and similar articles, jewelry and imitation jewelry, and china ware, representative of different types, patterns, and sizes, must be multilated in a manner that will render them unsalable.

Immutable samples (including wines, liquors, and liquids of different kinds) and samples having a commercial value may be entered temporarily duty free, under bond equal to twice the regular rates of import duty, or a cash deposit equal to the amount of duty plus 40 percent, to guarantee reexportation within a period of 6 months.

Duly licensed customhouse brokers can furnish the required bond when the amount involved does not exceed 2,500 pesos. Samples may be reexported through any customs port, but the cancelation of the bond or refund of the cash deposit, if one has been made, is conditioned on the presentation of a copy of the customs manifest duly authenticated by the customs administrator, proving that the samples have been received on board the carrier by which they are reexported.

Time Required for Clearance. There is no unusual delay in the clearance of travelers" baggage and samples when documents are in order. If samples have no value, the matter is relatively simple. Travelers bringing in a personal supply of pipe tobacco, cigarettes, liquor, playing cards, perfumery, and articles considered luxuries may have to pay duty on these items. Advertising Matter. Catalogs of all kinds for advertising purposes are admitted duty free. Advertising matter is subject to the following rates of duty per kilogram (2.2046 pounds), gross weight: Almanacs, prospectuses, advertising and propaganda in sheets or unbound, printed in one color only, 40 centavos; when printed in different colors, 45 centavos. Other prospectuses, advertising matter and propaganda, bound, printed in one color only, 50 centavos; when printed in different colors, 55 centavos. Advertisements of iron or steel, galvanized, tinned, bronzed, varnished, painted, or enameled, 30 centavos; nickel or copper plated, 50 centavos. Advertisements on tin plate, painted or enameled, 30 centavos; when nickel plated, 50 centavos. Advertisements of wood and aluminum, 50 centavos; of ordinary wood in several colors, 60 centavos. Electrically illuminated advertising, 72 centavos. Shipments of advertising by parcel post are subject to a surtax of 15 percent of the import duty, and each package is also assessed a package fee of 10 centavos. If a parcel-post package (or a group of packages in a single shipment) has a value of more than 50 pesos, and arrives in Colombia without the required import license, consular invoice, and certificate of origin, the customs clearance of the goods and their delivery to the addressee will be delayed, pending receipt of the required documents. For each day's delay, a storage charge of 1 percent of the import duty is also assessed. Dutiable articles in letters and packages prepaid at the letter rate are prohibited.

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SALESMEN'S TAXES

No national commercial travelers' tax is levied on traveling salesmen, but in certain cities and towns there are municipal license fees to be paid ranging from 10 to 50 pesos. In each town inquiry should be made concerning this matter before canvassing is started, so as to avoid any unpleasant complications through failure to comply with local laws.

SALES TERRITORIES AND ROUTES

Some sales-agency subdivision of the territory must be made for Colombia, if it is to be covered properly. There are five major (separate and distinct) commercial areas in the Republic, excluding that of Cucuta, which is often worked out of Maracaibo, Venezuela. A few firms in Colombia are organized on a national scale, but as a rule, agencies granted for the entire Republic are not very successful. In most instances it will be found advisable to appoint separate agents for Cartagena, Barranquilla, Medellin, Bogota, and Cali. If a further break-down of the territory is to be made, other agencies may be established at Bucaramanga, Manizales, Santa Marta, and Pasto.

TRAVEL ROUTES

The routing of a traveler through Colombia to cover the territory adequately, and at the same time keep travel and expenses down to the necessary minimum, is something of a problem. Most American exporters have included Colombia in their Carribbean sales territory, and the majority of salesmen arriving in the country enter via Barranquilla. If the salesman has been working up the west coast of South America, entry may be made overland from Quito, Ecuador. Should he arrive from the south by plane, he will enter at Cali; or if he is using boat transportation, he will land at Buenaventura. Overland travelers from Venezuela enter at Cucuta, from which point they may proceed to Bogota or Bucaramanga by highway. Those arriving by plane or boat from Maracaibo usually stop over first at Barranquilla before canvassing interior Colombian cities. Travelers from Panama may proceed direct from Cristobal, Canal Zone, to Medellin by air line; or they may take a steamer to Cartagena or Barranquilla (Puerto Colombia), or a plane to Barranquilla.

