New-York tribune., 1919-06-25
Commerce Department Will
Open Offices Abroad in
Effort to Liven Business
By Trading Idle Stocks
System to Be Permanent
Officials Say America Must
Recognize New Order
of International Dealings
Ne,U York Tribune
W1.shiu0tOn Bureau

UdSHtVUtOn bureau
WASHINGTON, June "a. To help
start the great machinery of interna-
tional trade to functioning once again
as it did before the Germans with their
war threw a sledge hammer into it, the
Department of Commerce has decided
upon the novel plan Of establishing
business offices in Europe that will
seek to coordinate supply and demand
The plan is based on the theory that
one of the principal obstacles to lively
international trade now is that the
world is full of isolated and, so to
speak, lethargic goods or idle capacity
to produce. Credit is not extended
because the goods do not move and
goods are not moved because credit is
not extended.
One outcome is plethora Of schemes
for extending credit by America in
order to move the goods.
The Department of Commerce pur-
poses to tackle the problem from the
opposite angle and create credits by
moving goods. So it will establish q
number of Offices in Europe that will
virtually be international exchanges
and meeting places for buyers and
sellers. The managers of these Offices
will be charged with searching out the
idle goods, or the instrumentalities to
create them there, and getting the
goods traded for the idle goods of
America and, perhaps, in some cases,
of some other country.
The method of operation mag be il
Illustrated by citing hypothetical case.
A manufacturer of olive oil in Italy
may have large accumulations of stock
time he may be in need of improved
machinery which an American engi-
neering company is trying to sell to
him. The Italian has property, but he
has no credit because there is no move
ment of his product In the United
States at the same time there may be a
potentially great market for olive OIL
Now if buyer can be found for even
a part. of the oil makers stock the
whole of it instantly has a banking
value, credit results, the Italian is
financed and buys the American ma
chinery.
Knowing American requirements and
markets thoroughly, the American bust
L. -
to start here and there throughout
Europe innumerable transactions of
large or small degree, which will act on
international trade and credit as does
the cupful of water in starting through
the pump the inexhaustible volume of
water in the we'll:
Some of the offices to be established
will be temporary, but it is intended
to perpetuate the system, the main
purpose of which will be, in the long
run, to develop lasting international
trade by stimulating the exchange Of
non-competitive goods, that is, of find.
g ing markets here for foreign goods
that we really need and markets there
lux HHCAiCdu SOOUS CHaC VIII HI
manifest gap in foreign economy.
Officials of the Department of Com.
merce point out in this connection tha,
the traditional American view of for
eign trade must now be modified. In
the past, when we were a debtor ma
tion, the game was to sell abroad as
much as possible and buy as little as
possible, as the balance in our favo,
was credit offset against our for
eign debts. Having become a credito,
nation, we must now expect not only tc
receive goods for goods, but also goods
In liquidation Of debts. If we have
large permanent export trade we
must inevitably have a large import
trade. There are no other terms. thew
argue, on which we can have a large
/. export business. and since in som.
's hnes' notably steel, the United State.
is now capable Of producing 20 ne,
cent more than the domestic re
guirements demand, we must have ,
large volume of exports or suffer stag
nation at home.