Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-08-17

personal acquaintance with their
own country, which too often is lack
ing.
Europe Gets Us All Ways
Haven't you advertising gentlemen
a mission to drive home the fact. and
isn't this the psychological time to
drive the fact home that America is
well worth seeing-that its beauties
equal those of any spot on the face
of the earth; that it's natural wonders
are not surpassed by those of any
land on any continent?
Millions and millions of dollars
have been spent every year by those
who felt that they were not fashion
able unless they took a trip to Europe.
The Europeans get us coming, going,
and there. They get the greater per
cent. of the money for going and COM
overlook an opportunity to get, too.
The American flag must be restored
to the high seas. We must not only
carry freight, but we must carry those
who insist on foreign travel. Let the
profit stay in America instead of going
to Hamburg, Bremen, London, Liver
pool and Paris.
And we should not neglect to help
those among ourselves who need as
sistance. We should rally to the sup
port of the people of California. They
need our assistance. The war will
Exposition, which has cost in the
neighborhood of $40. 100000 or $780,
OOO,O 600. The exposition needs help
from every one in the United States.
and deserves it.
Il am no advocate of taking what
belongs to the other fellow when he
isn't looking. but If he will go to war
they must expect to take all the con-
sequences And, besides, the rest of
the world cannot go hungry and
cannot afford to stop business simply
because Europe has gone to war. AS
she has gone to war. here's our chance.
Some people figure that we can't
enlarge our foreign trade because of
the war. / don't know why we can't
During the Napoleonic wars we had
much the same situation that we have
now-all Europe fighting and America
at peace. During fifteen years of those
wars our foreign trade increased more
than $50 per cent. and the tonnage
shipped in American bottoms increased
more than 500 per cent Why can't
we do the same thing over again, and
when, we get the foreign trade this
time keep it?
However. in the matter of enlarg-
ing our foreign commerce we are up
against the proposition: We have lots
OF stun to eXport-grain, other food
stuffs and manufactures-but no ships
to carry them. When the European
war broke out it was discovered that
vessels carrying Sc per cent of the
export trade of the United States were
OF foreign register and liable to with
drawal from service because of the
war.
Such a situation is all wrong. of
course, and it shouldn't exist if we had
such merchant marine as we once
had and ought to have now. If the
exports of the United States were car
fled In ships that flew the flag of the
united States all of Europe could go
10 war and stay at war and our for
elsn trade would not be tied up in a
douole DOW knot as it is at present.
The Remedy
We'll, what's the remedy? Build
Ing up our merchant marine again.
some of our legislative friends in
washington have seen the necessity
ana risen to the occasion. Others are
disposed to haggle, for political ad-
motives.
Anyway, the House took very little
time to pass an amendment to our
shlpplnS laws, admitting to American
registry under easier conditions than
have been interposed heretofore, The
plIi is still hung up in the Senate.
When 1t is passed and on the statute
DOCKS Americans will be able to pur-
chase ships abroad to carry the freight
now tled up at ocean docks all along
the Atlantic because the king spots in
Europe are flying at one another's
throats.
And there's money enough in
america TO buy lot of foreign ships.
NOW what new foreign trade can
we get when we get the ships to
handle it? 1t seems to me we stand a
lalr chance to get pretty good chunk
of the foreign trade of the world, We
haven't much of it now. but we ought
TO be willing to go out after it. The
competition of Europe is shut off for
the time being, but the people of Asia.
Africa, Oceanica and South America
VIII continue to want the stuff thew
have been buying from Europe,
While this war lasts. where will
they get IT.? From the United States,
of course, If we are alive and 90 ont
after the business in the right way.
In the ports of the outlying Countries
| nave named the exporters of four
european nations do a business Of
more than a billion dollars a year.
In those same countries the United
states does about one-thirtieth of
that total.
Europe can't supply that billion
dollars worth of goods while she is
being torn up by war. Why can't
we?
Down in South America, Germany
controls large share of the foreign
trade. The South Americans like
German goods and German ways, and
for some other reason or other they
don't like Yankees. Maybe it's be-
cause they don't like our Big Brother
attitude on the Monroe Doctrine:
maybe it's because they don't know
us.
Anyway, now is our chance to
make them like us and like our goods
and get in the habit of buying them
Our trade in many of the other parts
of the 1unr1d hos hnor, I,n.,nn.oh =.