The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-02-06

puulICl, anu OTlSlHal ana WltE no par
ticular interest because information is
the very foundation OF all right action
in legislation.
Men on the inside Of business know
how business is conducted and they
can not complain if men on the out
side make mistakes about business.
IL they do not come from the inside
and give the kind Of advice which is
necessary. The trouble in the past-for
| think the thing is changing very
rapidly-has generally been that they
came with all their bristles out. They
came on the defensive. They came to
see, not what they could accomplish.
but what they could prevent They
did not come to guide, but they came
to block, and that is Of no use what
ever to the general body polite.
WHAT has got to pervade us like a
great motive power is that we can not
and must not separate our interests.
from one another, but must pool our
interests. a man who is trying TO
fight for his single hand is fighting
against the community and not fight
ing with it.
There are a great many dreadful
things about war, as nobody needs
to be told in this city of distress and
of terror. But there is one thing
about war which has a very splendid
side, and that is the consciousness that
whole nation gets, that they must
all act as q unit, for the nation; and
when peace is as handsome as war
there will be no war. When men. I
mean, engage in the pursuits of peace
in the same spirit Of self-sacrifice, and
of conscious service of the community
with which, at any rate, the common
soldier engages in war, then shall
! there be wars no more. You have
moved the vanguard for the United
States in the purposes Of this associa-
ton just a little nearer that ideal.
That is the reason L am here, because
believe that.
There is a specific matter about
which I, for one, want your advice.
Let me say, if | may say it without
disrepsect, that 1 do not think you
are prepared to give it right away. |
You will have to make some rather
extended inquiries before you are
ready to give it. What 1 am think |
ing of is competition in foreign mar
kets as between the merchants of diff |
ferent nations
Il speak of the subject with :. GER |
tain degree of hesitation, because the |
thing farthest from my thought is
taking advantage of nations now dis |
aolcd, from playing the full part in
that competition, and seeking a sud-
den selfish advantage because they are |
for the time hc,oo disabled. PRAY be
t"Ve me, that 80 puGht 60 eliminate ,
al thot thcu"ht from cur MIND. ana /,
consider tbie .nattrr as if ~, ana tho +
other u'.lCne u' the world ,rurs in the !
normal circumstances of commerce. |
There is a normal circumstance Of |
commerce in which we are apparent
ly at 81 disadvantage.
"Our antitrust laws apparently |
:. make it illegal for merchants |
in the United states 70 form combi- |
nations for the purpose of strengthen
ing themselves in taking advantages
of the opportunities of foreign compe-
ution. That is a very serious matter
for this reason: There are some cor
porations and some firms, for all ! !
know, whose business is great enough
enough to enable them to establish
selling agencies in foreign countries
go. The question arises, therefore
how are the smaller merchants how
are the younger and weaker corpora
tionS, going to get a fOothold rs against
the combinations which are permitted
h 'iN 'NNli 'ilCouIdStu DN lOfClSn gov
ernmcnts in this very field of compe-
tition?
american merchants feel that they
are at a very considerable di5advan-
tage in contending, against that. The
matter has been many times brought
to my attention and | have each time
suspended judgment, because in this
matter Il am from Missouri and
want to be shown this: / want to be
shown how that combination can be
made and conducted in a way which
won't close it against the use of
everybody who wants TO use it.
What | would like very much to
/ be shown, therefore, IS a method of
cooperation, which is not a method OF