New-York tribune., 1918-12-05

sopJect or international economic in n
memorial to the President outlining
wnat No termed generous policy for
stasi,o?iming "a raw material and of price
s'ao'ilzstion on an international scale.
me voice OF the Administrator was
neard In an address by Secretary of
commerce Redtield, who explained that
ne was speaking for himself and not
o'noing the government The Score
tary said that the basis of foreign com
.n "etce must DC service and that foreign
''aUe m can endure on no other basis.
ne members of the war service
seolnm,,teeS were anticipating reply
oso", Mr. hedneid to the recent inquiry
on MS svlews regarding unrestrained d
lorelgn commerce after the war bv the
So"ncll or Foreign Relations and he
oiq not disappoint them He made no
reference to the council, however, and
merely touched on the inc dent by as
sertlng that the version OF recent
'paJama' interview with Washington
correspondents had been misunderstood
and garbled.
I'VE cannot" Mr. Redfeld sa d..
turn the American eagle which fl es
nigh into the American hog which
gropes low. We must serve the wor d
II We are to be on safe foundation
ourselves Dumping untruthful adver-
using and unfair government aid is in
no sense commerce and will not per-
manentiy succeed. We do not want to
copy German methods in trade
CERTAIN conditions make it difficult
lor us now to set ourselves even to
this. The nations of the world are
greatly in debt, largely to us"
Mr.. Redfeld argued that it is to orr
interest to restore the paying power
OF these nations as soon as nossib]e
he world, he said, would need food
from us on an unprecedented sea dur
ing the next year or more. Moreover.
ne declared nearly one million dwell
ing places must be built in Europe.
Not Sell Elsewhere
Are we going to sell elsewhere and
let France and Belgium wait ?" Mr.. Red
field asked, indicating why he felt that
some restrictions for tn epresent should
be put on foreign trade. Shouts of
No, mol" greeted him.
he convention, which\wa moved
deeply by the serious suggestions and
the delightful ioviality Of "Charev''
Sch,wab. and which was stirred into
endless discussions by the "keynoteH
address of Mr.. Wheeler. rose to ''siv Give
cheers for Mr.. Redheld after he smoke.
MT. Wheeler asked the delegates to
work out plan for protecting "key
industries" those 427 which were cre-
ated in this country by war needs.
pointing out, by way of illustration
that in 1914 $400000 worth of dyestuffs
were manufactured in the United
States, compared with $17,000,0O0 this
year.
The delegates showed vigiru us ap-
proval by their cheers of Mr. Wheeler's
suggestion that the principles of the
Webb-Pomerene bill, allowing compet-
tors to combine for foreign trade, be
made applicable to domestic commerce
MI Wheeler said, among other
things, in his address:
Bad diplomacy has been responsible
for much of the worlds ills. Com
mercial relationships have been sorely
strained because they were intermin-
gled with political intrigue, but now,
on the one hand old barriers have been
broken down by the alliances and as
sociations of war, while on the other
new barriers have been raised by enmi-
ties resulting from conflict between
nations formerly on a friensv footing
These new alignments merit a new
brand of diplomacy and diplomacy may
we'll take lesson out of the book
of commerce and by applying modern
commercial ethics to diplomatic rela-
tions how much easier it is to deal
simply and directly.
Failure to deal generously in the
distribution of raw materials will seri-
ously impede the industrial restoration
of nations not fortunate enough to pos
sess basic materials of their own in
surplus for trading purposes.
Boycott Plan Not Sound
''The principle OF economic boycott,
often advanced as a punishment to
those nations guilty of disturbing the
worlds peace, is neither politically nor
economically sound, nor is the prin-
ciple of favored nation in commercial
treaties. These would tend only to
drive the nations farther apart and
increase the unrest in the industrial
world.
Since in questions of economic recon
struction other nations will undoubted-
ly be adequately represented with the
most expert support that can be mar
shalled, it is for you to determine
whether you regard the matter Of suf-
fcient Importance to advocate the ap-
pointment of a commission whose con-
tinuous presence in Paris will provide
like representation on behalf of Ameri-
can industry.
at would be interesting, indeed if
time permitted, to examine a list of our
key industries, comparing the annual
demand for their product with the de-
mand of the greater industries to which
the yare key. and thus gaining some
fair conception of their importance and
of the wisdom of so far sustaining
them with whatever legislation may BE-
necessary tc keep us free from depen-
dcnce upon other countries whose sup
plies may be curtailed or cut off at any
time Briefly stated. there are 427 com
modities in our list of called key
industries. Some Of these commoditie:
we're manufactured by US in a small
way before the war. but for the mos
r""t they are practically new indus
tries.
Means should be taken at this con
ference to federate or tie together rep
resentatives of all American industrie!
hnre assembled. at least for the perlot
OF reconstruction.
Mr. Whooler read the following from
a lntter on reconstruction from Rcr
na1d NJ. Baruch who regretted his in
ability to attend:
"Tha cancellation of contracts doe
not moan n repudiation Of contracts
and the government will not, am sure
tako from the industry of the country
anything to which it is entitled unde'
each contract 1t will be the cndonvol
of tho War Industries Board to aid t(
this end in every way possible"
In the evening the conference was
decentralizcd into meetings Of thirty
, six related groups. into which the 3S1
way service committees of the basic
rational industries fall.
The National Wealth