The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-06-18
Building Up Export Trade

1 W. E. Aughinbaugh in Leslie's. l If American manufacturers and busi- | ness men are to make the most of the | great opportunities presented to them | to obtain a permanent share of the worlds overseas business, they must at | once urge Congress to pass a bill re-
 moving all possibility of the applica- | tion of the antitrust laws to the export i trade. American exporters are con | fronted all over the world by combt-
 nations of foreign rivals equipped to
 resist American competition and re J often obliged to sell to combinations of | foreign buyers leagued together to de- press the prices of American goods. In Germany, prior to the war, there
 were 500 combinations designed to car | ry on export trade. These embraced every industry in the empire and were so thoroughly organized as to prevent | German manufacturers and producers from competing among themselves. They also aided those in the combina- tion to secure the most profitable prices for their goods.
 In France and Belgium similar sym
 dicates existed in the iron, steel. coal and glass trades, the merchants of these two countries going so far as to unite , against all other competitors, from other nations.
 Italy, Russia, Austria Hungary, Switzerland. sweden, Greece, Argentina,
 
 | organizations uniting the interests of producers in various industries such as coal, iron, steel, oil, sulphur, phos- phate cement, matches, chocolate em- broidery iodine condensed milk, canned ] fish, entrants, quebracho and cacao. In Japan textile manufacturers have united and organized in a similar man ner to control the cotton goods trade of China and all of Asia and Africa, where cotton goods are so extensively used by the native. As a direot re- suit of this combination the United States has been the greatest sufferer, for we have practically lost our mar ket for cotton goods with China Japan has also extended this combination in other lines of trade, and the govern ment has co-operated with her mer- chants and manufacturers in every manner.
 British manufacturers are thorough ly organized to develop their foreign business. These plans include means and methods of carrying on an aggres- sive and tactful campaign for securing overseas trade. At the present time the following lines are being thus exploit ed: Cement, electrical goods and ma chinery, cotton textiles, woolens, pot tery, tobacco. wall paper, iron and steel
 Cooperating with these highly de- veloped and efficient and effective trade groups, all powerful in themselves. are the great banks of each of the nations, aid by all of their railway lines, and their heavily subsidized steamships. And behind all of these mighty forces advising and assisting them in every practical manner and continually urg- ing them onward, are the foreign gov- ernments themselves. It is such com binations as these that the American manufacturer and exporter have been hiIh +ha aTp1a e n virtually has aided by it's antitrust laws.
 So successful have they been with the overwhelming advantages thus proYid- ed by our antitrust laws. that many of these foreign combinations have es- tablished plants and branches in the United States and are today actually competing with American manufactur CTS, on American soil for American trade