352 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
turn around and sell us back—at a profit of 
course—fifty per cent, of what they bought in 
Ecuador. And we call ourselves merchants! 
Who exhibits the good judgment in such a 
transaction? 
The linseed of the world is produced by 
Argentine and India. The small farmer 
trades it for supplies to the village merchant, 
who in turn exchanges it for goods with the 
jobber in the capital or seaport. To these men 
come the buyers for the Greek firm which 
practically controls this industry and purchase 
the seed, and we, the most extensive users of 
linseed oil in the world, pay our toll and trib 
ute to the able and shrewd men who have their 
headquarters in Athens. Isn’t there some 
thing radically wrong here? 
The alpaca gives a fine soft wool. Prac 
tically all of this material is bought in Bo 
livia by Europeans who manufacture the cloth 
which they afterwards sell us. I cannot un 
derstand why some sagacious American has 
not entered this profitable market. 
The seasons in the southern part of South