New-York tribune., 1918-03-31

ity Of terms a as, the occasion n,,
mand, we shall find ourselves ;mss rss
to retain the business which 'mp0Esl
easily gotten during the war " a
a;.; .na9 business was gotten without =
No Competition Now
A great proportion of the A..
business which we are doino :. ssps
are doing because there is ne nov y
ton. True, there is some no n.y., Sonpss
between the manufacturers ~" IN 'eass
country, but there is no interus,,'''s s NJ. 's
competition, no competition bassa bss.''ss
dostered and supported by dnsas;sa, assa
slstance by other governmenta aas'a' Y
Much has been said about ~.
Sily OIL maintaining trade ba|.n.hees hees
keeplng up the value of tha thsss I'VE, "
1orelgn countries, but we mnst tuollat
sllght Of the most important 's mot not le
the world, and that is that hr hr.asoa ssn
our goods to neutral count,;.s se'ss
countries not at war we ars a'ss and
those countries help paw tho tho .al msSlEy
ene ,: war. ~ selling them goods sss' w a ol
ehaollng them to sell their raw 's ase
llais to us without the excSs.amua cha mate, 9,
goio. There are some things sss ws;ss
must pay for with gold; ths's,'s h...n W
commodities which we can ohts;a t;el0A
trading basis are essential n ala ~. oas
cessful conduct Of the war n wy a
IT came to choosing. would II .asS
better for the moment to sh;, Il; nu.s o
to Chile when she is willing [ to bns sV'a'
goods if that would enabIe " y. 'ss :. sas
mand greater value in Chile fos ~ q. g
dollar than if these goods wsss sus eei
sold in Chile, but sold at how. b,'s aa
stead ? So it would seem go thouI oms "
should put forth every effort 1Su to n,;' |"
tam our export business, espess1, .s.ls
with those countries from which =!
import raw materials essential =.
making war. -S"''d' ~
we all remember the frantic es,.
made in the first year of the wsss ,ss'a
bulid up the South American busn.s.
Trade papers and newspapers wsrs e.'si \;
full Of it, and much was written ~.l sb,n. ~.
the new era in American trade .rd sa. ~.
a while 1T looked as though really .au
structive efforts were being msde wv, =,
enter the export trade in earnest A. !.
we look back at our efforts thev now
seem more or less like camopAace
Domestic business was very dull in r., tSs
first year of the war and we needed lad
foreign orders to keep going, since
our war exports have been mount;nc
by leaps and bounds we hear less ana
less about the necessity of buildinr I'M
foreign trade and lasting relations wiz
South America.
The only way to build up a lastins
export business is to work the bushes,
all the time and if it so happens thu,
orders begin to come in about the tim
domestic business has a squirt, that
the time to be long headed enough /,
take care of the export business u
well as the domestic business and nus
as many have done in years gone b.,
sacrifice the export business with litta
or no ceremony when there is q
domestic demand sufficient to take caN
or our production.
If the difficulties which are confront.
ing American exporters after the war
there would Sc no hesifancy Il iaS 'aboll sboa
passing the Webb bill, which has bess
twice in the House, but whis
still remains a bill only ana not Law,
IT our exporters were at disadvantaa
before the war, they surely viii be i
after the war, if our European CON.
petltors are going to be able to con-
oine while cooperation is denied us. In
Great Britain the manufacturers an
all alive to the competition to come;
intensive industrial cooperation i
planned; research work is encouraged,
and financing plans are being developed
by the government in aid of exporters.
Government reports have repeatedly
shown that cooperation at home is
needed If our manufacturers are to be
able to meet the competition of other
on even terms. If foreign ez.
porters can cooperate and by Doopers'
ton reduce the cost of obtaining busI
ness to minimum surely our es
portcrs cannot afford 10 go out aI
pioneer their product singly.
The year before the war England ah
France each built from 10000 to 40.M
a year, and Germany aa
Of reports to the contrary il is safe y
assume that under the press OF wa
work these European factories eoua
lot be ready to Immediately plunge liz
20 the comm mercial manufacture OF paas
cars at the cessation Of hostl'
les. !,
No matter how high duties may Be
laced on American cars after the wal
we will nevertheless be the only coun'
try in the world in a position to pro.
ducc motor cars when wanted, and tna.
will be at once They will be wanted az
once because motor cars VIII be aoSo,
lutely essential in the carrying On OIL
the rebuilding OF devastated territories
as reports indicate that 'ae
motor cars which have been used III
war service are largely IN unit co"'
dition for commercial purposes; -,
Much has been said about the pans
which have been made by the BRUSH
end French manufacturers 10 CON-,
mencc production OF passenger alp
commercial motor cars Immediately y.
ter the war is over. These rumorS nas
be largely discounted. because, bilsis
have had their eusihsss
now for a considefapss ~
length OF time and have certainly iosl
a great deal OF good will through . =
fault of their own. This condition W. ".
be found to have been aggras:a.::ss s:.:s
through the inability of the brl.s
factories to furnish the colonial agenss
with spare parts while the industry vi VT
suppressed. and nothing VIZ Y
lose good will quicker than iailare j, :
supply spare parts and to main,alh, l,l.as y.
coed name Of ones product. "e'kh0.
in our own business how essensls,l; III I
is TO keep dealers promptly supp'sss y
with spare parts and how quickly y 4,
failure to supply parts is resented. - =
keep it's dealers without spare pn.s !.
for two years would spell calamisy ~ :
b q motor caa. huSinnsS In any C0uln!.