The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-26
Roumania as a Customer

some tune Tn midwinter, Roumania sent 10 the united States a commission which as whole represented the financial, com mercial and industrial activities of that Kingdom. The principal object of tn, visit was to test the American mark .t Tor the purpose of finding out whether We could within a specified time and for reasonable price supply Roumania with large amount of war material Some of the members of this commission were per sonal friends of Horace G. Knowles, who In President Roosevet's administration represented the United States as minister to Roumania The particular purpose of the mission of the Roumanians failed be- cause 1t was found that the American in- dustr1es were not willing to enter into contract to deliver the commodities within a specified time. There were, however many conversations respecting our com mercial relations with Roumania after the war closes, and it was said by members of the commission that Roumania should become very large customer of the United States.
 When MT. Knowles was minister to Roumania, he called the attention e the authorities to certain features of our agri- cultural industry which might be easily and profitably adopted by Roumana. which is great agricultural country For instance, no part of continental Flu
 
 American sweet corn and the nhabi- tants are familiar with it as food only in It's preserved or canned form Russia does grow sweet corn, and it is as popular vegetable in those parts of Russia. where it is grown as it is in the United States. MT. Knowles was persuaded that certain sections of Roumania possessed just the kind of climate and soil which are necessary for perfect cultivation Of sweet corn. Roumania accepted his ad- vice and Is now cultivating this delicious summer food. Roumania is great wheat growing country and last summer, just as war began, the Roumanian farmers had many thousand tons of wheat at the Hun garian boundary ready for delivery to those in Hungary and Austria who had bought it. At the same time. Roumania had purchased a large amount of rifles of Austrian manufacture, But as war had just begun. Austria did not deliver the rifles. although demanding wheat. The Roumanian government informed Austria that the wheat would not be delivered until the rifles came. In a few days the rifles were delivered and Austria at once received a very large consignment of wheat.
 There are good reasons for presuming that as soon as the war ends Rotlman mia will make very large purchases in the United States. That is the view taken by MT. Knowles ana no doubt ne obtained. inferentally at least, his opinion from his conversation with the Roumanian commits sion Roumania has sometimes been called the Belgium of the Balkans" but l the country is very much larger than Bell gium, being in superficial area about equal | to New York state. How great Germany and Austria's loss in trade with Roumantsf l is on account of the war is shown by the statistics whose figures are about 500 xo1tr nf ho inn iufn | mania from Germany and Austria. where as this Belgium of the Balkans" bought l in the United States only about $3,0c0 009 1 in commodities. Now there is no trade with Germany and Austria to speak of, l and the United States Is beginning to real l ize what the opportunity in Roumania ir Provided our merchants and manufactur- l CTS can make satisfactory accommoda. ] tions with respect to payments. we should be shipping within a few months very large amount of commodities into Rou- l mania. Roumania and Australia now furnish good examples of what we may expect in the way of foreign trade as soon
 as the war h ended