352  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

turn  around  and  sell  us  back—at  a  profit  of
course—fifty  per  cent,  of  what  they  bought  in
Ecuador.  And  we  call  ourselves  merchants!
Who  exhibits  the  good  judgment  in  such  a
transaction?
The  linseed  of  the  world  is  produced  by
Argentine  and  India.  The  small  farmer
trades  it  for  supplies  to  the  village  merchant,
who  in  turn  exchanges  it  for  goods  with  the
jobber  in  the  capital  or  seaport.  To  these  men
come  the  buyers  for  the  Greek  firm  which
practically  controls  this  industry  and  purchase
the  seed,  and  we,  the  most  extensive  users  of
linseed  oil  in  the  world,  pay  our  toll  and  tribute ­
  to  the  able  and  shrewd  men  who  have  their
headquarters  in  Athens.  Isn’t  there  something ­
  radically  wrong  here?
The  alpaca  gives  a  fine  soft  wool.  Practically ­
  all  of  this  material  is  bought  in  Bolivia ­
  by  Europeans  who  manufacture  the  cloth
which  they  afterwards  sell  us.  I  cannot  understand ­
  why  some  sagacious  American  has
not  entered  this  profitable  market.
The  seasons  in  the  southern  part  of  South