XXII THE SALESMAN AND THE CUSTOMER The success or failure of a business venture in Latin America depends materially on the character of the representative sent to these marts of trade. Never having seen or heard of you or your goods, it is most natural for the foreign merchant to make his deductions from your emissary. The typical ambassador of commerce for South American fields should combine ele gance of dress and courtliness of manners; be a linguist; a scholar; a diplomat; a philos opher; always a student and a business man as well. He should continually bear in mind that his visit is unsolicited—that in a sense he is an aggressor, an intruder, and above every thing he should conform to the usages that cus tom has established in this part of the world. European merchants and their travellers, 242