Same, in casks... Such as osnaburgs, packing cloth, and others, not baled. ..quintal.. 12 ..each.. .04 ..do.... .04 .do.. .25 quintal.. . 12 ..do.. . 12 ..each.. .25 .25 .50 .36 I. 00 ...dozen.. ..hogshead.. ..hogshead.. Sheet iron. Tumbrils, carts. Backgammon boards.. Tiles Wine In casks, from 55 to 60 gallons.. Same, more than 60 gallons. In tierces... Vermicelli, macaroni, and other pastes, in boxes or baskets.. In boxes of 12 bottles, 12 jugs, or 30 vials. .50 Designation des objets. Droits. Voitures carrosses, calèches, cabriolets, quitterines, chars-à-bancs et tilburys, Gourdes. Carriages Articles. Duties. Chaises, cabs, “quitterines," jaunting carts, and tilburies.. Dollars. ....each..] 2.00 APPENDIX C. American Trade in Haiti. The following report on the trade of the United States with Haiti was prepared by Consul-General Durham and published in the Consular Reports issued by the Department of State in June, 1893: The Department requests "a detailed report setting forth in what respect the manufacturers of the United States fail to comply with the demands of consumers" in Haiti, and "in what respect the manufacturers in Europe excel them in complying with the wants, tastes, and peculiarities of the people in preparing and decorating their merchandise and in packing it for transportation." The instruction requires that each class of goods shall be treated separately, with a statement as to what is necessary to meet popular demands, the reasons for the demand, and the relative costs of production and transportation from European and American manufacturers. I regret that after most careful attempts to study local conditions and after interviews with reliable merchants I find that the results of my inquiry must fall short of the Department's requirements. I found early in my investigations that each class of goods required special information and experience, and that the opinions of the specialists themselves differed as to the reasons for local demands. and preferences. I have therefore been compelled to refrain from venturing into some of the details required by the instruction. Some 226 statements of a general character, however, which may be useful to manufacturers in the United States, are submitted. J. B. Vital, esq., United States consular agent at Jacmel, a merchant of experience and high standing, writes me in reply to my request for information: To my knowledge, American goods are appreciated here. The chief reason I can give why they are not imported in larger quantities is the very limited and short credits merchants in the United States give to their clients abroad, while in Europe credits of four, six, and nine months are generally granted. It is not unusual for European shippers to give from two to six months' credit and to accept sixty and ninety day drafts in payment at the expiration of the credit interval. American manufacturers meet this by selling through commission houses in New York, the commission men paying cash and granting the credits. It must be remembered that the Haitian coffee (60,000,000 to 100,000,000 pounds annually), which pays for imports into this country, goes almost exclusively to Europe. Merchants here, in order to pay for imported goods, whether American or European, draw against their coffee shipments by drafts on Paris or Hamburg. The development of the European trade and the European system of credits has been, therefore, a natural growth. It should be fully considered in the formation of any scheme for extending American commerce in Haiti. The development of popular taste has been naturally along the same lines. To meet these natural growths, it must be borne in mind that a class like the Haitian consumers, generally illiterate and insular, are conservative to the last degree. As a rule they want what they are used to buying; and the success of those houses in the United States which have competed in this market has been due in great measure to their carefully studying local conditions. Mr. Charles Weymann, an American merchant of experience and importance at this capital, to whom this office is indebted for valuable information of a commercial character, says: I would suggest to our manufacturers that to conquer this trade over European competition it will be necessary to send to the principal ports of Haiti special |