268 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
ing in the days when the “auto da fe” was com 
mon and Torquemada reigned supreme. Let 
me illustrate by a few custom-house rulings 
taken at random from different Latin Ameri 
can ports. 
In a certain Central American country, 
clinical thermometers are admitted duty free, 
according to the government tariff schedule. 
Laboring under this belief a local druggist 
ordered one hundred. Imagine his surprise 
when the customs collector charged him the 
duty assessed on cut glass decanters, classing 
the thermometers as “etched glass containers.” 
Their contents—mercury—was classed as an 
explosive at a prohibitive rate and for “trying 
to evade the customs” a fine of $500.00 was 
added, or instead of getting the goods in, with 
out charges, the importer was obliged to pay 
$642.50 or go to jail. 
In a shipment of pickles, because the in 
voice failed to state whether they were put up 
in vinegar or mustard, a fine of $100.00 was 
collected. 
On a box of candy weighing five pounds,