The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-15

meeting which Is to be held in few days will be the first of this kind. MT. Far rell Will be the first speaker. and it is the presumption in this city that he will lay before his hearers views which he has at one time or another delivered in public. in which he has spoken of the methods whereby the worlds markets for American manufactured products may from year to year be increased.
 Mir. Farrell is understood to regard the time as especially opportune for the meet Ing of representative American exporters of manufactured commodities. The meet ing will take place about six months after the new tariff law was put upon the stat Ute books. Undoubtedly some statistics will be presented to the meeting which at least upon superficial reading might lead to the impression that the new tariff law is not likely favorably to influence our international trade in manufactured com modites. For the record of the first six months shows that importations of manu- factured products have increased, while there has geen a falling off of the exports of manufacturers. The convention will be told that the government statistics show that in the first six months of the opera tion of the present tariff law there was an increase of SIP, ,000, ,000 in money value of the importations of finished manufac- lures as compared with a like period of the previous year when the Payne Aldrich law was upon the books. There was an increase of imported manufactured ma terial under the new tariff law of the money value of s4S,000,000, whereas in a like period of last year the money value of these exports was S2,0oo,O00.
 Is It Temporary or Permanent?
 At the meeting which is to be held in Washington two weeks hence there will be considerable discussion based upon the question: Do these statistics mean that our importations are to be conoinually increased while our exportations of manu- factured products are hereafter to be de- creased; or, on the other hand, are these figures no more than illustrative of the process of readjustment of American business of all kinds to the new tariff law?
 President Farrell is not one of those who regard the tariff law as necessarily an impeachment standing in the way of our exportation of manufactured products. He has gained his prominence as an American manufacturer, and is now chief executive of the United States Steel corporation be- cause he has for some years demonstrated himself to be a master of both the science and the art of great salesmanship, espe- cially the making of sales outside of our domestic markets, Those who have chat ted with MT. Farrell have been persuaded that he is convinced that American manu- lecturers can hold and increase their for eign markets no matter what the tariff law may be. provided they all adopt scien- tific and economic methods of market ing.
 Great as has been the increase in expor- tation from the United States of manufac- tured commodities within the last 10 years it probably would have been greater had American manufacturers acted more in CO., operation, not meaning by that any CO., operation which is in violation of the spirit or letter of the law. Germany owes nc small part of her really marvellous ad- vance as an exporter of manufactured products to policy which, in agriculture, might be described as the intensive meth cd. That involves a certain spirit of CO., operation which by no means eliminates competition.
 The American Way
 Up to this time the American exporters of manufactured products have followed an exclusive policy, although that has