Evening star., 1899-07-08


each exporter or manufacturer TO study
this matter Independently would require a
great deal of expenditure of time and
money, but when done on a large scale and
on the collective principle it becomes a
simpler matter.
What the Exposition Aims to Do.
1T will bring together within small conf
pass ard place at the disposal Of American
producers and exporters all that our COM
petitors have learned from their long years
of experience.
That Is to say, the American boot and
shoe manufacturer viii find gathered here
all the kinds of footgear nov sold in the
countries afTOrding q market for Jhat class
of goods. He will see, fer example, Just
what kinds of shoes are supple ed TO Central
America. He will see also the cost pdce OF
these articles and the price for which they
sell. With a very little effort he will be
able, therefore, 10 figure out whether he
can proftably make shoes 20 compete with
those of European manufacturers in the
Central American market.
"Of course. this is only one small phase
of the work contemplated by the exposition,
but it serves to show the purpose of the un-
dertaking. From the letters and inquiries
already received we know that 1t will at
tract to this country great number of for
eign dealers who are prospective customers.
1t will be no less Interesting to the Amer
lean producer and the American consumer
showing what his own country and his
! fellows are doing to meet foreign competi,
ton in the markets of the world. Unless all
| indications are at fault the enterprise will
benefit our trade to the extent of millions.
Character of Exhibits.
| The exhibits displayed at the exposition
will be unique and highly interesting in
| character They will all be articles of COM
| merce Side by side will be shown, for ex-
ample the various forms of headgear worn
| in different parts of the world. Each dis
! play will be marked by a card indicating
| where it is produced, what the cost of pro
| duction is and for how much ii sells. The
! cloth manufacturer will see exactly what
| styles and qualities of print cloth go to
| adorn our new subjects in the Philippines
/ and whether they are sold at price that
! he can meet in competition. on account of
| the divergent character of the EXHIBITS and
| the worldwide area which they Will repre-
! sent. the display will be highly interesting
to the curious visitor and student of GUS
| toms, as well to the seeker after prac-
tical information.
| Even in the efforts to make the eXposi-
| tion's displays attractive to the ordinary
| visitor the practical is not lost to sight
Instead of midway and similar attrac-
| tons, there will be a Chinese street repro
| duced exactly with people. customs and
| costumes. There will be Filipino village
| and other up-to-date features calculated to
| be of value to the persons Interested in the
possibilities of traffic with these countries.
Packing for Shipment.
! One of the most practical of the exposi-
ton features will be display showing how
goods should be packed and prepared for
| shipment to different countries. One COM
| paint that has frequently been made
| against American goods has been that they
| were not packed properly to meet local con-
| ditions in the countries to which they were
! shipped. Goods sent to interior points in
/ South America where it necessary to
| convey them by pack mules, have been
| shipped in 30O-pound package cases In
| other instances goods have not been pre-
| pared properly to withstand the severe
| handling or the climatic changes that they
| encounter.
To remedy this d practical demonstra-
| ton will be made Philadelphia by men
| familiar with transportation conditions in
the different countries showing how goods
are to be prepared for shipment. There
will be many other features of an equally
| practical nature in the progress of the ex-
| position.
The exposition grounds are located on
the banks of the Schuylkill river well with
in the city of Philadelphia. Tney comprise
| eight acres. After the close of the eXposl-
ton the principal building will be used as
| a permanent home for the Philadelphia
commercial museum.
The Commercial Museum.
The exposition is in fact an outgrowth
of the work of the commercial museum, of
which Charles H. Cramp is the president
and Dr. William p. Wilson the managing
director The museum has been actively in
| operation for two years. Its work consists
in collecting and distributing commercial
| information for American exporters, and
| in calling attention of foreign buyers to
| American products. The museum main
tains a permanent exposition in Phiadei-
phfa where it displays all the trade prod
ucts that are likely to be of practical in
| terest to Americans. For example, its wool
| exhibit contains over one thousand speci-
| men heeces, including samples of every
variety grown in any part of the world.
| Another part of the Institutions work is
| the investigation of credits 1t keeps a list
| of the principal dealers in all foreign ports
with all available Information to his
| credit trustworthiness and the extent of
his business This information is at the dis
posal of American shippers and is of great
| convenience to them.
The museum collects and keeps on file all
| current information regarding the progress
! of our export trade.
| DR.. Wilson says on this subject:
Our Growing Exports.
1.-The Investigations which we keep con-
stantly on foot show that there is a steady,
rapid and healthy growth in the export OF
general manufactures. For instance, no.
body will be surprised by the statement
| that we shipped abroad 100000 worth
of iron and iron manufactures last year
but it may occasion some surprise to know
: that we also exporte '$9, ,o00, ,o09 of agricul-
tural implements, S9.0o0.000 of chemicals
100000 of bicycles, S13.o00000 of oil coke
100000 of carriages and the same amount
; and 100000 of boots and shoes. This list