have, in my opinion, never made a sincere effort to get foreign business-possibly owing to the great demand at home-though there has been excellent opportunity, and they have been frequently advised of the fact in consular reports and by American manufacturers of automatic machinery, to whose interest it is to have the stock used on their machines more even in character and size than the general class of English rods.

The letter continues:

Up to the present time, I have had no deliveries at all, and although we were told that a carload was to be shipped by the steamship ————————————, on the of November, apparently this has not taken place, as that steamer is in. We have been buying this brand of steel in small quantities from other sources to keep us going, and have paid as much as £5 ($24.33) a ton extra to get deliveries. It is obvious we can not continue to use this steel (as we have done for several years) much longer, and must return to our own manufacturers in this country. Another illustration of the state of things is furnished by the

Company, of City, Conn. I placed an order with their London agent for the delivery of a large piece of machinery in August last. They undertook to ship in eight weeks. We are now reaching the end of November, and I have heard nothing about the machine being dispatched, and so on. Forgive my pouring these grievances into your ear in this way, but "the iron (or more correctly, steel) has entered into my soul."

BIRMINGHAM, November 21, 1902.

MARSHAL HALSTEAD,

Consul.

ADVICE TO EXPORTERS TO SCOTLAND.

In a letter to the Philadelphia Museums (the original has been forwarded) Consul R. Fleming, of Edinburgh, gives the following information:

COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS.

The question of chief importance to our manufacturers is how to introduce or extend the sale of a special article or special line of articles-whether to place it wholly in the hands of local agents or to send men to work up trade. The difference between American and Scottish business methods is a matter of common knowledge to all our exporters; it is a difference of temperament and of customs. We are in the habit of "pushing trade," and are not satisfied with slow returns. If I were asked whether, in my opinion, an American is a better seller of American goods in Scotland than a Scotsman, I should answer in the affirmative, but with the qualification that the American salesman must have the tact to adapt himself rigidly to the business ways and social customs of the country. Enterprise counts, if wisely directed and if there is back of it a good-humored

patience and a thorough respect for the ideas and methods of the commercial community in Scotland. The foreign salesman who becomes a critic is a failure. He can sell nothing. I had a talk on this subject recently with an American agent of an American manufacturing concern who has had more than a year's experience in England and Scotland, and, I may add, has been very successful during the past six months. He said:

My company entered this field about two years ago, establishing a general agency in London with an American in charge, and sending across a dozen salesmen, some of whom had done excellent work in our country as commercial travelers. Only three of these men were here at the end of a year. Nine had not earned their salt, and were recalled. The trouble was with the men-not with the machine which they were introducing. None of us had been in Great Britain before and we knew little about business customs on this side, and less in regard to the characteristics of the people. During the first three months, I frankly confess, I pursued a foolish course. I had adopted the wrong attitude at the start -in assuming that I knew better than the merchants and shopkeepers what were their requirements and how to conduct their businesses. Finally it dawned upon me that I was not here to change the commercial methods but to sell machines, and that the only way to do business was to accept conditions as they were and to get into harmony with them. From that day, I have been successful. All my early ideas about business men and methods in Scotland have undergone a radical change. Not only the wholesale merchants but also the shopkeepers are, as a rule, remarkably clear-headed men, with a perfect knowledge of their own affairs and interests; always ready to spend money in order to make money, and each relying absolutely upon his own judgment as to the merits of any article brought to his attention.

Within the limitations which I have indicated, the enterprise of American commercial travelers or agents and of those of the Continent, notably Germans and Russians, is effective. I need not go into details as to what methods are specially useful. They are the methods common in our country. For example, the American agent of a computing scale company began business in a Scotch city by going to all the principal grocers and butchers, making a purchase at each shop, taking a memorandum in each instance of the weight and cost. Afterward, when he invited them to come to his place of business and see the computing scale, the agent was able to show each exactly what he had lost in that small transaction. All legitimate plans of selling machines or goods can be as effectively applied here as in America or elsewhere by one who fully understands the national or racial temperament.

LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY.

American manufacturers are aware of the hostility of British workmen to labor-saving machinery. Some of our makers of machinery have had experience of this antagonism in British shops

to any new devices for increasing the output without increasing the labor cost, and they have learned to expect that their machines sold in England or Scotland must at first undergo a severe test at the hands of unfriendly operators. I have in mind the case of a Scotch sawmiller who purchased in America an improved device fo one branch of his business, which was guaranteed to do one-third more work than the apparatus he had long been using, without any additional labor cost. For some weeks after the machine was installed, there was no greater output. He questioned his workmen and watched them, but could discover no delinquency on their part. Confident, however, that they were not giving the machine a fair trial-he had seen it operate in America and knew what it would do under favorable conditions-he resolved to get at the difficulty, and, giving the men a holiday one Saturday, he went to the mill with his superintendent, and they operated the machine with far better results than had been obtained by the workmen-in a word, it did exactly what the makers had said it would do. On Monday morning the sawmiller told his men that if they wished to continue in his employ they must turn out a certain amount of work per hour with the new machine. He had no reason thereafter to find fault with either the machine or the men. This incident is one of many that might be related, showing that our manufacturers of laborsaving apparatuses must always have in view, when selling to new customers on this side, the probability that their machines will not receive friendly or fair treatment from workmen at the start.

