VIII. PREPARATION OF SHIPMENTS.

PACKING REQUIREMENTS.

A good many, but not all, American exporters are giving adequate attention to the subject of packing shipments of shoes, leather, and shoe supplies to Peruvian customers. The requirements for each of these items vary, but certain points should be kept in mind. regardless of the nature of the goods.

PROTECTION AGAINST BREAKAGE IN TRANSIT.

Everything unloaded in Peru under the existing conditions is going to get treatment that would break into kindling wood practically any box or case carried from St. Louis to New York or from New York to many European ports. In practically all Peruvian ports of entry ships must be unloaded in the open roadstead. There is an entire absence of wharves, and cases are discharged directly into barges and lighters alongside the vessels. Very often there is also a rough sea, and it may be raining heavily during the unloading. Not infrequently cases or bundles are dropped into the water and may be greatly injured unless packed in a manner that renders them impervious to moisture. The ship's petty officer in charge of the crane is seldom of the same nationality as the workmen. The average stevedore is a careless and care-free individual who knows he can get a job elsewhere if he loses the one he has. The cargo is likely to be a good deal mixed, the light is poor in the hold, and the bundles are often very heavy. This last condition arises from the fact that most importers like to have shipments come in packages of 175 to 300 pounds because it saves freight as well as customhouse brokerage charges, which are based on the number of packages handled.

In the process of unloading either a sling made of rope or a large square piece of canvas or sailcloth with rope loops at each corner is filled to its capacity with a miscellaneous collection of bundles and boxes. This is hoisted from the hold and swung over the side into a barge or lighter. The loop at one corner of the sling is then hooked onto the crane and the contents are rolled out on the bottom of the lighter, after which they are counted and packed. Steamers are not fitted with booms that will permit lowering the goods to a definite location in the lighter. Instead they depend on swinging the goods until by their own momentum they fall, usually a height of 15 to 30 feet, in the direction desired, striking whatever cases may already have been placed. In Mollendo, where there is usually a considerable swell, and in certain other ports, merchandise must be again hoisted in a sling from the lighter to the wharf, where it is placed in a cart or on a little car and hauled to the customhouse. Here it is tipped off, opened, and the contents examined. It is then

closed, loaded on another cart, and hauled either to the railway or directly to the store or warehouse of the consignee. Each time a case or bundle is unloaded from the cart it falls a distance ranging from 3 to 10 feet, and if the box breaks the contents are spilled. However undesirable this way of handling goods may be, it is assuredly much better to accept it as a fact and pack accordingly, before claims for damage or loss of customers occur, than to employ even rarely a case or box that can not stand such usage.

PROTECTION AGAINST PILFERING.

Another important fact to be remembered in shipping goods to Peru is the necessity for precaution against pilfering and thieving. It is difficult to trace the exact point at which thieving occurs. Some dealers interviewed claimed that the losses occurred before the shipment left the dock at New York. Others are equally certain that the goods are extracted during transshipment at the Panama Canal. A certain amount of thieving unquestionably occurs after the goods have reached the Peruvian port and before they have passed through the customhouse. Out of a recent shipment of 48 dozen pairs of shoes received by a Lima importer over 5 dozen were missing. Only the best quality goods are usually taken, and although recovery is eventually made from the insurance companies to cover the loss of the articles themselves, the custom duties and charges, being based on invoice figures, have to be paid on goods that have never been received.

Shoe boxes are sometimes cleverly filled with stones or other objects of approximately the same weight as the shoes that have been extracted, with the result that it is difficult to detect any discrepancy between the actual weight and the weight given in the invoice. Cases of fine shoe leather, although covered with heavy wire mesh, frequently arrive with a good share of their contents missing. Duties as well as freight are paid in most instances on gross weight, and the problem consists in using boxes that are strong enough without being at the same time too heavy. In general, each package should be banded so well that breakage is difficult, and the band should be of an interlocking type that can only be opened by partial, but perfectly obvious, destruction. This will serve to localize the risk of theft and minimize the difficulty of tracing the loss. Wherever possible, cases should be of new material, not secondhand; in any event they should be every bit as strong as new. Cases used by a certain American manufacturer who has experienced but few losses by theft in his Peruvian business are built of lumber three-fourths of an inch thick on the sides and 1 inch thick on the ends, each board in the top, bottom, and sides of the case being securely clinched with two or more safety clips and the whole securely strapped not only at the end but on all sides.

PROTECTION AGAINST CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.

The fact that all shipments to Peruvian ports have to pass over the Equator, where the temperature is unusually high and where there is generally much moisture in the atmosphere, makes it neces

sary that special attention be given to protecting the contents. In shipping shoes or leather, waterproof lining or wrapping, if used before the case is sealed, will not only protect against rust but will also prevent damage if the package is immersed in the sea as the result of the tackle slipping while it is being unloaded. Special care is necessary in the case of patent leather, either in skins or in the form of finished footwear. Owing to climatic conditions at certain times of the year, tissue paper, if placed between each two skins in a bundle, is likely to adhere to the enamel and destroy the gloss.