Arriving at Barranquilla, a salesman should allow from 5 to 8 days to canvass the city. Santa Marta can be covered from Barranquilla in 2 to 3 days, if it is included in the salesman's itinerary of places to be visited. Cartagena may also be easily reached from Barranquilla. After having canvassed the Caribbean coast cities, the trip to the interior can be started. If leaving from Barranquilla, which is the most convenient point

from which to start, the salesman might select one of a number of routes, depending upon his choice of transportation and the amount of baggage he carries. There is no baggage-checking system on the river boats serving the interior, but it is possible to arrange with responsible baggage handlers known as “equipajeros" or one of several express companies to look after the baggage for a definite charge. This relieves the traveler of a good deal of responsibility and worry, reduces the danger of pilferage, and is well worth the additional expense, which will probably not be as great as if one tried to make arrangements for the transfer of baggage each time it is necessary on the interior journey.

Barranquilla-Medellin-Cali-Bogota-Bucaramanga. This journey, which includes the leading cities of the interior, can be made by plane in 30 to 40 days, including reasonable stop-overs for doing business at all centers. Planes leave Barranquilla daily for Medellin, making the trip in 2 to 21⁄2 hours. Cali is reached from Medellin in little more than 2 hours. From Cali the route leads to Bogota via Medellin. Should occasion be found to visit Manizales, the traveler leaves the plane at Cartago and proceeds to that city by rail or highway in 21⁄2 to 4 hours. The daily flight from Cali to Bogota consumes approximately 6 hours. Planes leave Bogota for Bucaramanga and Medellin twice a week. The cost of air transportation for the entire trip from Barranquilla and return to that point is less than 300 pesos. Barranquilla-Bogota-Bucaramanga-Medellin-Cali.-The first stage of this journey is made in express plane, which takes 24 hours from Barranquilla to Bogota. After working the capital of the Republic, the traveler can proceed to Bucaramanga by air line for a 2-day or 3-day stay, or he may leave Bogota direct for Medellin. There is a daily plane service between these latter two cities. From Medellin there are daily plane departures for Cali.

Buenaventura is reached in 6 hours by rail from Cali. Connections are made at Buenaventura with ocean steamers for Ecuador and the Canal Zone, also with the "SCADTA" planes twice a week for Quibdo, Cartagena, and Barranquilla. If the traveler wishes to leave the country from Cali by air line, he may take one of the planes of the Pan American Grace Airways for the Canal Zone or for Guayaquil, Ecuador. If he desires, he may proceed to Quito, Ecuador, overland. The overland trip affords him the opportunity of visiting Popayan and Pasto. Popayan is reached in 5 hours from Cali; from Popayan the traveler proceeds to Pasto by highway in 8 hours; and Ipiales, on the Ecuadoran-Colombian frontier, is reached in 8 hours from Pasto by highway.

Barranquilla-Medellin.—When leaving Barranquilla for the interior by the Magdalena River, the first stage of the journey is by boat to Puerto Berrio. Under favorable conditions this

part of the journey takes about 32 days. At Puerto Berrio a train is taken for Medellin, a trip of 6 to 7 hours.

Medellin-Bogota. When the air line is not used, this journey is usually made by one of two routes. A train ride from Medellin to Puerto Berrio is necessary in both cases. The most rapid route is from Puerto Berrio by highway to Bogota via Barbosa, or highway to Barbosa and then by train to Bogota. The latter city is reached from Puerto Berrio in 1 day. The other route is from Puerto Berrio to Puerto Salgar by river boat, and thence to Bogota by the Cundinamarca Railway. This trip takes from 2 to 31⁄2 days.

