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Show GETTING FOREIGN TRADE Tho National Foreign Trade Convention Con-vention that met nt Now Orleans on January 27-29 might well havo listened lis-tened to a bit of personal cxpcrlonco from n man connected with a corporation cor-poration doing n largo foreign busl- ncss- kIWL "I heard attic other day at a typical typi-cal case," this man was uaylng, "which Illustrates very woli why wo haven't been getting moro foreign trndo." A South American firm, n short tlmo before the war broko out, sent n request for samples of n cor-tnln cor-tnln lino of machine tools to thrco ilrms, nn American, an KnglUh nnd n German. Tho American firm wrote n very pollto letter In Indlffcront Bpunhh, stating that they would b3 vory glad to supply samples, but thoy would havo to follow tho usual custom of asking for payment or tho samplos In advance A. Tho F.ngllsh linn wroto p. letter much nftcr tho samo manner, nbout tho only dlfforenc'o being that they expected to bill tho samples to bo paid for nftcr tho samo wero delivered deliv-ered . Tho Gorman Arm wroto n very palnstnklng letter, stntlng that tho compl'oto lino of samples asked for would bo mado up and shlppod without with-out chnrgo to tho firm that nsked for them. Thoy nlso snld that if thoso sampliB wero dofoctlvo In nny nnrtlculnr. or If thov failed to meet tho needs, Ideas, or customs of tho people who wero oxpected to uso thorn, to bo suro and lot thorn know and moro samples would be mado up, also without chnrgo. It Is needless to say that tho German firm got tho order, though tho coming of tho war of courso blocked nny regular delivery. deliv-ery. This itory no doubt Illustrates why so many Amorlcan manufacturers havo found It hard to get forolgn trado. Thoy expoct lmmodlato returns, re-turns, and nro not content to build slowly for tho futuro. Successful trado Is not secured In that way but U tho r'osult of patient effort which doos not expect that a business can bo' profitable at tho 'vory beginning. r t |