The chronicle=news., 1914-12-29

nual meeting of the American Asso-
citation for the Advancement of
Science. Philadelphia, Dec -mbcr %
1914, by Hon. Charles H. Sheriff.,
late American minister to Argentina.
Listen 10 a message from the coun-
try, give new freedom to our, rail
roads and our dying merchant ma
rine so that they can aid our cru
SADIE Tor foreign trade, and permit
American labor employers to comb ne
abroad 50 as successfully to compete
there against foreign combinations
paying much lower wages" So au-
dible is this message in all parts of
our land that if there be legislators
who have not already heard at least
some of i:s wave sounds. then there
must he something wrong with their
political wireless telegraph apparatus
or to drop int, archaic phrase, they
haven got their ears to the ground"
This message comes from an aroused
country which has recently become
aware of certain entanglcments that
ii wants removed. Rip Van Wrinkle
has awakened from his long repose
in the Catskills of home trade, but
the first few attempts to stretch him
Creepcrs have grown about his Ii Lbs.
Those creepers will have to go. and If
the sharpness of existing legislative
wits are net sharp enough to cut
them, Others will be found to do it.
The country from which this mes
where the farmer sees no further
than his boundary fence, or the
banker his local customers, or the
n crchant the HON" markct alone.
Not Only are farmer, banker and
merchant alike become students OF
irreign i:adc. nut advanced stu
dents-tlley know both what they
want ard also the handbags that
hamper them, and they want those
handicaps removed. And this ness
age of theirs was learned by the writ
er from nearly 200 chambers
of commerce all over the country. II
is SURPRISING how much there is for
II man 10 learn when once he gets
away irom the localism of Manhattan
island. and comes into touch with
that marvellous Camraign for com
rI,lnity lettering row so vigorously
carried on By the CONNIE sial bodies
of our land My message to them
was of South America. the value of
its friends p and Of Its trade- oppor-
tunities. but the message they send
back is of far wider import, deserving
the attention of us all ami especially
OF those whom we have delegated
the making of our laws and the con-
duet OF our government. These
chambers OF commerce have now got
ten far beyond their old discussions
of the need for foreign markets as q
field for the expansion OF our manu-
featuring. or as IA balance to offset
any temporary contraction in home
markets. No, they are away beyond
that The study Of the railroad re-
bate evil and is correction led them
to learn that those domestic rebates
were but trifles in comparison with
the rebates given foreigners by the
foreign shipping conference combine
in ocean freights, which annually
transfer from our pockets to foreign
ers six hundred million dollars by the
foreign shipping conference COM
bine in ocean freights, which annual
ly transfer frcm our pockets to for
eigners six hundred million dollars
for freight. insurance, etc, not only
l, two fin al n
ing the foreigners with the posses
sion of the ships, and with their fac
tories protected against our compe-
tition. Ten years ago If this state
ment had been made to a western
grain grower or southern cotton
planter he would have replied: II
don't care, foreign ships are cheap
ships, and want my product carried
cheaply." Eut now he knows better,
he knows that when a result of Sc
crct rebates to foreigners, and of its
so-calied lighting fleet the foreign
shipping conference combine drove
in independent vessels off the seas,
the carrying rates for grain and cot
ton. which in 1910 We're, respectively
" - Il
1913 to 10 and 40, respectively. He
knows that the tribute he paid ont
of his profits to the foreign ships was
trebled iii three years. and that
hurts, Therefore, and therefrom,
he insists that oar merchant marine
he eual cd to protect him from fur
tier cXlGrtion OF that sort.
Nor have the leading men of the
various communities who make up
these chambers of commerce confined
their study to American conditions.
but have locked abroad and inquired
into what other governments were
doing to obtain more foreign trade
Cor their nationals. and what did
they find2 They soon came to learn
that many useful things done across
the water by governments for the