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TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JANUARY 15, 1023
UNCLE SAM OFF ON TRIP WITH GIGANTIC SAMPLE CASE
Goods From American Factories Are Going to the Four Corners of the Earth Accompanied
By. Throng of Trade Experts in the Search for Business in Faraway Marts
BY A. A. PRECIADO.
THE world's biggest sample case
will soon be checked out from
American shores tucked under
the arm of Uncle Sam for parts un
known and known. Within this case
will be packed an assortment of spe
cimens of American manufacture, the
size of which and the like of which
hays never been known or seen In the
history of American foreign trade. It
is to be collected from a representa
tive group of American industries, the
heads of which are desirous of open
ing up trade relations with peoples
of different climes and languages.
The contribution to this sample case
''will be a heterogeneous lot. In It wll!
be everything- from fountain pens to
airplanes. The eyes of eager buyers
In foreign countries will feast upon
omples of Adding machines, type
writers, printing presses, automo
biles, multlgraph machines, perfum
ery, furniture, fur coats, shoes, hats
nd what cot
There Is another peculiarity about
this huge sample case that will at
tract the attention of thousands of
people across the seas. This lies in
the fact that it is not shaped like the
ordinary sample case that the drum
mer throws onto the counter of the
country storekeeper and opens wlde
to satisfy the curiosity of his cus
tomer. Instead, this sample case rep
resents a marked departure from the
usual luggage that one is accustomed
to see in the waiting rooms of the
railroad stations. It is built like a
ship. It la a ship a huge ship which
is known In merchant marine circles
as the steamship St. Louis.
The St. Louis is one of the most
famous steamships in the American
merchant marine. Her history dates
back to the day on which she was
launched November 12, 1894. She
was built in an American shipyard
and is the first 100 per cent all-steel
American vessel ever constructed.
More than 25,000 people were present
at the launching at the Cramp yards
In Philadelphia when Mrs. Grover
Cleveland broke a bottle of cham
pagne this was In the days before
prohibition over the bow of the St.
Louis. President Cleveland and
members of his cabinet were present.
The ship's first voyage was in June,
1895, when she sailed for Southamp
ton under the command of Captain
William G. Handle. Her achieve
ments sinoe then may be found in the
pages of American history.
When the St. Louis sails out of New
Tork harbor in January as a colossal
ample case she will have written an
other chapter in her long-to-be-remembered
career on the high seas.
The huge vessel Is now being recon
d'tloned and put into shape by Its
present owners for . a world-trade
cruise that Is destined to take in the
principal ports of the world. Here
at these main centers of commerce
the St. Louis will lie for Stated inter
vals to permit foreign buyers to come
on board to see the things that Amer
ican skill and Industry have wrought
for foreign markets. The products
of about 300 American manufacturers
will be placed on exhibit within the
walls of this giant leviathan of the
high seas. The ports to be touched
are about 64 in number. The trade
crusaders on board the St. Louis
should not become bored by a mo
notonous voyage for there will be no
monotony. As each port is reached
the color and atmosphere will change.
Different languages will be spoken
at each new place to be visited and
new traditions and customs will be
revealed to the travelers.
This is the first time In the history
i of foreign trade that a floating ex
, position of such magnitude and com
prising such an ambitious itinerary
has ever been fitted out to circum
navigate the globe. The idea is not
new, however. Great Britain has
tried it before, but Great Britain vis
ited only a few ports, then right
about faced and returned home. Sim
ilarly the Germans conducted voy
ages to ports within a convenient
cruising radius of Hamburg, and
after a few short visits to nearby
neighbors turned around and went
. home. It has been left to American
enterprise, therefore, to fit up a ship
that will sail completely around the
world on a mission of trade.
The remarkable feature about the
voyage of the St. Louis Is the ar
rangements that are being made for
the convenience and comfort of
American business men who have re
served places In the vessel. In the
first place remembering the "black
ye" that American business in gen
eral has received through the manip
ulations of unscrupulous traders a
rule has been put into writing pro
viding that only those merchants who
can pass the acid test as to financial
standing and responsibility will be
permitted to engage passage on the
St. Louis. At the head of a commit
tee that will pass upon the fitness of
tlitM inhibitors Is John Barrett, for
mer director of the Pan-American
union, and himself an authority on
foreign trade and its manifold
phases.
