But the old
pencil habit is too strong and a weekly hunt has to be instituted on the
French docks for odd cases containing valuable consignments of machine
tools. Vexatious delays result. It is just one more nail that the
heedless American manufacturer drives into the coffin of his French
business.
These incidents and many more that I could cite, are merely the
approach, however, to a succession of mistakes that make you wonder if
so-called Yankee enterprise gets stage fright or "cold feet" as soon as
it comes in contact with French commercial possibilities. Let me now
tell the prize story of neglected trade opportunity.
Last spring the American Commercial Attache in Paris made a speech at a
dinner in Philadelphia. He painted such a glowing picture of trade
prospects in France that the head of one of the greatest hardware
concerns in America, who happened to be present, came to him afterwards
with enthusiasm and said: "We want to get some of that foreign business
you talked about and we will do everything in our power to land it. Help
us if you can."
The Attache promised that he would and returned to his post in Paris. He
studied the hardware situation and found a tremendous need for our
goods. He was about to make a report to the hardware manufacturer when
an alert upstanding young American breezed into his office and said:
"I have been looking into the hardware situation here and I find that
there is a big chance for us.
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