Honolulu star-bulletin., 1917-12-29

many activities Of the department OF
commerce presented today to Con
gress. The department probably con
ducts more different phases Of gov
ernment work than any other. and
while all are touched upon in the long
report, measures for promoting Tor
eign trade and an account OF the
years commercial operations stand al
the top of the list.
The visible balance Of trade in
favor of the United States on mer'
chandise transactions for the fiscal
year ended June 80. 1917, was s3,634,-
45o, o,905," says the report. The total
of our merchandise export trade was
Sc, ,293, 500, 900 anr. of our import trade
S2,659,355,1S5. During the three
months period from the close OF the
fiscal year to October /, the merchan'
disc exports have been $1,319,213,62o,
the imports $729,97S,O17, and the net
visible balance $5S9,235,60S.
Favor Webb Bill.
The department earnestly hopes
for the passage early in this session
of the so-called Webb bill, now pend
ing in the senate. This measure Will
have an important bearing in promot-
ing our foreign commerce. 1t Will
strengthen one of the weakest points
in our foreign trade and will give con-
fidence to many a manufacturer and
merchant to undertake foreign ousl-
ness from which now, for lack or the
authority this measure will give, he
feels himself excluded.
This country now holds the great
est reserve Of gold the world has ever
seen. It is a great economic prize. ON
1t, as a secure base, rests our national
state, municipal, corporate, and prl-
yate credits. Let it be seriously di-
minished and the volume Of credits
that we can give is thereby d1mln-
ished also. There are but few ways
in which this reserve, based on which
our credits depend, can be adequately
protected from economic attack.
Among these methods are loans
abroad, investments abroad, sales
abroad, services abroad. BY one or
another Of these methods or by COM
binations Of them we can keep the
current Of exchange SO flowing that
our gold reserve may resist serious
In so doing we conserve
our power to give credit, which Is 10
say our power to do business on
large scale This means employment,
activity. occupation We are becoming
to loans abroad. We are
beginning but as yet only beginning,
To make investments abroad on any
scale. We are not yet
rendering services abroad on a large
scale, such as insurance or transpor-
tation.
New Situation.
"We must hold as fully as we can
the volume Of our foreign commerce
intact. II we fail to take these eco
nomic movements at their true value,
the result will be upon our own heads
and we shall only have ourselves to
blame. We may, indeed, continue as
a going concern, but we cannot hold a
place of financial and industrial and
power in the world unless
we keep the credit giving power. This
situation is comparatively new to
it has come upon US sud
denly; it has risen out Of the shock
Of war. It is the more necessary
therefore to make it plain that II we
would prosper to the full we can no
longer think the thoughts Of former
laws of relative isolation. We are in
he family of a financial and CONNER
,ial world, and If we would keep our
place and inf fuence therein we must
play our due part as one OF the
'amily.
Free Ports.
"The establishment Of free ports
It strategic points on our coast would
20 a potent factor in maintaining and
our foreign trade. Properly
,laced, constructed, equipped, organ
red. and operated, they would add to
he employment of labor and to the
6urns Of capital. BY industries and
located in the free port
Ireas, the cost Of duty on materials
Ised in the manufacture Of articles ex-
,orted from those ports would be re-
Iuced, the cost Of carriage might be
eliminated, the expense
4 railway transportation could be
The opportunity for use of
ur inland waterways could be i'm
roved and goods could thus be manu-
actured for export on the water front
d such way as to save much expense.
my who may fear that there will be
ifficulty in readjusting our costs to
neet foreign competition after the
Far should become advocates of free
orts, because through the establish
nent OF industries in such ports it
7ilI be possible to save economic
tastes which weigh heavily against
IS but which under our present ,sys-
EN- are unavoidable. The processes
( manufacturing for export would
e greatly simplified when they in.
olved the use Of foreign dutiable
materials and the procedure under the
ustoms law could be made more
asy not only without risk of losing
evenue, but with possible gain to the
axable values Of the country.
Testimony offered by American
usiness men at home and abroad and I
> our diplomatic representatives {
ives. assurance that the commercial
ttache service is amply fulfilling its
1ission..
Lauds Attaches i
"The results attained during the
hree years since the commercial at.