Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-01-05

commercial policy. Such a policy is
not so much dependent upon the offic-
ers of the Government as it is depend
ent upon the American public-upon
public opinion-and the American
public is just awakening to a realiza
ton of the situation. The business
community likewise is just awakening
to a realization of the importance OF
such a policy to the extension of bus
iness. Questioning as to the value and
utility of foreign trade is giving way
to enlightened study and exploitation
Those who only a short time ago
were apt to declare that domestic
markets were large enough are chat
ing under restraints of temporary
handicaps in developing foreign mar
kets. Altogether, the business COM
munity and the public desire to shake
off our commercial dependence on
Europe and to establish ourselves
commercially independent This de-
sire finds expression in the public in
terest in international affairs and in
oru own foreign policies"
DR.. Pratt considers it eminently
proper, in view of the fact that the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce is that part of the Government
intrusted with the promotion of for
eign trade, that a suggestion should
be made regarding one feature of
trade promotion that has been al
most entirely overlooked.
1--WE have utterly failed to make use
III our foreign trade promotion of the
machinery of the conventional tariff
system, which our competitors have
employed with great success. We have
been satisfied to get most-favored-na-
ton treatment fro foreign countries,
or, in other words, tariff concessions
adapted to the needs of other coun-
tries and not to our own. Other coun-
tries, by mutual tariff concessions,
have gained valuable markets for the
goods which they are peculiarly fitted
to manufacture for export. Such con-
cessions in the aggregate make up a
conventional tariff. This is a matter
which is entirely outside the discus
sion of protective tariff, a tariff for
revenue only, or free trade. A con-
ventional tariff system may be based
on high or low tariff and to be re-
garded solely as a method of promot-
ing ofreign trade"
The report discusses many of the
other problems with which our ex-
porting interests are particularly
concerned at present, and it contains
the usual review of the activities OF
the Bureau for the year under con-
sideration. The new commercial at
tache service is thoroughly described
and the need of more money for car
rying on the foreign service of the
Bureau is strongy insisted upon.
The effectiveness of the Bureaus
work in promoting trade in foreign
countries is best shown in the definite
practical results obtained. To prove
that such results have been well
worth while, the report takes up in
detail a number of the largest con-
tracts that American firms have coils
ed as a result of the Bureaus activ-
tiles. Perhaps the largest order of
this kind resulted from placing rep
|resentatives of Russian concern in
touch with American exporters of raw
cotton. One of these exporters re-
ports that it has closed a five-year
contract for 10000 bales of cotton an
nually, which will amount to two or
three million dollars annually, or be-
tween ten and fifteen million dollars
during the life of the contract
1--WE are also informed" continues
the report, "of four other specific in
stances of orders, each one of which
amounted to a million dollars or
more, the information concerning
which was first published in our off,
eign trade opportunity service. These