Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-22
AMERICAS BIG CHANCE;
EUROPEAN WAR HELPS US
Rather Selfisl, View of DcplorabIc
Situation, but II Is Good BUSH
ness All the Same.
EURorE's WOE IS OUR COMFORT
All Kinds Of Business Made Better.
Especially Is the Outlook Great
for Farm Machinery Makers.
Present Exports Below Normal.

Present Exports Below Normal.
The last two years have been good
years. and. Incidentally. years of i'm
portance in the transition of our
foreign trade declared DR. Edward
Ewing Pratt, OF the Bureau of Foreign
and Domestic Commerce, in n timely
little address he made before Il con-
fention OF Implement and vehicle
makers in Atlantic city. Pressing the
point, Or. Pratt declared that the char
acter of our foreign trade and the di-
rcctions of our foreign trade have
greatly changed. If our foreign trade
OF to-day is compared with that of
1894 YOU will find little resemblance
Continuing. he said:
Nevertheless. too many OF us are
apt to think that we had no foreign
| trade prior TO the outbreak of the
European war. As 4 matter Of fact.
The United States stood third among
the exporting nations OF The world
ana the recent great growth in our
trade is really the climax OF n de-
vclopmcnt which has been going on for
several decades This is particularly
true when We examine the character
of our exports. From the nineties
down to the time the war started. the
percentage Of raw materials exported
gradually decreased and the percentage
VI manufactured stOtS SOld ABROAD IN
creased from 20 10 - per cent. There
fore. the comparatively small per-
| ccntaGe of raw materials exported at
the present time. and the compare
lively large exports Of manufactured
goods cannot hc considered as some
thing entirely new and unprecedented"
AMERICA THE HOME OF
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
After covering 4 number of other
a N 10
conditions. pr Pratt discussed foreign
trade problems IN one of the lines of
greatest interest to the delegates
agricultural implements. 1T seems to
me-" said the speaker. that there is
no question hut that there will be a
very large demand for agricultural ma
chincry Of all kinds Immediately fol-
lowing the close of the war. Europe,
and. for that matter. all of the coun-
tries OF tn. world are to-day almost
entirely stripped Of their stocks of
agricultural implements and machin-
cry The factories in the bclligerent
countries which have heretofore been
producin. agricultural machinery have
been recently producing only q com
parativcly small proportion of their
former output, and some OF them have
almost entirely ceased to produce agri-
cultural implements. In some of tho
bellEcrcnt countries not only have the
stocks Of machines been exhausted. but
aGriculturists have been forced to re-
sort to machinery OF obsolete pattern
and designs. and in some cases have
even gone So far as To piece together
odd parts which happened to be in the
warehouse. II has been almost mpos
sihle for many nations to get the
heavier products, among which the
heaviest and clumsiest arc agricultural
machinery The nero transportation
expenses have been almost prohihitive. |
II will be our privilege and our duty !
10 restock these countries with suitable T!
machinery when the war is over"
HOW WE PROFIT BY
THE EUROPEAN WAR
There is another point which We
should take into consideration. and !
that is that the loss of men. the loss
of labor power in Europe. has been
great and irrcparablc. There is just
one alternative If the bclligcrcnt coun-
tries of Europe and their colonies are
TO get back TO the normal producing
basis as il was before the war, and that
is to use labor-saving machinery. The
largest number by far OF the men who
have been lost were engaged in agri
cultural pursuits. 1t is particularly inn
portant, therefore. that the European
nations supply themselves with the
very best labor saving devices along
the lines OF agricultural implements.
machinery and farm operating equip
mcnt. Already we sec decided moves
in this direction by the European ma
lions. Not long ago we received IL visit
from Il French commission. ne of the
members Of which was an expert in
tereSted in agricultural machinery. lie
was here to see what labor saving de-
vices We could supply in connection
with Agriculture"
In concluding. Or. Pratt expressed
the opinion that although our present
exports Of farm operating machinery
are far below normal. q great oppor-
tunity exists. II not the opportunity
to put our products on the ships and
send them of 10 foreign countries and
get the money by return mail. but ii
is Inc opportunity 10 find out what is
wanted in foreign markets. to cstab-
ish connections. to place cur goods
bcfor" the purchasers and 10 he ready
just AS soon as The shipping situation
eases up and just AS soon as the war
IL over 10 place our products In for
e.Gn markets. and it is the opportunity
not only 10 get the normal business Of
those markets. but il is the opportunity
to get very large br3incss which Will
be "btainablc because Of the small cX-
portntiors Of the last two years"
brewery to HccOmc ulg Mn.