of the interests of the ultimate customer, with an equal admixture of consideration for the interests of the manufacturer who is trying to win the good-will and the trade of this ultimate customer. There are too many shippers whose effort seems to be to spend as little money and time as possible on the packing of their goods, while in point of fact they should try to see how much money and time they can profitably spend on the protecting envelope of the goods in question. There can be no doubt that a vast amount of valuable export business is lost by careless packing, a condition which at once convinces the customer that the shipper either is not interested in the goods, or has not taken to heart in the least the interests of the purchaser.

A Common Impression.-As far as possible the writer wishes to avoid in this book any suggestion of unmerited criticism, but throughout the world there seems to be an impression that the American manufacturer is always willing to take an order, but that he does not concern himself unduly as to when he is going to ship the goods or as to the condition in which they are going to arrive at their ultimate destination. To offset this impression the first consideration on receiving an order from abroad, and after its due acceptance, should be to appreciate the fact that a man thousands of miles away has placed in our hands a trust of no inconsiderable magnitude, and that we should faithfully and honestly fulfill that trust. We should see that the goods arrive as quickly as possible at the foreign port, and above all should we see that when they do arrive they may at once be put on sale or in use, as the case may be. It should be a point of honor with every shipper to work for the benefit and business convenience of the foreign client.

Cheap Packing is False Economy.-To-day the American market is flooded with all sorts of packing devices which in too many cases commend themselves solely because of their cheapness. Cheap packing has never yet proved anything but a false economy. The foreign manufacturer, in general, has apparently adopted as a prin

ciple that of making his package as good as his product, while in the effort to constantly lower costs the American does not neglect to take a slice off his packing. But it should never be lost sight of that the foreign buyer is not interested in this false economy, for he will not hesitate to pay for good packing. The writer has known instances in which this has been insisted on because of lack of confidence in the ordinary packing of the average manufacturer. When a foreign house gives special instructions in reference to packing, it is not caprice nor any rare geometrical or artistic sense that originates these instructions. The importer knows what the conditions in his country are, and his packing instructions are gauged entirely by these conditions. Every set of instructions for the packing of export goods should be followed by the manufacturer absolutely to the letter; and if the instructions are not given, it is the duty of our exporters to inform themselves of the conditions at the foreign point and adapt the packing to those conditions.

The Export Packing Triangle. The export packing problem is frequently complicated by virtue of the fact that the manufacturer does not always pack his own goods for export. This condition usually arises when the manufacturer has his goods packed at seaboard by a house making a specialty of this business, or when the manufacturer is not the actual consignor of the goods. In the first instance, the decision to have the goods packed by other than the producing organization, may be due to the fact that some other concern has a better equipment for packing, or it may be that the manufacturer does not wish to be bothered with the details of export packing. It is entirely proper under such conditions to have the work done by some other house, and there are a number of concerns which are well equipped to give good service.

The second instance comprises that large export business which is handled by a second party. It may be a commission house, it may be a purchasing agent or it may

Courtesy of General Electric Co.

(1) CASING A LARGE INDUCTION MOTOR.

A large motor with extended base and bearing. Note lining of cotton covered, waterproof paper, bolting to skid, blocking longitudinally and laterally, bracing and slotting for skids as fully explained in text. Note also ventilating holes covered with wire screens.

Courtesy of General Electric Co.

(2) COMPLETED CASE FOR LARGE INDUCTION MOTOR.

Note ventilating holes provided to prevent accumulation of moisture by condensation and relieve air pressure on inside of case. These holes are covered on the inside by wire screen. Photograph taken before case was marked.

Note that

(3) SKIDDING STATOR ELEMENT OF SYNCHRONOUS CONVERTER. Note that skid is lined with cotton covered waterproof paper. bearing part of skid having contact with finished part of machine is coated with rust preventative.

Courtesy of General Electric Co.

(4) STATOR ELEMENT PARTIALLY BOXED.

Note corner posts as support against collapsing. Eyelets at top are for convenience in lifting and are removed before final closing of case and fastened to inside of case.

be any one of the many different organizations or individuals acting in this or that capacity. But right here

is where originates a great deal of our faulty packing, X

and there is no doubt that vastly more comes into existence at this point than in the case of a manufacturer dealing direct with a foreign customer and packing the goods in the factory of origin.

Perils of the Triangle.-It may be that the manufacturer is doing his very best to branch out in foreign trade. He may be packing his goods suitably for shipment to seaboard, but it frequently happens that these domestic packages are not changed in the least by the actual exporter, and there is consequent loss both for the ultimate purchaser and the manufacturer himself. On the other hand the exporter of the goods may have a carefully prepared order form on which is described in detail the export package. The goods are shipped by the manufacturer, but absolutely no attention is paid to the instructions in regard to packing. When the goods come to the port of shipment they are not repacked and are sent abroad in their fragile domestic coverings.

This is not a difficult problem to solve; it is merely a question of having an agreement in reference to responsibility. Any purchasing agent or commission house should have a definite understanding with their sources of supply as to who is going to do the packing. If the manufacturer, well and good; if the commission house, then an organization must be built up which can take care of this packing problem. This is no exceptional situation, as there are a number of commission houses in New York, not to mention other ports, that have very efficient and able packing departments. To these departments all their goods are brought and repacked for export.

To be sure there is always going to be defective packing, and the foregoing paragraph has indicated where most of this defective packing will originate. There will always be the intervention of the third party, and it is probable that in many cases this third party will be more interested in the cash against documents than he is in