NOTES.

On the general subject of the development of our trade here, I present a few observations, which are intended as suggestions:

1. Scotsmen have a decided preference for Britsh-made goods, if equal in quality and not markedly higher in prices than foreign competing articles. To sell foreign competing goods in Scotland, it is necessary, as a rule, to offer a superior grade at the prevailing prices, or standard goods at prices below the quotations for the home articles. American goods are preferred to any other foreign. products.

2. In the case of a novelty or a noncompeting article, or of a competing article greatly superior, price is a secondary consideration with the average Scotsman. If he wants it he will buy it, provided the price is within reason.

3. In offering machinery of any kind here, it is a mistake to make extravagant claims as to what it will do. A moderate statement of its advantages is far more likely to lead to a sale.

4. Merchants and manufacturers wish to deal with a duly commissioned and responsible representative of the firm or company seeking to do business with them-an agent authorized to make a definite and binding contract.

5. In almost all lines of trade, c. i. f. quotations are required.

6. In every pound of promise a Scotsman expects to find sixteen ounces of performance.

CREDITS AND GENERAL TRADE TERMS OF BRITISH INDUSTRIES.

The following extracts are from the annual report of Consul R. Fleming, of Edinburgh, which will appear in full in Commercial Relations, 1902:

Among European countries, Germany has long been noted for the free extension of credit in business transactions, both at home and abroad. A close second in this respect is Belgium; next in order, according to the common opinion, is Great Britain. Until a decade ago, British manufacturers had not met with strong competition from their continental neighbors in any part of the world, and they established their trade upon the safe basis of moderate credits. The expanding trade of these progressive nations, especially of Germany, and the vast growth of the industries and commerce of the United States changed the old easy-going conditions, and for six or seven years the British manufacturer and trader have had to reckon with active competition in almost every market. It is about four years since German manufacturers, in the struggle for markets, began to lengthen credits. Whether they have failed, or how far they have succeeded in their object, need not be here considered. They have at least made more severe the strain upon British industries.

With a view of ascertaining whether or not British manufacturers have been forced to abandon the path of conservatism by the intense competition of other nations, I have made an inquiry into credits and other terms of various industries in the United Kingdom. This investigation has covered the average length of credit, average discounts, and general trade terms to responsible British and foreign customers. It seems needless to say that many difficulties have been encountered in pursuing this inquiry, but I think that a fair measure of success has been attained, and that the results may be useful to American manufacturers and exporters.

The information here presented has been obtained in the respective centers of the industries included in the list, and it is, I believe, as definite and as nearly accurate as any investigation of diverse and

competing interests could produce. As to some industries, the statements elicited are vague; but considered in connection with the facts given in regard to related branches, they are not without value.

It appears to be conclusively shown that among the trades or branches of industries embraced in this inquiry, there has been no lengthening of credit, in either the home or foreign markets, except in the cutlery, silver and plated ware, and pumps and pumping engines trades; that there has been, on the contrary, a tendency toward restriction of credit in some industries; that British manufacturers have met the new competition by a reduction of prices or, what means the same thing, an expansion of discounts.

A specially interesting fact is that the cotton-goods trade with China and India at the present time is practically on a cash basis. The paragraphs have been arranged without reference to the relative importance of the several industries, but in alphabetical order, for convenience.

Blast-furnace plant.-As a rule, terms are part of special contract in each case. The ordinary agreement is for payment of one-third on inspection, one-third on shipment, and the balance as soon as the plant is in operation.

Boilers, steam.-Net cash on delivery, as a rule. To both home and foreign customers, the terms sometimes quoted are one-third with order, one-third on receipt of bill of lading, and the balance in I clear month net.

Bolt and nut making machinery.—Generally cash on erection. Sometimes onethird with order and the balance on erection, net, or 30 days' grace.

Brick and tile making machinery.-Length of credit ranges from 3 to 6 months to both British and foreign buyers; but usually one-third of the net price must be paid with order. There has been no lengthening, but rather a restriction, of credit. Boots and shoes.—Trade terms vary according to individual circumstances, discounts ranging from 61⁄2 per cent for cash (which practically means within 7 days), 5 per cent at the month to a decreased and vanishing discount for a longer period of credit; about 5 months net. Terms are practically the same to home and foreign buyers, except that the foreign business rests largely upon bills of exchange, not accounts. The length of credit to foreign merchants has not been extended in any general way for several years.

Chemicals.-Length of credit is 14 days net, but 2 per cent discount is allowed for cash and goods guaranteed. This applies to trade in Great Britain and colonies and South America. No trade is done with Russia, as the duty exceeds the cost and freight of chemicals; and if trade were done with that country, I am informed that it would mean special terms, on account of the great risks involved. There has been no expansion of credit in recent years, and it is not considered that German or other continental or American competition has yet made any material change in British terms:

Cotton goods.—In Great Britain the usual terms to merchants are monthly-that is, goods delivered between the 20th of one month and the 19th of the following month are paid for the first week of the succeeding month; to shippers, however, the terms are 7 to 14 days. To buyers in South Africa, the present basis is 6 months' credit, owing to the general circumstances brought about by the late war. To buyers in China, the terms are 60 or 90 days, which means practically cash, as bills of lading are sent through bankers and taken up by payment by the consignees.