The Washington herald., 1912-04-27
A Commercial Museum.

Napoleon once sneeringly spoke of
the English people as "a nation of
shopkeepers," and aristocratic England
smarted under the imputation. Had he
known US he might more truthfully
have spoken of US as nation of manu-
facturers, and we would, in our demo-
cratic fashion, have appreciated the
compliment That is what Americans
are, and they are proud OF. the distinc-
ton. Out of the independent efforts of
individuals toward commercial and in
dustriaI supremacy there has recently
come hopeful signs of that organiza-
ton of forces and systematization of
the determination that America shall
cae day win the trade of the world,
;hich spells successful endeavor.
For some time we have had here an
energetic and forceful direction of the
supreme effort that the South is now
making throughout every corner of the
sixteen States to take that high place
in the commercial and industrial world
for which a prodigal nature has so
lavishly endowed her Washington has
been the seat of the executive Offices of
the Southern Commercial Congress,
which has this great work in hand. One
of the most convincing educative forces
in this work is the commercial and in
dustrial museum installed here recent
ly by that organization. This is de-
signed to show the possibilities of each
of the constituent States through an ex-
hibit of the resources and products pc
euiiar to each and common to all. This
step is one of supreme value in teach
ing the people of the United States
who may see in it just what the South
can do and upon what the men who are
behind this movement base their hopes
and their predictions.
As an advertisement of the South
this museum cannot be surpassed by
even the apparently limitless ingenuity
Of the modern advertising man. Thou
sands of tourists will have presented to
them through this museum an object
lesson which will give them truths of
the situation which will far exceed
their fondest imaginings.
All that the South has done through
the organization of its bodies of busi-
ness men, through its individual firms,
who have freely contributed to the sup
port of this movement, may well be
emulated by the National Congress on
a larger scale to take in the whole OF
the United States, here and abroad, in
order TO give to our own people some
adequate view of the wealth of this ma
ton from a commercial and industrial
point of view. Washington has,
through the facilities afforded by the
scientific organizations fostered by the
Federal government. perhaps the finest
scientific museums in the world. Let us
have through the agency of the new
commercial congress a museum of COM
merce and industry which viii gather
up. from all corners of the world
through the aid of the Bureau of Com
merce and Labor a collection Of raw
products, articles in course of manu-
facture. finished products. and the re-
sources of the several parts of the
United States, which will rank in
completeness with the finest scientific
collections, but which will far tran
scend any of them in the practical and
helpful education which such will i'm
part. Such is the twentieth century
museum which the new order demands
for its progress, This, too, will serve
as the best of all outward and visible
signs of the usefulness and activity of
the new body.