Then tbsre Is another exacting re
quirement that bears a close relation
to the first one. Having satisfied It
self of the character and general
standing of these exhibitors, the com
mittee will then proceed to deter
mine whether or not the products to
be carried on board are of such qual
ity as to be able to maintain the
prestige of American manufacturers
abroad, or whether their selection has
been made in a manner consistent
with the demands of the countries to
be visited.
There is a reason for the latter re
quirement. The reason is that there
are still a great number of American
Business men who do not know what
foreign people buy. They have neg
leoted their geography. .Not long ago
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an American merchant engaged in
the exportation of umbrellas tried to
dispose of ' a consignment in Lima,
Peru. It never rains In Lima. On
another occasion a manufacturer sent
a man down to Rio de Janeiro hoping
that he might find a market for snow
plows in that country; the salesman
wrote back that there was no snow
down in that country, and asked for
a ticket home.
These are only a few of the pre
cautions .being taken to make this
cruise around the world not only
profitable but educational to those
whose fitness will entitle them to a
place on the St Louis. When the
vessel leaves the port of New York
In January for the first leg of Its
voyage to Havana, there will be an
uneventful first night at sea. This
in order to give the travelers an op
portunity to find their sea legs or to
become accustomed to the bounding
waves. After that It will be one In
teresting day after another.
The library of the St. Louis will be
complete. It will not be composed of
fiction. Instead there will be pon
derous volumes containing trade data
of the countries to be visited, text
books on foreign trade, law books
telling of commercial regulations,
books on finance that will try to ex
plain the wherefore of exchange a
subject which very few people in this
world can understand and a great
variety of trade magazines that deal
exclusively In foreign trade litera
ture. As the voyagers are approach
ing Havana, for Instance, the libra
rian will be beseeched for books re
lating to Cuba. Immediately every
body will be reading about the trade
possibilities of that country. What
does Cuba want to buy? How do you
approach a Cuban merchant? After
you get him to. sign on the little
dotted line how can you arrange to
give him credit for the goods you
have sold to him? What kind of
money does the Cuban use? Is the
Cuban honest? What do you do after
selling him a nice order of goods?
Do you buy him a drink or a cigar,
or do you Invite him and the whole
family to dinner at the Hotel Engla
terra, or do you take him to the
races?
These and a hundred other ques
tions foreign trade experts, located
at strategical points on, the St. Louis
and aided by the ship's library, will
be asked to answer as the good ship
comes within hailing distance of the
gray walls of historic Morro Castle.
When the ship casts anchor In Ha
vana harbor the real business of the
cruise will begin. Exporters will
have an opportunity to practice what
they have learned on the leg of their
Journey from New York. It will now
be their business to invite responsi
ble business men of Havana and sur
rounding country to come on board
the vessel and see the exhibits. If
Mr. John Smith is unable to converse -with
Senor' Tabasco o"T Calls Central,
Havana, Jn the language of the Cu
ban, all Mr. Smith has to do Is to
press the button and, presto! an in
terpreter Is on the Job to do the go
between act. If Mr. Smith and Senor
Tabasco agree to do business and cer
tain papers are required to be writ
ten up, Mr. Smith will press the but
ton for the little dark-eyed girl ste
nographer who has learned her pro
fession on a typewriter that carries
Spanish characters on its keyboard.
If Mr.- Smith wants to know some
thing about the credit standing of
The Itinerary of the Kla-antic sample case which American manufacturer, are sending- to the four corners of the earth.
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gaged in battle with a German sub
marine while making passage from
New York to Liverpool. The battle
lasted 25 minutes. The TJ-boat fired
60 shots and the St. Louis 43. No
damage was done. The vessel is also
credited with having rammed a sub
marine, but conclusive evidence as to
this feat is lacking. In 1918 the ves
sel was employed in bringing the
boys home from overseas. While in
this service a baby was born. "For
the first time the log book of a
United States war vessel recorded
this luckiest thing that can happen
aboard ship," a writer said.
Not long ago the St. Louis was
badly damaged by fire at Hoboken
and her historic career almost came
to an end. She was about to be sold
for Junk when her present owners
purchased her and are now preparing
to send her around the world as a
fitting: climax to an Illustrious career.
ill
Tho
steamship St. Louis, which will start the latter part of tho month carryln American-made Products to B4
of the chief porta of the world.
