The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-08-24

and intimate as his knowledge of Ger
man methods and German triumphs in
foreign commerce also was, neverthe-
less he was compelled in the latter
part of August of last year to say that
he was mistaken in his view and that
Germany was risking her magnificent
foreign trade, and was throwing her
opportunities and her triumphs in that
field into the scale which measures the
cost of war
At that time Mr. Ream did not real
ize as he did in late November a few
days before his death, that the out
bleak of war in Europe was to place
the United States. for the time being
at least in pre-eminent position so far
as exports are concerned. Only a few
days before he passed away Mr.. Ream
predicted that by late spring of this
year the great corporation with which
h. was so prominently identified and
which he aided in organizing would be
occupied practically to the full capac-
fty of its plants He said that IL this
prediction proved true then it would be
possible to record the greatest and the
swiftest whirlabout any corporation
had ever experienced. because in Oc-
tober of last year the United States
steel corporation was operating only
aboat so per cent of it's plants. Mr.
Ream did not live to see his predic-
ton fulfilled. but his associates in the
of that corporation have
not failed to remember the counsel
and the encouraging words which he
save and spoke in the last weeks of
the year 1914.
What Germany Has Lost
Occasionally in the financial district
comments are heard which tell of the
gigantic trade sacrifice Germany has
made in addition n bo Of
men and the great sacrifices that are
entailed in order to meet the expenses
of the war. In the early part of 1914
1t was sometimes said that Germany
was rapidly approaching the high STAN
dard attained by Great Britain as an
exporter of commodities In spite of the
excellent selling organizations created
by the United States Steel corporation
the Standard Oil company and the har-
vester company. Germany was over
matching these well-drilled- American
statesmen in many of the foreign fields.
Germany had gained great prestige in
the far east, where not longer than
20 years ago British trade was prac-
tically supreme. The Germans built and
placed upon the ocean great steam
ships which made speed records in
crossing the Atlantic. All the German
ports in the North sea and the Baltic
were humming with the evidences of
German oversee trade. The great
banking houses of Germany facilitated
these transactions. With respect to
craftsmanship, Germany developed such
perfection as can be compared favor
ably with the organization of her mil
ltary system and of her manufacture
of munitions of war.
A few years before the outbreak of
the war, Germany was exporting year
ly commodities of the money value of
81. 500,000.000 and this was a billion
dollars more than the money value of
her exports in 1909. She had created
a very large export trade with the
United States. Now it is practically
nothing. Leaders in the financial dis
trict are now convinced that. in ad-
dition to the other costs of the war.
at least one billion dollars represents
the cost to Germany occasioned by
the loss of her foreign trade. She has