334 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
fore in a position to force on this great class 
of the people whatever he wishes. I recall 
one of these typical country merchants telling 
me that practically every man in the neighbor 
hood owed him money and that therefore he 
had them all in his power, so that he could 
tell them just what he wished them to do or 
buy or be closed out. The control held by 
such a man in these remote communities is far- 
reaching and conclusive. It is quite obvious 
that the proletariat may be reached through 
direct appeal to him. He usually takes the 
local papers, and those published in his im 
mediate vicinity, and is certain to subscribe to 
one or more of the leading metropolitan dail 
ies, so as to keep in touch with the markets 
and shipping conditions. He knows almost 
to a ton what this year’s crop will amount to; 
what the output of the neighboring mines will 
be; how much rubber will come from up coun 
try; if wool will bring a high price, or if 
cattle will be lower than last year, and is gen 
erally an all around encyclopaedia of useful 
information on every local subject. The