Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-10-01

- and every night for the 300
working days of the year!
- Would II not pay to take care
OF IL? suppose you sold on every one OF
those days total OF 100000 and the
year something like s1.SOOOOO,O0O Would
not you want TO increase Il?
That is what Uncle Sam Is doing as TO
our foreign trade. His exports in 1908
sold for over $500. 100000. They were al.
most as much last year. and they will
run close to tho same amount this We
are among the chief merchants in the
great market house " the world. We
are still fed by Great Britain and Ger
many. but our foreign trade is RAPIDLY
growing, and the day will come when We
shall be the biggest traders OF the whole
world.
This letter will tell you some of the
means by which Uncle Sam, patriarch, Ia
increasing that trade. There are two de-
partments which arc especially devoted
TO It, One is the agricultural branch OF
tho government, which has to do with our
crop experts and the other is the De-
pRrtment OF Commerce and Labor, which
deals with both manufacturers and crops.
The crops have always had a large part
In the business. The manufactures are
OF more recent growth. but they promise
in time to surpass all that which comes
from the soil.
Have you any idea how much our
manufacturing business amounts to? 1
dislike 20 use figures; they mean so little
when they get into the millions. / had
an interview not long ago with Mrs.
Hetty Green, the richest woman on earth
during which she told me her mind re-
fused to work on anything over 81. OOOOOO.
My mind is stunned by 100000 and the
word billion means nothing but exceed
ingly large" The only way 20 realize
such conceptions is by homely COMPARE
sons
Well. in figures the products we mako
annually in Our factories are worth Sl5,-
oOOOOo,OOo or $4,000. 10000: they are so
many that II every man. woman and
child on this big. round earth could have
an equal share OF them the amount held
by each would DO just $40, IL they were
all divided among our own 100000 pop
ulation each Of us would have $50 worth,
and the share Of each family would be
$40 or more
Again, look at the money invested in
our manufacturing businessl The capital
u.
cost OF the materials annually used is
somewhere between 5000 10000 and $40. =
0oooo0,ooo The industries here taken into
account arc only those confined to the
factories, and the men employed in them
arc 10000 or eOoOOo. Tho census divides
our great industries into fourteen groups.
and OF them five are each making prod
u,ts OF more than $1,000 a year
Moreover, the amounts are steadily in
creasing. and we need more foreign trade
20 keep the hands busy. our foreign
sales already foot up over s76s 900 900. and
had We the markets We could easily mako
II billion. They now amount 10 about
40 per cent more than they were In 1900
and over double tho amount OF our OK
ports OF manufactures IN tho year 1sso
Indeed, We are rapidly climbing TO the
top among tho nations which are selling
the most goods made by machine and by
hand. We now rank third. being only
exceeded by Great Britain and Germany.
All this Is preliminary to a talk which
have just had with Mr.. A. II. Baldwin.
the chief OF tho bureau of manufactures
of the Department OF Commerce and
labor, and OF the story OF how Uncle
Sam Is trying 20 push foreign trade
This bureau was established TO collect
information as 10 where and how the
goods should be shipped. II is operated
IN conjunction with the consular service
and gathers all sorts OF Information for
our manufacturers who would do business
abroad. II publishes a daily paper made
up OF the reports OF the consuls as they
come In. and has on hand vast amount
OF confidential information which Il for
wards TO those factories which can sup.
ply foreign needs.
This daily is about the only paper pub
lished by the United states government
The copy issued this morning now lies
before me; Il contains twenty pages and
has reports from Japan. China, Germany
England, Australia and Canada Several
pages are devoted 10 foreign trade op.
portunities. including the openings fol
American shoes In Germany. for apples
IN England and for lard. flour aud cot
t0nseed oil az Mediterranean ports. An
other page suggests how our vacuum
cleaners might be sold In certain Euro
pean cities, and others report business
firms In number Of counties whicl
want certain things which the factorie
IHahins thrin ih tue Uniied States, i