The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-06-23
VITAL IMPORTANCE
OF FOREIGN CREDITS
There Are Three Fundamental Reasons
Why the Subject Should Be Upper
most To-day in the United
States.

Extract from an address delivered by
Edward Ewing Pratt, chief of the bureau
of foreign and domestic commerce, de.
partment of commerce, before the annual
convention of the National Association
of Credit Men at Kansas City, Mo-,
Thursday morning, June 81
There are three fundamental reasons
why the subject of foreign credits should
be uppermost in our minds day; first,
the tremendous growth of our foreign
markets and the likelihood that many of
these new markets will be permanent;
second, the enormous destruction of cap
ital now taking place which for many
years to come viii put burden on the
credit structure of world trade, and
third, the fact that in this greatest and
most desperate war of all history, the
nations with which we are cooperating
are anxious to conserve their limited
supplies of gold, while many neutral ma
tions from whom they and we are draw
ing supplies are either unable or unwill-
ing to continue to furnish these supplies
on the basis OF future payment.
utSb tlHtt vi Jul lnttnhc
terest in foreign credits appearing to us
daily in the form of an amending mass of
details with conditions bound to grow
worse before they grow better, are des-
tined to tax to the utmost our powers
of wise decision.
The ways and means by which these
various and grave demands are to be
met, now that we have made the deci-
sion to meet them, rests largely on the
gray matter OF the credit man--from
the foreign credit expert of the small ex
port firm, TO the president of the biggest
banks and the highest officers of the
treasury department.
We know from the limited amount OF
news that trickles through from the cen |
trail powers that very ambitious plans |
are being made to dominate the worlds
trade after the war A speaker at an |
Austrian meeting of invited manufactur
ers is quoted as stating that plans have
been perfected whereby after the war
10000, 900 people, the total population
Of Germany and Austria Hungary, will
buy their supplies from the rest of the
world as a unit. We know that the
various industries of Germany have been
more and more consolidated into coop
Grating groups until virtually all Ger
man industry has united as one organic
producing and selling agency backed with
the full power of the great German
banks and the organization of the Ger
nan government.
One of the most important and effec-
i've steps that the entente powers and
his country can take, not only to meet
his trade colossus but to more effec-
lively promote the commercial ideas for
which we stand and to serve the inter
'sts of the less developed countries with
which we trade, is to so organize our
ABILITIES for extending credit that never
n the future shall smaller and weaker
Countries be forced to depend upon a
lower so dangerous to their freedom.
Americas opportunity in this great
ime of stress and sacrifice is to render {
very service in her power to those less
ortunate and less able than herself, to :
acilitate the way of those who come to
Is with their orders, to extend her eco
omic and industrial resources as well
s her military power to those who need
nd merit them.
At the present moment, / can assure
ou, with all our faults and failings,
here stands no nation more universally
rusted and more generally liked by the
eople of the many countries of the
Torld, than our own Amrica. Wher-
yer you go that you can go, you will
e welcomed because you are an Amer
an. Even our enemies assail us no
niger by directly attacking our ideals
nd our aims. but only by inuendo and
Legations of insincerity. There exists
Or American industry and American
-ade wonderful. worldwide good will.
GU know how valuable an asset il Is.
Y modelling and directing our vast
edit resources to the use of those who
eed them, it lies in your hands, as credit
zen, to maintain and extend il.