If Bucaramanga is to be visited on the up-river journey, it is necessary to stop at Puerto Wilches on the Magdalena, 2 to 3 days' travel from Barranquilla and below Puerto Berrio. At Puerto Wilches the railway is taken to Las Bocas, and from that point by automobile to Bucaramanga, a 1-day trip. If it is desired to avoid returning to Puerto Wilches for a river-boat connection for Puerto Berrio, the traveler may proceed in 1 day by highway from Bucaramanga to Puerto Berrio, where he can take the train for Medellin.

Bogota-Ibague-Armenia-Manizales.-After canvassing the Bogota district a traveler can work the western part of Colombia by rail to Ibague, thence by motorcar over the Quindio Pass to Armenia, where a day may be spent calling on the trade before continuing the journey to Manizales by rail or highway. A stop-over en route can also be made at Pereira. Manizales is reached from Bogota in 12 days if intervening cities are not visited.

Manizales-Cali.—This trip can be made by railway or highway in 1 day. Business in the intervening cities is small and usually does not justify stop-overs.

Travelers entering the country through Buenaventura, which is the seaport for Cali, or arriving overland at Cali from Ecuador, or from abroad by plane, as a rule leave the country via one of the Caribbean ports, and the itineraries they follow are usually the reverse of those beginning with Barranquilla as the point of departure for the interior cities.

A salesman's time in Colombia, if traveling by air, is often distributed more or less as follows: 2 weeks in the coastal towns of Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta; 1 week in Medellin; 14 days in Bogota; 3 days in Bucaramanga; 4 days in Manizales; 7 days in Cali. As very little time is lost in traveling between cities by plane, all the leading commercial areas of the country can be visited in less than 8 weeks. When such means of transportation as river boats, railways, and highways are utilized to the exclusion of air lines, the time ordinarily required to canvass the main business districts averages from 70 to 75 days.

The expense of a salesman for air transportation, subsistence, and minor incidentals in canvassing the three cities on the Caribbean coast and Medellin, Cali, Manizales, Bogota, and Bucaramanga would be in the neighborhood of 1,200 pesos. If the same cities are visited by boat, railway, and highway routes, the cost might be some 200 pesos less, unless a large amount of baggage is carried.

ADDITIONAL TRIPS

Extreme Eastern Part.-From Maracaibo, Venezuela, across Lake Maracaibo to Encontrados; thence by rail to Cucuta; from Cucuta by highway via Pamplona to Bogota or Bucaramanga, and continue as outlined in trips from the two latter cities.

Southward in the Interior.-Bogota to Neiva, Carzon, Florencia, Venecia, and thence to the Amazon Basin. This is a difficult trip and is made only by travelers having special missions to perform.

Northward From Bogota.-Bogota to Tunja, thence either to Duitama, Malaga, Pamplona, or Cucuta; or to Barbosa and Puerto Berrio; or to Barbosa, Socorro, and Bucaramanga. These places, which can be reached by highway, are generally left to the wholesalers of the large commercial centers.

From Cartagena.-To Turbo; thence via the Atrato to Quibdo by air line or boat. Also, from Cartagena by boat via the Sinu River to Lorica, Monteria, and Cerete; these places, however, are usually left to the attention of houses located in Cartagena. Only travelers who work "very close" occasionally visit them. From Cali.-To Popayan, Pasto, Tuquerres, Ipiales, Barbacoas, and Tumaco. This is a rather hard trip, but it permits the traveler to visit some places at which business is done, including Popayan, Pasto, and Barbacoas. The traveler can leave by way of Tumaco or Ipiales.

HINTS TO TRAVELERS

Best Visiting Time. The improvement of transportation facilities in recent years has relieved merchants of the necessity of carrying large inventories as a safeguard against uncertain or long-delayed deliveries, and it also has tended to eliminate heavy buying periods or seasons during which requirements for the next 4 to 6 months are placed. Travelers now find it possible to sell at any time of the year. As in most South American countries, merchants like to display a wide variety of lines for the Christmas holidays and for the Easter trade. Foreign orders for Christmas goods are usually placed from August to October; for Easter, in December and January.

Importance of Coffee Crop.-Salesmen who anticipate visiting Colombia should make inquiry about the coffee crop, inasmuch as the ability of Colombia to import foreign merchandise is in direct relation to the yield of the coffee crop and its market price.