Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-25
US Chamber of Commerce
Directors Finish Study
of Business Conditions
Nineteen Officers of National Organization Give Out
FirstHand Information on Prevailing Situations in
Commerce, Finance, Foreign and Domestic Trade.

Nineteen officers and directors OF
the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States have just completed
a study of business conditions Of
the western and Pacific coast states.
Their tour was one of the most
extensive ever made by a body of
representative men and was ar
ranged to give them frst-hand in
formation on prevailing conditions
affecting industry, commerce,
finance, foreign and domestic trade
and other of the nations commer-
cial activities.
In each of the II cities visited
Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Tacoma,
Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Mime
apolis> and St. Paul-earnest effort
was made to ascertain how the
Chamber of Commerce of, the
United States could cooperate more
closely and effectively with local or
CARNATIONS. Chambers OF COM
merce, trade associations. CONNER
cial clubs and kindred organiza-
tons, members of the national
chamber, were invited to establish
and maintain closer contact with
the national chamber in Washington
and present to it such problems as
confronted them and were of ma
tional importance. This invitation
was accepted in every instance and
it is hoped that through this means
the chamber will extend its service
in the broadcast possible way to all
American business.
The most important present-day
problems which affect the business
interests of the United States were
explained to the business men in
each city by speakers selected by
the chamber and qualified by study
and experience to discuss them.
These included the question of rail-
roads, merchant MARINE foreign
trade, labor, banking and foreign
policy as regards the rehabilitation
of Europe.
Homer L. Ferguson of Newport
News, Va, president of the national
chamber, appealed to the business
men everywhere to give the ques-
ton of the American merchant ma
rine their earnest consideration. He
pointed out the vital necessity for
the creation, maintenance and op-
Grafton of an all-American mer-
chant marine and declared that the
very independence of this country
depended largely upon transporta-
ton between the United States, Eu-
rope, Asia, South America and other
principal foreign markets. His ap-
peal was enthusiastically endorsed
by all of the local chambers.
The plan for remedial railroad leg
islation as proposed to congress by
the national chamber, after a refer
4 endum vote was described by Alex
ander w. Smith of Atlanta, Ga,
member of the railroad committee
of the chamber. That, too, was en-
dorsed everywhere. 1t provides for
corporate owenrship and operation
of the rilroads under a comprehen-
sive form of government regulation
and the return of the roads to their
owners as soon as adequate legisla-
ton can be enacted.
The officers and directors were
particularly Impressed by the unset
tied labor problems prevailing in the
west as elsewhere. A general
tendency was found to exist among
the employers and industrial lead
ers to take the present enormous
prosperity of the country as a nor
NAL state of affairs, and it was not
as a rule realized that the great
prosperity this country enjoys today
is due largely to its enormous for
eign trade or that the conditions
growing out of the world war had