Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-15
TO AID THE EXPORTER
Commercial Attaches to For
eiqn Embassies Desired.
WOULD SEND INFORMATION
Secretaries Root and Straus Much
Interested in the Matter.
WORK OF SPECIAL AGENTS
Reports Of Conditions in Markets in
other Countries Of Great Value
to Manufacturers.
WORK OF SPECIAL AGENTS
RY WILLIAM T.. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
| Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
| HeralI
| In the estimates for appropriations sent
to Congress by the Department Of State
j is recommendation for the appointment
| Of four commercial attaches to be as
signed to the various embassies and lega'
tons Of the United States in foreign
countries at the discretion of the Presi-
dent, with salaries Of $4,000 each and al
! lowances of 81, 500 each for travelling ana
other expenses. Secretary Root and sec
rotary Straus of the Department OF Com
merce and Labor are both very much IN
terested in this proposit!on-the former
because he is alert to every opportunity
| to promote the commercial interests OF the
country. and the latter especially because
| THE proposed attaches would be able 10
furnish information much desired by the
| department over which he presides.
bassies anc legations of other countries.
Several of the European governments
| have similar representatives here In
Washington. Several Of them also nave
agricultural experts attached to their en-
| basSies to report upon our agricultural
progress. the new methods and machin-
| cry the development of new plants and
| new ideas of cultivation. and to obtain
| the benefits of the Investigations that are
going on all the time by the scientific eX-
| perts connected with Secretary wilson 8
| department. The government or the
| United States is doing more than all the
| other governments of the earth combined
| to promote agricultural science and we
lions and the knowledge thus acquired
with the rest of the universe The publ
cations of the Department of Agriculture
and all the scientific branches of the
| several executive departments are circu-
| lated as freely in Europe and the other
| continents as they are in the United
| States, and although We have had the
benefit of investigations that have been
| conducted by other governments, they
| are not nearly SO important or SO extern
| sive as our own.
Value Of Expert Reports.
| Secretary Root thinks it would be a
great advantage to the export trade If
we had trained men at the embassies and
| legations in Europe to pay especial at
tention to commercial conditions. to
| changes in the markets, to matters OF
supply and demand for agricultural and
manufa ctured products and to furnish
accurate and prompt information to the
export houses in this country. which Will
| give them a better understanding of the
| lines of business in which they are en-
gagged. Our -consuls are expected to fur
| nish this Information and they have
done and are doing SO with great fidelity
and intelligence. No other government
has more efficient corps Of consuls than
the United States. notwithstanding the
criticisms that have recently been made
| by persons who ought to know better.
| And since the service has been reorgan-
| lied, the salaries increased. the merit
system introduced. and the consular
Ctof> 81
ment. there has been a decided improve
ment in the personnel. But. at/the same
time, no consul can give expert fnforma-
ton upon certain commercial subjects
as well as trained business man. who
Is authorized to travel from place to
place as necessary, and that is what Sec
rotary Root and Secretary Straus are
asking for.
We already have several travelling
commercial agents in the field. who have
furnished much valuable information for
the benefit of our exporters. Their re-
ports appear regularly in the daily bull
letins Of the bureau of manufactures.
Some Of the Experts.
Mr.. charles NJ. Pepper, veteran news
paper man and a keen observer. has
given as very important reports on gen.
eral trade conditions in South America.
Egypt, India and other parts of the world.
He is now travelling in the South Aner-
can republics; has just finished report
on Colombia. and is now writing one on
Ecuador.
Arthur Butman. an expert on leather.
boots and shoes and similar lines OF trade.
is in Mexico at present after having made
admirable reports from other parts of
the world In his particular line OF in
Quiry.
The reports of w. A. Graham Clark.
a specialist in cotton fabrics. have at
tracted wide attention among manufac-
turers and exporters of textiles, not only
In this country. but abroad. He has
visited China, Japan. Italy. India. the
Straits Settlements. the Levant and other
consuming countries, and has made elab-
crate reports upon the conditions and
requirements of their markets He is
producing countries. England. Scotland
Germany and France. and will tell us
how the manufacturers there are handling
their trade.
Rcwland B. Dennis an expert in agri-
cultural impleme nts. who has represented
one of the largest manufacturers in Eu-
rop, for a long period and who speaks
French and German. has recently been
appointed to make an investigation of
tho markets of Europe and the competi-
ton which American manufacturers are
meeting ~ that line. He is already ia
miliar with the conditions surrounding the
agricultural implement trade in every city
from Dublin to Odessa. and his perience
tanning information. The International
Harvester Company of Chicago has ex
pended many thousands Of dollars in
making inve stigations on it's own &C
count the advantage of which may be
seen i'm the rapidly increasing volume of
its exports.
Capt Godfrey L. Garden of the revenue
cutter service, who was In charge of the
machinery department at the st. Louis
exposition. and is an expert in machinery
and machinists tools. has been employed
as a special agent of the bureau of manu-
features to conduct an inquiry In Europe
and to ascertain how the manufacturers
Of this country may best secure larger
share of those markets; what peculiar re-
quirements exist. and what special lines
Of machinery can be most readily intro
duced there. He will furnish the manu-
facturers Of machinery and machine tools
in this country with description of the
methods used by their European competi-
tors and ascertain the other information
that may be of great value.
Mr.. A. G. Perkins. another special agent,
is a specialist in cottonseed oil and kim
will visit the other European countries in
order to promote the sale of cottonseed
oil, cottonseed mea! and similar products.
Aim Of the Inquiries.
when these Investigations were first
started said Maj. John NJ. Carson, chief
of the bureau of manufactures. they
were largely, if not entirely. experimental.
They were something new. 1t was the
IN 10 arf nf arrr