvement could leave 

 them far behind. 



In Cuba the Americans have every advantage over the European manufacturers. We 

 are close neighbors, have excellent transportation facilities connecting the two countries; the 

 United States enjoys a twenty to twenty-five per cent advantage in reciprocal custom duties; 

 the American influence is strong in Cuba, and for historic reasons a strong friendship exists 



