The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-02
Floating Exposition Projected
 for Near Future
TRIP COVERS 6O,OOO MILES
Manufactures Can Subscribe for Any Amount of Space In Which to Make an Exhibit of Their
 Wares.

| Washington, October 1.-(Special)-The | Export Shipping company of New York advises the department of commerce and labor that they have decided to adopt q suggestion made by officer of the de- partment in an article appearing in the | Geographic Magazine in 1901. They agree | to equip large steamer and furnish space thereon to American manufactur- CTS to make display of the goods they | manufacture and send this steamer around the world on 6o,00o-mie trip to consume about flfeen months time.
 Briefly, the plan Is to allow each man. ufacturer who subscribes for forty square l feet of space or more to display his goods and to send on the steamer a representa- tive, whose duty 1t will be to see that the exhibit is properly arranged at each 1 port, to meet the merchants and dealers ! invited to inspect the exhibits. explain the utility and advantages possessed by the goods, quote prices delivered in the country of consumption, terms under which goods are sold, appoint agents for representing the manufacturer direct and extending the sale of the goods, ascertain what the market of the country demands and the competition to be met. This rep | a personal investigation that any agent so appointed to represent his principal shall be of good character and financially able to meet his obligations. If the stand ing of agents Is carefully gone into there should be no objection to extending ordi- nary business credit and no more risk in doing so than Is experienced in granting time payments to domestic customers
 Will Attract Wide Attention.
 This novel undertaking Is bound to cre- ate wide interest In the commercial world,
 and its progress will be watched keeniy
 by the various trade journals and news papers. so that all merchants in the coun-
 tries visited will be familiar with the fact
 that the exposition is to call at his ports
 Under these circumstances 1t will not be a hard matter to induce him to visit the ship.
 The date of arrival in the ports will be advertised and all interested will be ad- vised to obtain tickets of admission at the newspaper offices, the chamber of | commerce, the American consul or the office of the Export Shipping company. It Is also proposed to print in the lan- guage of each country catalogue show | ing the name of each exhibitor, the name l Of his representative, the position in the ship of the display and full description of the goods exhibited As in most in- stances 1t will not be possible to obtain direct land communication, so 1t will be necessary to bring the visitors off in | launches, which will also necessitata serving lunch on the steamer as well as insure that sufficient time will be granted for each visitor to examine thoroughly each and every exhibit on the ship
 The luncheon should provide a most ex- cellent opportunity for the demonstration of American food products.
 Can Learn Foreign Languages.
 All firms participating shall conform to reasonable rules and the representatives on the ship shall be afforded an oppor- tunity to acquire knowledge of French. | Spanish and German, and are expected to embrace the opportunity. In this way such representative will gain knowledge of trade conditions and possess the abil- | ity Of being able to answer letters, after 1 his return, in the language of the inquiry, thus making his services very valuable to his principal. It is not expected that sufficient sales will be made while on the trip to compensate the participants | In the plan, but the seed will be sown in | fertile ground, which will bear fruit for years to come. The plan will appeal par | ticularly to firms who already have an | export trade and agents in the different | countries, as the agents would assuredly | be fattered to receive a visit from the | representative of the manufacturers and | the opportunity would afford him splen- | did chance for calling attention of his l customers and others interested to the l display, and also allow him to explain on | the spot what special facilities or changes | fin standard goods or manner of putting | on sale will lead to an increase in busi- | ness.
 | The expense of the trip is to be borne | entirely by sale of space and on a mutual | basis.
 | Expense Ia Not Great
 | The available space is 20,00O square feet | and the price Is fixed at $50 per square | foot. The prospectus of the promoters | shows in detail the estimated expenses l and the surplus remaining at the termi- | nation of the trip Is to be returned to | those who participate pro rata. It is ex- pected that the net cost of space will not | exceed s35 per square foot of space and l $500 for meals and incidental expenses of l the representative. This, on a basis of 40 | square feet of space. means that the en- | tire cost for travelling expenses and show | ing samples will be about $5 per day. or less than the cost of domestic exploita- ton on a similar scale. if such were pos | sible.
 The exhibits will be cared for and all | necessary janitor service, lighting and a | limited amount of power for working | exhibits will be furnished without extra | expense
 l The promoters call attention to the fact that the enterprise Is not designed as money making plan. but a dignifed broad-minded plan to further the cause | of Amerfca's export trade, and the conse- quent increase of business which will naturally fall to the promoters share. ---~--
 pr. Nevin Back From Switzerland.