The Washington herald., 1915-02-04
PRESIDENT DESIRES
BUSINESS PROTECTION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE
service of the community with which. at
any rate. the common soldier engages in
war then shall there be wars no more
There is a specific matter about
which !, for one. want your advice.
What l am thinking OF is competition
! in foreign markets between the
merchants of different nations. | speak
of the subject with a certain degree
of hesitation because the thing farthest
from my thought is taking advantage
of nations now disabled from playing
the full part in that competition. and
seeking a sudden selfish advantage be-
cause they are for the time being dis
! abled. Pray, believe me. that We ought
to eliminate all that thought from our
minds and consider this matter as il
! we and the other nations Of the world
were in the normal circumstances Of
commerce. There is a normal circum-
stance of commerce in which We are
apparently at disadvantage.
Wants New Trust Law.
Our antitrust laws apparently make
| II Illegal for merchants in the United
States to form combinations for the pur-
pose OF strengthening themselves IN
| ldhlilE Wv dHNdSt VI 1lAt DBpOA NNAiANANS OA
foreign competition. There are some
corporations and some firms whose busi-
| ness is great enough and whose re-
sources are abundant enough to enable
! them to establish agencies in foreign
| countries. to enable them TO send the
long credits which in some cases are
necessary in order to keep the trade
| they desire.
There are governments which dis
/ tinctly encourage the formation OF great
combinations in any particular field Of
commerce in order to maintain selling
agencies and to extend long credits. and
to use and maintain the machinery which
Is necessary for the extension OF business.
American merchants feel that they are
at a very considerable disadvantage in
contendlng against that. The matter has
been many times brought to my attention
and | have each time suspended judg-
ment. because in this matter 7 am from
Missouri and I want to be shown this:
! want to be shown how that comoina-
ton can be made and conducted in a
way which won't close it against the use
of everybody who awnts to use II.
want to knO whow these cooperative
methods can be adopted for the benefit
Of everybody who wants to use them, mad
I say frankly. II l can be shown, that
am for them
Bryan Defends Ship Bill.
Defense OF the ship purchase bill,
assertion that ratification OF the Column
bian treaty is essential to the estab
lishment OF amiCable relations between
the United States and the Latin Amer
lean republics, and an appeal for the
protection of the South American cOun-
tries from commercial exploitation were
features of an address delivered at the
afternoon session by Secretary of State
Bryan.
He said in part:
Il think that we all realize more than
we ever did before the disadvantage Of
having TO depend upon foreign ships to
carry our commerce. This war has
shofn how foreign trade can be inter
rupted by a war. This war has shown
us the burden a war of any proportions
throws upon the innocent bystander,
upon the third party. upon the neutral
nation.
Our experience has been valuable for,
as a result OF this war. We have al
ready largely increased our merchants
marine, and l hope that that increase
has the endorsement OF this great body
of business men.
Commercial conquest. conducted in
accordance with the principles OF peace"
was the keynote OF an address by Sam
uel McRoberts. vice president of the Ma
tionaI City Bank OF New York. When
this phrase was uttered as the climax
of the speech, the 600 delegates present
rose. waved their hands wildly and
whooped their applause. Mr.. McRoberts
declared that American commerce in the
Latin American countries was made
quately protected by this government
Several OF his remarks were clearly an
tagonistic to the views expressed by Mr..
Bryan He urged that business be kept
democratic and not harmfully monOpolis-
tic. and he defended American business
from the charge of moral laxness. He
said in part:
NO broad and comprehensive foreign
commercial campaign will be possible
without the same certainty of support
and protection that Is afforded by the
foreign offices of every world power but
our own. This defect in our foreign
policy can only be remedied by a wider
and clearer understanding OF the whole
question and the resultant action Of pub
lie opinion"
"statistIcs All Lies"
A. W. Douglas. chairman of the COM
mittee on statistics and standards, de-
cIared that most OF the present compila
tions OF commercial figures were '"incom-
plete, inaccurate and prepared by theo-
rists who don't know what they really
are about. Our commercial statistics"
he continued, ARE lies-and damn lies at
that"
wiIloughby NJ. Mccormick, chairman of
the committee on uniform food and drug
regulations, recommended the establish
ment Of a Federal poison law. a uniform
State narcotic law. a uniform State drug
and sanitation law and a Federal cold
storage law.
Charles Wesley Dunn. editor of Dunn's
Manual. spoke along the same lines. At
the morning session John II. Fahey, Of
Boston, president Of the chamber, deliv- !
cred his annual address, urging greater /
co-operation between business men and |
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