An English manufacturer of cotton thread for upper stitching makes a practice of packing his product in a way that brings forth the highest praise from Peruvian importers. Each box is covered with new burlap, on which the mark of the importer is neatly stenciled, as well as the gross and net weights. Two tin boxes, hermetically sealed and absolutely moisture proof, are within the outside case. The boxes are lined with clean brown paper with the space between the packages of thread carefully filled with paper and excelsior. The package is not only designed to stand any amount of rough handling, but it can be dumped into the ocean without affecting the contents in the slightest.

NEED FOR PROPER MARKING.

99.66

In marking Peruvian shipments of shoes and shoe leathers it is important that no clue to the contents of the case be given. Thieving and pilfering are greatly encouraged if a case is made conspicuous by advertisements of a certain make of shoes or leather. The expressions "handle with care," use no hooks," and similar ones in English. that are widely used in domestic business are of little value on shipments to Peru. Any lettering of this nature should be plainly stencilled in Spanish, if the stevedores are to comprehend the meaning, and even this is no guarantee that the directions will be followed. It is essential that the American exporter mark clearly on the box the net and gross weight of the consignment in kilos (kilo= 2.2046 avoirdupois pounds). The metric system is used almost exclusively, and the use of English units will merely cause delay in clearance through the customs. As few marks as possible should be placed on cases, in order to avoid confusion, and in general no additional marking other than the name or mark of the consignee is necessary on the exterior of the box or container.

IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT INVOICING.

Accuracy and care in the preparation of invoices are productive of excellent results in the Peruvian trade and justify the extra time required. On the contrary, careless inattention to details leads to misunderstanding and dissatisfaction and frequently to the loss of customers. Since invoices are primarily designed to facilitate the clearance of goods through the customhouse and the payment of the lowest rate of duty, every effort should be made to furnish complete and accurate information.

If a mistake is made in the consular invoice and instead of 87 kilos the weight is given as 77 kilos, double duties are collected.

10111°-17-6

This does not happen frequently, but it is bound to make the Peruvian importer feel that the American manufacture with whom he is dealing is not especially watchful of his interests.

Any suggestions made by a customer as to the form in which he wishes invoices made out should be scrupulously followed, even if the reasons for the request are not clear.

Unless clients specify to the contrary, the Spanish language should be used, and all correspondence relating to a shipment should preferably be written in the same language. It is surprising to what an extent Peruvian importers appreciate this practice, even though they may make no definite complaint or suggestion to that effect. European invoices generally contain code words, or a code made up of combination of letters, opposite the description of each individual item, for the purpose of enabling their clients to easily duplicate an order by cable if the articles are required quickly. In addition, German invoices often contain the code word calling for an order of twice the amount. The weight in kilos (not in pounds) is likewise given for each article, with and without wrappings. The expenses of the shipment are carefully itemized in much greater detail than in most invoices covering shipments from the United States.1

1 Copies of two typical invoices of a Paris agent of a German commission house_covering shipments of upper leathers, dressings, and shoe laces, forwarded through Hamburg, to an importer in Lima, Peru, have been received by the Bureau and may be examined at district and cooperative offices. Refer to file No. 1236.

IX. INDUSTRIES RELATED TO SHOE MANUFACTURING.

TANNING INDUSTRY.

Although the tanning industry is not highly developed in Peru, it has been somewhat stimulated by the recent high prices of imported leather. Practically all of the sole leather used by the national shoe manufacturing industry is produced in the country, and an increasing amount of box calf and kid is being turned out by local tanners. There are not over eight tanneries in the entire Republic whose annual production exceeds $50,000 in value. No census of tanning establishments has ever been taken, but there are known to be over 50 in the various Departments. All but about 15 of these are small and of only local importance. As a rule, their capacity is limited to the 8 or 10 hides that are daily available at the local slaughterhouse. Extremely primitive tanning methods are used in most cases.

The largest tanneries are located in Lima. European capital chiefly is interested in these establishments, and the proprietors are mainly of Italian and French nationality. Both vegetable and chrome tanning methods are employed. Lingue, tarra, and mangle are the principal tanning materials used, with a lesser amount of oak bark. Divi-divi is found in certain southern Provinces and is employed by the small tanneries in that section. Within the last few years quebracho extract has been introduced from Argentina, and the results obtained are considered to be satisfactory. Blackings, oils, anilines, enamels, etc., were formerly imported largely from Germany and France. Since the war these have been purchased entirely in the United States. At the present time several tanneries are in the market for tanning extracts.

The hides are all obtained within the country. A good share of the supply of hides used by Lima tanneries comes from local slaughterhouses. Every tanner has his agents in various Provinces, and the practice formerly was for these agents to contract for the hides directly with the dealers or owners of the animals. The high prices that dealers have been able to get recently for hides for export to the United States have so increased the local market prices, however, that some tanneries operating with only a small capital have found it very difficult to secure raw material.

The machinery equipment of Peruvian tanneries is mostly French, with a few American machines. Seven revolving drums, a splitting machine, 15 vats, and 2 finishing machines make up the equipment of one of the principal tanneries in Lima. Twenty-five men are employed in this establishment, the monthly output of which averages 2,300 hides and skins, made up as follows: Sole leather (que