New-York tribune., 1919-01-15

might say that at the present time we
are acting to get this action"
In discussing the future Of shipping
Mr.. Redfield said; III we base our
be excluding ourselves from foreign
trade at the source. Uncle Sam must
stand the gaff and take loss on its
ships, which were built far above the
normal cost as a war measure Rates
should be fixed on a competitive basis
with those of other countries. Ships
should be willing to carry less than
full cargoes for the benefit of the com
merce of the country, even though the
particular job might not be profitable
from shipping standpoint. The ques-
ton of what will be done with the
merchant marine has not yet been de-
clded, but we do not need stimulus, as
we are hard at work on the problem" ;"
Gas far and fast as we may" said
Secretary Redfeld, "we must set our
commerce free from all restrictions
and look toward n great and growing
domestic and foreign trade.
business men, whether public or
private, must, however consider actual
facts in planning both the time and
the extent OF their trade efforts.
There are those who seem to think
that the commerce Of tho United States
has two distinct parts which have lit
tie in common. They speak of foreign
commerce and of domestic commerce as
separate, and even at times as almost
antagonistic. Foreign commerce and
domestic commerce arc not two and
seraratc, but one and the same
No foreign order can come to this
country without involving some, per-
haps many, transactions in domestic
trade. Wages paid for work on goods
al IoJ Il
business. Materials manufactured for
foreign sales come from domestic pro-
ducers. One cannot in truth promote
foreign commerce without thereby aid
ing domestic commerce
Nations Cannot Live Alone
at was characteristic of American
energy that when the President an
nounced the close Of active military
operations through the signing of the
armistice many in our land jumped to
the conclusion that the war was over
and that al that was necessary was to
take up the threads, go ahead and re
adjust quickly, get busy, get results.
A programme Of readjustment was sug-
gested. and we were to push ahead with
business as usual.
"Thesc ardent spirits forgot, how
ever, certain facts which made their
ardor impractical. In the sense Of mill
itary operations the war was over. In
tions, war difficulties, war responsible
ties, it was not over, is not over yet.
Are Doing Their Best
"Our brethren overseas are doing
their best to care for themselves We
canrot but admire the fine spirit Of
self-help in which France takes up her
tar la Gn nj
respect her the more for it, # that
were possiblc-to do all she can for
herself and out of her own resources
to make good her losses so far as she
is able.
$50 may we not wisely think of our
cid friend the French Republic as a
friend who knows our heart is hers,
and the work Of our hands and The
contents Of our purses are at her dis
Eosal, t. be given and taken in broth
erly kindness, but in no sense to be
that her army is not yet demoblized;
many all owner has not yet been able
to see his factory. 1t takes time to
begin in an orderly way to rebuild a
destroyed province. We must and VIII
help tho Frerch to help themselves.
Asked whether the report in Wash
- ma n might Withdraw from
the Cabinet had any basis in fact, Mr..
hed1le.d repned decisively in the mega
tive
B. S. Cutler, chief of the Bureau of
Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Dr.
S. W. Stratton, director of the Bureau
of Standards, and staff of CONNER
cal attaches will meet business men
al an informal conference this morning
from 10 o'clock until ~ at the offices
of the Council of Foreign Relations, at
1868 broadway. They will explain in
detail the work of their bureaus in re-
lation to actual business problems.
They outlined the scope last night