The Washington herald., 1916-09-26

care of within the field Of the domestic
markets, and when that began to disclose
itself as the situation, we also became
aware that American business men had
not studied foreign markets. that they
did not know the commerce of the world,
ana that they did not have the ships in
which TO take their proportionate part In
the carrying trade of the world; that our
merchant marine had sunk to a negligible
amount and that 1t had sunk to its low
est at the very time when the tide of our.
exports began to grow in most formidable
volume.
Bank Laws Adequate. ,
'one OF the most interesting cIrcum-
stances Of our business history Is this:
The banking laws of the United States,
mean the Federal laws, didn't put the
national banks in a position to do foreign
exchange under favorable conditions and
IL was actually true that private banks
and sometimes branch banks drawn out
Of other countries, notably out of Canada,
were established at our chief ports to
do what American bankers ought to have
done.
Only In very recent years have we been
studying the problem of providing our
selves with the instrumentalities. Not
only the recent legislation of Congress
hiAS"h 40 Nlio TtStTNS dClt "clO
the Federal banks of this country given
the proper equipment through which they
could assist American commerce, not only
in our country, but in any part OF the
world where they chose to set up branch
institutions.
THE scene has been changed by the
events of the last two years. always sud
denly, and with a completeness that al
most daunts the planning mind.
America Has Her Place.
Not only when this war is over, but
now, America has her place in the world
and must take her place in the world
of finance and commerce upon a scale
that she never dreamed of before.
Il want to see America pitted against
the world, not in selfishness, but in
brains. The first thing that brains have
10 feed upon Is knowledge. The most
that we can supply ourselves with Just
now is not the detailed program of pol
Icy. but the instrumentalities of gaining
thorough knowledge OF what We are
about.
Every man of us must for some time
to come be from Missouri we must want
to know what the facts are and when
we know what the facts are we shall
know what the policy ought to be.
What instrumentanties have we pro-
vided ourselves with in order that we
may be equipped with knowledge?
Business Not Aware.
There has been an instrumentality in
operation for four or five years Of which.
strangely enough. American business men
have only slowly become aware. Some
four or FIVE years ago the Congress es-
tablished the Bureau of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce. In addition to that.
there was recently created the Federal
Trade Commission. ask you II you have
not found. those Of you who have dealt
with It at all, the Federal Trade Com
mission to be put there to show you the
way in which the government can help
you and not the way in which the gov
ernment can hinder you.
But that is not the matter that am
most interested in. 1t has always been
a fiction that there was a contest be-
tween the law and business. There has
always been a contest in every govern
ment between the law and bad business,
and l do not want to see any contest
softened in any way, but there has never
been any contest between men who IN
tended the right thing and the men who
administered the law.
But what want to speak about is this
One of the functions of the Federal Trade
Commission is to inquire with the fullest
powers ever conferred upon a similar
commission in this country into all the
circumstances OF American business for
the purpose OF doing for American bust
ness exactly what the Department OF
A griculture has so long and with increas-
ing efficiency done for the farmer. in-
forming the American business man Of
every element, big and little, with which
II Is his duty to deal