Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-17
A FLOATING EXPOSITION.

l A floating exposition, carrying sam- l pies. of our merchandise around the world and putting our merchants i1r touch with those of all nations, seems | to me asfitting American enterprise for l the beginning of the, new century,. | The niIleteenth century has made the l United. States the greatest exporting 1 nation of the world; why not begin l the twentieth by showing to all the world what we have to sell and how to sell it.
 I Exhibitions of the products of in- I dustry have proved beneficial to trade I wherever undertaken, whether the l ancient flair" or the more modern i s'exposition.1 The travelling salesman l with his sample cases has become q
 necessity rof modern mercantile suc- l cess; commercial museums'' exhibit
 to the dealers of one country the class l of goods required in other lands, and I the great EuropeaIf nations now send out commercial missions" to inquire into and report upon the trade oppor- l tunities in distant countries.
 1 But each of thesc methods has it's limit of infiuence The fair or ex- I position is dependent for. it's success
 upon the number of peopIe6it can at tract to its doors, the travelling sales
 man represents but q single estaDnsh- i inent or industry, the commercial mus cum conveys its information only to
 the seller and not the buyer, md the
 commercial mission gathers inforina- Iftion regarding the wants of distant people, but is unable to offer them | samples of the goods which it's own l people have to meet those wants. l Why not combine the valuable fea- lures Of these various aids to commerce l in ,a great cnte9prise-a 1.fioating ex- l position" which shall carry samples of
 our merchandise to the very doors of l thes people whose trade we would
 gfoster. and by bringing the buyer and
 seller into personal contact: establish fsueh mutua. understanding of wants
 and conditions as to facilitate the in- tcrchangc for which each is dcsirous? :? l The imports of: Asia, Occania. 1 Africa, and the American countries
 south Of the United States amount to 4 over two billion dollars every year. 1 Nearly all of these importations are l of the very class of goods which we I want to sell-foodstuffs, textiles, min eTal oils, machinery and manufactures l of all kinds; yet our sales to these | grand divisions in the best year of our commerce, 1900, only amounted to
 about $200 ,000, or 10 per cent of l their purchases. The annual imports | of Asia and Oceana are over a billion dollars. those of Africa over l four hundred millions, and those of
 the other countries lying south of the
 United states about six hundred mil lions.
 Most of the cities through which these two billion dollars worth Of
 goods are first distributed lie on the 1 seacoast, and could be readily reached by a fleet of vessels loaded with sam les of American products and manu- factures. 1t is we'll known that the lack of practical knowledge as to the local trade requirements, such as methods of packing, kind of goods re- Cuired,- length of credit, etc, is the chief obstacle to the introduction of American goods in these countries, and that until this obstacle shall have been overcome we can not expect to obtain the share in that trade to which our location and facilities of
 production and manufacture entities
 Us.
 If a floating exposition were system
 atically organized, loading one vessel
 with exhibits of food stuffs, another
 with textiles, another with agricul-
 tura1 implements and vehicles, another
 with manufactures of iron and steel,
 another with household requirements,
 and another with Yankee Notions"
 and sent from port to port and con
 tinent to continent, it should prove
 highly advantageous to our commer-
 cial relations with all of the countries
 visited.
 Every manufactures or exporter
 sending an exhibit would naturally send with it q capable representative,
 |, hn me
 chant the qualities of his goods and ther fitness or unfitness for local
 markets
 The coming of an exhibition of this character would attract at each port not only the business men of that
 city, but those of other commercial centers in this vicinity, and by this process the wholesale merchant of the
 United States would speak face to face with those of every country
 visited, and i'll these discussions would learn in a practical way the obstacles which now prevent a free exchange of commerce and the meth ods by which they can be overcome.
 In addition to this, q corps of ex- perts could gather samples of the goods now being sold in the. countries visited, the prices obtained, the length of credit given, the banking and exchange facilities existing and required, and other facts which would prove valuable not only to those di- rectly participating in the enterprise, but to all manufacturers and mer- chants Of the United States, by their exhibition in commercial museums and by published reports.
 Present conditions seem to be ex- ceptionally favorable. The producers, manufacturers, and merchants of the United States are greatly interested in the extension of markets for Ameri- can goods, and the Bureau of Statis- ties is daily besieged with inquiries for information bearing upon this sub feet. The past three years have been exceptionally successful, and yet have shown the necessity of finding an in- creased outlet for the surplus which :! the American manufacturers show themselves capable of producing. and 1t seems not unreasonable to believe that they would look upon a reasonable expenditure for the extension of trade as money we'll invested. great worlds fair has just been held i'll Paris. at which many Americans made exhibits, some parts Of which would be suited to floating exposition such as has been suggested. A great es- J~-f