328  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

cases  and  you  will,  I  am  sure,  cease  to  wonder
why  it  takes  goods  intended  for  interior  cities
so  long  to  reach  their  goal.
A  wise  precaution,  and  one  to  be  recommended ­
  for  all  shipments  to  Latin  America,
is  to  insure  them  against  theft  en  route.  This
may  add  a  little  to  the  cost  of  the  article,  but
it  is  the  only  protection  against  petty  pilfering.
The  fact  is  that  the  minor  employes  of  the
custom  houses,  as  well  as  the  porters,  trainmen
and  pack  train  attendants  are  so  poorly  paid,
and  so  completely  lacking  in  honesty  that  there
is  every  tendency  in  the  world  to  appropriate
whatever  appeals  to  their  fancy.  I  have
known  what  should  have  been  cases  of  toilet
soap  to  arrive  at  their  destination,  filled  with
scrap-iron,  so  as  not  to  attract  suspicion  by
their  weight,  and  this  after  duty  had  been  collected ­
  at  the  custom  house  and  freight  paid  by
the  shipper.  Unless  there  is  an  insurance
against  these  depredations  one  has  absolutely
no  protection,  for  it  is  practically  impossible
to  prove  where  and  by  whom  the  theft  was
committed.  Furthermore  if  a  conviction