Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-07

trade. which becomes year by year more
important to the industrial and CONNER
cial welfare of the United states We
should have a hexibility of tariff SUM-
cient for the give and take OF negotiation
by the Department of State on behalf OF
our commerce and industry.
American Merchant Marine.
I need hardly reiterate the conviction
that there should speedily be built up an
American merchant marine. This is nee
essary to assure favorable transportation
facilities to our great ocean-borne COM
merce as we'll AS to supplement- the navy
with an adequate reserve of ships ana
men. 1t would have the economic ad-
vantage of keeping at home part of the
vast sums now paid foreign shipping for
carrying American goods. All the great
commercial nations pay heavy Suosidies
to their merchant marine. so that II Is
obvious that without some wise aid from
the Congress the United States must lag
behind in the matter of merchant marine
in its present anomalous position.
Extension of Banking.
Legislation to facilitate the extension of
American banks to foreign countries is
another matter in which our foreign trade
needs assistance.
Chambers of Foreign Commerce.
The interests of our foreign commerce
are non-partisan. and as a factor i'm pros
perity are as broad as the land. In the
dissemination of useful information and
i'm the coordination of effort certain UNI
official associations have done good work
toward the promotion of foreign COM
MERGE 1t is cause for regret. however,
that the great number of such associa-
h1 fix-n anly nf CO
operation between them fails to secure
| an efficiency commensurate with the pub
| lie interest. Through the agency of the
Department of Commerce and Labor. and
| in some cases directly. the Department OF
State transmits TO reputable business in
| tereSts information of commercial oppor-
| tunitieS experimenting the regular pub
| lished consular reports. Some central Or
ganization in touch with associations and
| chambers of commerce throughout the
| country and able to keep purely Ameri-
| can interests in closer touch with dlifer-
ent phases of commercial affairs would,
| believe. be of great value. such organi-
| Zation might be managed by committee
composed of a small number of those
now actively carrying on the work OF
| some of the larger associations. ana
| there might be added to the committee,
as members eX Officio, one or two ON
cia's of the Department OF state ana
one or two officials from the Department
| of Commerce and Labor and representa-
tives of the appropriate committees of
Congress.
The authority and success of such an
organization would evidently be enhanced
if the Congress should see fit to prescribe
its scope and organization through legis-
lation which would give to it some such
official standing as that. for example OF
the National Red Cross.
With these factors and the continuance
of the. foreign service establishment tde-
partmental. diplomatic and consular) up
on the high plane where it has been
placed by the recent reorganization TINS
government would be abreast of the
times i'm fostering the interests of its
foreign trade, and the rest must he lett
to the energy and enterprise of our bust
ness men.