Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-28
SPEAKERS URGE
FOREIGN TRADE
DEVELOPMENT
Cooperation and Combination
of Smaller Manufacturers, Mer-
chant Marine Are Suggested.

NEW ORLEANS. Jan 2S.-"Co-
operative foreign effort would keep
our factories running at 100 per cent.
Of capacity" said NJ. A. Oudln, man
ager Of the foreign department of the
General Electric Company, of Schenec-
tady, y. y. in an address before the
( National Foreign Trade Convention
here today.
Since export cooperation would
lower the cost of distribution. and by
the added output. the cost of produc
/ ton as well, Mr. Oudn argued, the
home consumer in consequence would
! benefit to the extent that the manu-
I facturers were able to reduce their
unit cost" He continued:
/ The serious handicaps confronting
| our international trade in meeting
new conditions can be overcome, and
a very important impulse To our for
eign commerce can he impaired by
the creation Of a widespread interest
in and the formation of export organ
( iZatious and combinations and other
/ forms of cooperative effort.
Pending the removal of the incu-
bus of fear of the application of the
antitrust law TO the regulation Of
our foreign trade we can expect few
or no additional associations to he
formed, nor any decided and general
cooperative movement on the part Of
our manufacturers Unless the re-
Straining laws are modified so as to
exclude their application to export
trade. cooperative measures by
American manufacturers for meeting
the new international conditions after
the war will not be practicable and
must largely remain in the region of
the theoretical discussion
The smaller American manufac-
turers should be allowed to combine
in order to create a demand for their
products i'm foreign markets, accord
ing to L. S. Smith, of the American
Laundry Machinery Company, of Gin
cinnati.
Some plan must be worked out by
the smaller American manufac-
turers," he said, (which will permit
of their forming of associations for
creating foreign demand for their
products before they may hope to
share more largely the benefits of for
eign trade. Some means permitting
the formation of combinations among
concerns which are competitors in the
home markets-to enable them to
combine their efforts and to econom-
ically create a demand for their pro-
ducts i'm foreign markets-must be de-
veloped. but before such a plan can be
put into working order it will be
necessary to secure amendments to
some of our enactmentS, for both the
Sherman and Clayton laws prohibit
such combinations.
Mr. Smith declared that the estab-
lishment of an adequate American
merchant marine was also necessary
to foster foreign trade.
The handicap which certain phases
of the antitrust laws place against
American export trade was discussed
by Gilbert II. Montague, New York
lawyer. He said:
"Our Sherman antitrust act, while
powerless to forbid any foreign COM
bination against us, nevertheless pur-
ports to regulate our entire foreign
commerce, and apparently denies to
our exporters every advantage of CO.
operative action to meet the condi-
| tions of foreign trade. Our competi-
tors are encouraged by their govern
ments to unite in highly organized
combinations. our exporters are
everywhere confronted by combina-
ations of foreign rivals organized to
resist our competition, and must often
sell to combinations of foreign buy
ers equipped to depress the prices of
our products. Under such a handicap
our export trade has not even fair
sporting chance