PACKING  AND  SHIPPING  321
ber,  weights,  markings,  declarations  and  contents ­
  with  the  consular  invoice  and  the  bill  of
lading.  This  will  help  materially  all  along
the  line  from  the  receiving  clerk  of  the  steamship ­
  company  to  the  merchant  who  accepts  the
consignment  at  its  destination.
It  would  be  well  if  shipping  clerks  engaged
in  the  export  trade  would  make  a  careful  study
of  the  geography  of  the  Latin  American  countries, ­
  and  the  various  ways  of  routing  goods,
as  well  as  the  topography  of  each  state.
This  would  do  much  toward  eliminating  complications. ­
  As  an  illustration  of  the  ignorance ­
  so  frequently  displayed  in  this  connection, ­
  let  me  recite  what  happened  to  a  joint
shipment  of  beer  and  mineral  water,  intended
for  Leon,  Nicaragua.  In  ordering  goods
from  this  country  the  Latin  American  merchant ­
  will  often  have  a  shipment  made  up  of
goods  from  different  cities.  He  will  instruct
or  request  the  exporter  living  at  the  port  from
which  the  shipment  is  to  be  made,  to  assemble
the  several  cases  which  make  up  his  various
orders,  and  send  them  under  one  consular  in-