Senor Tabasco before risking In
structions to the homo office to ship
goods to the Cuban merchant, Mr.
Smith consults the ship's expert
credit man, who will be as handy on
that -voyage as the ship carpenter or
the wireless operator. And so on
down the line ad Infinitum. This op
eration, will be repeated by 800 other
representatives at about the same
time and in every country that tho
St. Louis touches. An imaginative
reader can easily contemplate the
magnitude of the undertaking.
If tho reader suspects for one min
ute that it Is impossible to show
American products to advantage on
board a vessel for the purposes of
display in foreign countries ho' need
only be reminded of the fact that the
entire main deck and portions of the
promenade deck is reseved for ma
chinery. The exhibition space
amounts to approximately 30,000
square feet equivalent to the avail
able space of Madison Square Garden,
New York, for exhibition purposes. A
sample case with a capacity of 30,000
square feet is something that cannot
be seen every day.
The length of the cruise will be
about eleven months perhaps a year.
During that long period the St. Louis
will sail into different climates and
experience different conditions of liv
ing that will make heavy the respon
sibilities of those in charge of the
enterprise. To protect the health of
the members a staff of physicians and
surgeons will be taken on board.
Since the announcement wa!s made
a few days ago that the St. Louis
was to sail on this historic voyage
the committee In charge of the enter
prise has been swamped with appli
cations from men and women in all
walks of life for a chance to work
their passage around the world. Doc
tors, nurses, college professors, writ
ers and students have eagerly sought
positions on board the vessel, but
mostly In vain.
"This is not a pleasure trip," one
of the men in charge of the arrange
ments told the writer recently. We
are after 100 per cent foreign trade
merchants who might profit by per
sonally visiting the foreign fields
with a view of expanding their busi
ness. We cannot carry dead wood on
this voyage."
This same official told of a pa
thetic case that came to his attention
Just the other day. A doctor with a
wide practice in a large city had
written for a position on the medical
staff of the St. Louis.
"Why do you want to give up your
extensive practice and take an eleven
months' tour of the world?" he was
asked.
"Well, I thought perhaps I could
pick up some easy money on board
the vessel," he responded.
"I don't s,ee how you can make
much money on the vessel," he was
told.
Then he confessed.
"You see it is this way," he ad
mitted. "I am all shot to pieces and
I want to get away somewhere to
get away from my practice and
everything. A cruise- around the
world would save me."
His application has been filed for
further investigation.
Another application came from a
business man who has exhausted
every means of putting an end to a
favorite eon's present avocation
that of sowing wild oats. This man
believes that a trip around the world
will make him forget and rive him
an opportunity to brace up.
"Money Is no object to me," wrote
this fond and anxious father. "I
want to get my son away from temp--tatlon
and to see If I can interest him
In business. Your world trade cruise
Is Just the thing, I believe, that will
give him a new interest In the things
that count."
If this son measures' up to the re
quirements of the committee in
charge if some useful work can be
found for him on board the St. Louis,
he might be taken aboard. Anyhow,
his application is being considered.
As was said at the beginning of
this article, the St Louis has a mem
orable history. Hardly had she been
put into service when, she was called
upon to go to the rescue of a vessel
In distress. This was in 1918, when
the Dutch steamer Veendam sprang
a leak 640 miles from Southhampton.
The vessel rushed to this sister in
distress and effected the rescue of
passengers and crew.
During the Spanish-American war
the St Louis was requisitioned by
the navy and turned into an auxiliary
cruiser and did remarkable work
cutting cables in the West Indies.
Again during the world war the St.
Louis was the first American steamer
to carry guns on her deck as a pro
tection against German submarines.
This was shortly after Germany's
declaration that open warfare was to
be carried on against any ships with
in certain restricted areas. The
startling fact about this voyage Is
that the St. Louis had unknowingly
cruised around for three hours the
night before she arrived on the other
side in a field of German mines.
On July 29, 1917, the St. Louis en-
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A NEW
YEAR
AN OLD
FAVORITE!
zDelicious?
HAPPY CHILDREN and GROWNUPS
who relish good things to eat will begin
the New Year with that Old Favorite:
TRU-BLU GRAHAMS! Nutritious and
Delicious for every meal and between
meals!
SOLD BY ALL
GOOD GROCERS