FINANCE  AND  CREDITS  303
the  time  agreed  upon  for  payment,  according
to  the  terms  of  the  sale.  Compare  this  perfect
system  of  the  banks  extending  courtesy  to  the
exporters  and  the  importers  with  the  American ­
  policy  of  “cash  against  documents”  and  we
see  another  vital  reason  why  the  Europeans
succeeded  in  their  conquest  of  these  markets.
The  American  manufacturer  with  small  capital ­
  was  handicapped.  His  business  demanded
a  quick  turn-over;  he  had  no  way  of  ascertaining ­
  Latin  American  credits  and  no  American
banking  connections  to  accept  his  export  shipping ­
  documents  at  a  discount.  As  a  consequence, ­
  the  door  of  this  trade  was  closed  to
him  and  his  productions.
Owing  to  the  fact  that  gold  coin  is  bulky
and  heavy  to  transport  and  paper  money  of  a
foreign  nation  always  worth  as  a  rule  much
less  than  its  face  value,  a  traveler  is  accustomed ­
  to  carry  what  is  known  as  a  Letter  of
Credit.  This  is  a  document  issued  by  a  bank
to  a  person  or  concern  authorizing  him  or  it  to
draw  on  the  bank  or  its  correspondents  drafts
for  the  whole  or  any  desired  part  of  the  sum