Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-22
UNCLE SANS DAILY
Newspaper Issued by Depart
ment of Commerce.
C0NSULS FOR REPORTERS
Bureau of Manufactures and What It
is Doing.
TO HELP FOREIGN TRADE
Valuable Information for American
Exporters-Our Business Agents
Acknowledgements Methods.
10 HELP FOREIGN TRAD.

Copyright. 1906, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
have just had talk with the chief of
the bureau of manufactures of the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor as to
what Uncle Sam is doing to increase his
foreign trade. This bureau is one of the
most important branches of the govern
ment. Our foreign trade is rapidly in
creasing and our domestic exports now
greater than those Of any other nation.
We sold to foreign countries more than
81, 700, 100000 worth of goods during the
year ended June 80, 1906 and of this more
than 5000, 100000 consisted of manufac-
lures. 1t used to be that the most of our
wealth came from the farms Today we
have about SO Coo coo coo invested in man
ufacturing plants, and those plants are
now turning out something like SIS, OOO,-
OO0,000 worth of goods every year. This
enormous product Is more than we can
consume and. if the plants to be kept
busy. We must have increased markets for
our surplus abroad. 1t is the business Of
the bureau of manufactures to aid in flnd-
ins such markets. and also an outlet for
our enormous surplus of agricultural
products the sales of which last year ap-
proximated 81 600 100000.
1t takes good man to be chief of
bureau like this, and President Roosevelt
chose well when he selected Maj John NJ
Carson for the position. Maj. Carson has
for thirty years and more been one of the
leading newspaper correspondents at
Washington, and as such he has been
noted an authority on all matters con-
nected with manufactures and commerce
He was close associate of McKinley's
and as clerk of the ways and means COM
mittee he assisted in forming the tariff
acts of 1883 and the famous Mckinley bill
Of 1890. Indeed. he is the originator Of the
system of utilizing our consus as business
agents, or at least of making their reports
OF actual value to cur exporters and man.
ufacturers. 1t used to be that when the
consuls made reports they were stuck
away In pigeonholes until the end of the
ume known as the Commercial Relations
OF the United States. This volume went
only TO congressman and government OFF,
Gals, and 1t was of no practical value to
the business men OF the country. This
was the condition until William NJ
Evarts became Secretary of State away
back In the days of Rutherford B. Hayes.
About that time Maj Carson having NOT
ed the valuable business news contained
in these reports, suggested to Secreta,y
Evarts that they ought &c b. given to the
press when th9y were fresh. and the re2ut
was that Evarts Is sued them as q monthly
magazine and sent them out all over the
country. This publication was continued
until about year or SO ago. when the
State Department published the reports as
daily Then came the transfer CT tn.
United States consuls as business agents
to the bureau of manufactures of the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor and the
as editor of the daily. As to the work
since then and as to the possibilities of TIE
future i can give them pest In the words
of Maj. Carson himself.
Uncle Sans Daily.
Eve have materially changed the
daily which the government publishes
giving the latest reports from our consuls
on foreign trade matters" said Major Car
son. LAS It was issued by the State De-
partment, the consuls wrote on all sorts
of things, gathering their information
from variety of sources and roaming the
world for subjects. A consul at Lyons
France, for instance. might send in an es-
say on Confucius. or one in South Africa
treatise on the raising of silk worms in
China. An agent situated at the icy port
OF Vladivostock might discuss the heat
rays of the equator, and a consul at Para
at the mouth OF the Amazon, describe the
course of the icebergs on their way down
from the pole. At 1t Is now we are de-
voting ourselves to reports on trade mat
tiers only and are largely combining the
Investigations Of the consuls to their own
districts and as to how American trade
may be pushed In those districts. We are
cutting out the essays and superfiuous
matter. and are gathering live, up-to-date
Information about our foreign trade and
Its possibilities from various other sources
We have materially improved the daily in
its value to our exporting and manufac-
turing interests, and we find that It is more
and more appreciated from day to day 1t
now goes TO every large manufacturer of
the country as well as to every exporter
Of note. 1t has such a standing abroad
that the consular agents send 1t to their
governments. and the foreign newspapers
quote largely from It, I got a request the
other day from the editors OF the London
Times that II be sent regularly to them
and we now have the London Times on our
exchange list"
How many copies DO you PUBLISH"
asked.
1.-The number of copies issued daily is
only 5000. but that gives idea of our
circulation" said Major Carson. Those
5000 copies reach our whole population.