which the subscribers have dealings or in which they are interested as possible customers. On each card are indicated by numbers those subscribers who gave the name of the particular concern as one with which they are acquainted. When an inquiry is received, requests for information are sent to those members whose numbers appear on the card. The replies are combined in a general report which is forwarded both to the party who made the inquiry and to those who supplied the information; the latter forms a valuable feature of the service, as it enables subscribers to automatically revise their credit files and keep them up to date. The connections that have been recently effected will enable the Bureau to furnish, to many of its inquiries, supplementary information covering such data as capital, volume of business, number of employees, general reputation, territory covered, classes of goods sold.

The Bureau publishes semi-monthly a confidential Bulletin which deals with general economic and credit conditions throughout the world. This Bulletin keeps the Bureau's subscribers informed of any contingencies which may affect the general paying ability of merchants in any particular country.

Collections. In normal times when credit is extended, judiciously, foreign accounts, like domestic ones, are paid when they fall due. Such accounts do not present any collection problems. It is an overdue account that requires careful handling by the credit man. Delinquency may be due to a variety of causes, and the first step in a proper treatment of a delinquent account is the ascertainment of the reasons why payment has not been made at maturity. One of the frequent causes for non-payment is a temporary embarrassment on the part of the debtor. This embarrassment may be due to circumstances beyond his control, such as general financial stringency brought about by bad crops, widespread unemployment, disastrous strikes, or by any other contingency, or it may be the result of his own miscalculation regarding his ability to resell the goods and

to have money available to make the payment when the account falls due.

As long as there is no indication of dishonesty on the part of the delinquent, and as long as there is no danger of his impending insolvency, a wise policy is to exercise tact and patience. This is particularly true when one deals with longestablished firms which have been meeting their obligations on time in the past and whose friendship one does not desire to alienate. Resorting to outside channels, attorneys or collection agencies in the case of such delinquent accounts, is not advisable, as it is more than likely to mean the severance of all future business relations, an unnecessary expenditure of money in commissions and fees, and in most instances no different treatment of the account than that which would have been given it by the credit man himself. Reliable attorneys and collection agencies do not press honest, temporarily embarrassed debtors more than a judicious credit man would, so that it is as well not to resort to their services as long as there is no actual need.

One of the usual procedures in the case of past-due accounts is to draw on the debtor through a bank, requesting it to present the draft for payment and instructing it in case of non-payment to protest the draft, unless the customer shows ability and willingness to effect a settlement within a reasonable time.

Litigations for the purpose of collecting overdue accounts are undesirable in domestic business; they are even more so in foreign trade, as much expense is usually attached to such litigations, heavy bonds must frequently be put up, and foreign lawyers are in many countries not permitted to accept business on a contingent basis. There is also the danger, in backward countries, that the mere fact that the suing creditor is a foreigner while the debtor is a native will work against the former in the rendering of the decision.

DAWSON, R. Protection against Exchange Losses. Proceedings of the Ninth National Foreign Trade Convention, 1922. Pp. 129–147.

DUDENEY, F. M. The Exporter's Handbook and Glossary, Chap. XXIII. EDER, P. J. Foreign and Home Law. Course in Foreign Trade. Vol. X, Chaps. IX-XI.

FILSINGER, E. B. Exporting to Latin America. Chap. XII.

FORD, L. C., and FORD, T. F. The Foreign Trade of the United States, Chap. XV.

GEDDES, J. G. The Foreign Credit Risk, Its Problems under Existing Conditions. Proceedings of the Eighth National Foreign Trade Convention. Pp. 96-117.

HENIUS, F. The A B C of Foreign Trade, Chap. XIV.

HOUGH, O. B. Practical Exporting, Chap. XV.

KIDD, H. C.

POOLE, G. C.

Foreign Trade, Chap. X.

Foreign Credits. The Credit Monthly, January, 1922. PRECIADO, A. A. Exporting to the World, Chap. XII.

Rock, F. D. The Foreign Credit Department. Its Organization, Position, Equipment and Attitude. Proceedings of the Eighth National Foreign Trade Convention. Pp. 80-96.

ROSENTHAL, M. S. Technical Procedure in Exporting and Importing, Chap. XXV.

SAVAY, N. Principles of Foreign Trade, Chap. XXXVIII.

TOSDAL, H. R. Problems in Export Sales Management, Chap. X.

WOLFE, A. J. Foreign Credits. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Special Agent Series No. 62.

WYMAN, W. F. Direct Exporting. Course in Foreign Trade. Vol. V, Chap. IX.

WYMAN, W. F. Export Merchandising, Chaps. XXI-XXXV.

CHAPTER XXVI

MOVING GOODS TO AND FROM OVERSEAS MARKETS

Ocean transportation gives to international commerce two types of service: (1) line or regular service, and (2) charter or tramp service. In addition to this, some large business enterprises own and operate ships which are adapted to their particular needs.

Line Service.-Liners go over regular routes on schedule time; they are used for transporting passengers, mail, and such merchandise as is sent in less than shipload lots and can stand the comparatively higher freight rates charged by line companies. Where a regular flow of traffic warrants it, cargo lines, distinct from express and passenger service, are often maintained. Cargo liners have not the speed of the express and passenger boats, but their rates are lower and they are better adapted to moving staples and heavy, bulky commodities, which form a large part of the present-day world trade. A service intermediate between those rendered by express and by cargo liners is the one performed by combination steamers. These combination vessels are built so as to satisfy a double demand: comfortable quarters for passengers and a large amount of space to carry cargo. Some combination steamers make passenger service their primary consideration, while others are devoted mainly to the handling of freight, little emphasis being placed on passenger traffic. The fact should not be overlooked that it is only on the North Atlantic route that the stream of passengers is so great as to warrant the operation of ships devoted to their exclusive needs. All other lines, whether to South America, to the Far East,

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to Australia or to Africa, depend largely upon merchandise for their main source of revenue. The boats of these lines lack the size, the speed, and the luxurious appointments which characterize most of the vessels of the AmericanEuropean route.

Commercial Significance of Passenger Line Service.— Passenger lines have been instrumental in promoting commercial intercourse between those countries whose ports their steamers serve. Regularity, punctuality, frequency of service, and the ease and comfort with which trips may be made, induce people to visit lands across the sea. Such visits establish personal contact; they aid in breaking down prejudices, create a taste for foreign goods, and thus set in motion the currents of trade. Trade relations once established are kept up: (1) by the facility with which trips may be made by manufacturers, bankers and merchants for the purpose of ascertaining conditions of supply and demand, of establishing branch offices and of appointing representatives; (2) by the opportunities for the convenient going and coming of buyers and traveling salesmen; (3) by the dispatch with which letters, samples and other mail matter may be exchanged. The maintenance of an efficient passenger service between the leading ports of Northwestern Europe and those of South America was one of the advantages which pre-war Europe possessed in her competition for Latin-American trade.

Charter Service. The tramp or charter service is particularly important in the transportation of heavy and bulky commodities which are moved in shipload lots; grain, lumber, coal, nitrate, etc., belong in this group. The competitive advantages of a tramp steamer consist in that her costs of construction, maintenance, and operation are lower than are the corresponding costs in the case of a liner. Tramp vessels are built of a certain average size and speed, the main consideration in construction being cargo capacity and economy.

The owners and operators of tramps have no capital