362 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.

especially the Germans, but to scarcely any less extent the English, are (or
were) far ahead of us in every sort of practical measure looking toward the
winning and holding of the trade of these eastern peoples. There seemed to
be generally among American manufacturers a debonnaire unconcern as to
the specific demands of the people there—demands not so much as to quality,
but as to form, packages, color, etc.—specifications which Americans thought
were finicky and frivolous, but which the Germans acquiesced in fully. Moreover,
 the Germans adapted themselves to the eastern customers—prejudices,
if you will—as to payment, credit, warehouse receipts, etc, in a way that
secured them the business.
Only through effective cooperation of exporters employing experienced local
agents in the various districts can, it seems to me, these drawbacks be overcome.
 ,
3. SUPERIOR ABILITY TO TEMPT FOREIGN BUYERS.—An attorney declares
 one way of doing this is—
By providing for larger aggregate quantities when required.
Better goods and better adaptation to foreign demand.—A lawyer
who has been interested in combinations for 30 years says:
They would make and send better goods or better adapted to the proposed
1ses.

Quicker deliveries—The secretary and treasurer of a railway
prganization suggests:

The association should maintain in the commercial centers of the world warehouses
 stocked with staple lines of goods according to the requirements of the
country in which these warehouses are located, so that customers would be
enabled to secure their staple stocks in much less time than it requires at
present. . '
Longer credits—This was an advantage frequently named. An
exporter writes:

By having knowledge of the financial standing of the buyers in foreign countries
 so that American firms might with reasonable safety sell on time instead
of their present * ironciad” “cash against bill of lading” terms, and thus
meet the chief element in the success of the European merchant,
Protection as to grade and quality—A broker of foreign and
domestic securities believes—

Cooperative export organizations should provide for grading products, wherever
 possible, according to their quality, which gradings should be rigidly enforced
 and the goods should be sold as of a stated quality. If this were done, it
would seem that a foreign purchaser, knowing that this condition existed, would
be more likely to buy goods manufactured by a member of this organization
than he would from an independent dealer.
Larger assortment to off er—~A stockbroker, who has been a manufacturer,
 declares—
Agencies representing a combination of all concerns would have a much larger
assortment to offer buyers.
A banker who has studied the question agrees that—
Variety of merchandise on the part of the combination would bring in the
feature of convenience in many ways.
Catalogues in foreign languages.—A professor of economics cites
this special advantage:
Many of our plants can not afford to print their catalogues and advertising
In the language of the country they might hope to sell to, for individually the
business is not large enough.