Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-22


Work to Hold mobilize man-power
Aav.,o. and the might of Ia
Dor and industry al
to put four and a half million men
'oVerseas, an equal number in readi-
ness on this side Of the water. and al
strategic points throughout the world
feed and clothe them, and win the
| greatest war in history, 1t is now
| necessary to demonstrate to the world
that American business proposes ia
hold safe against all competition the
business won under and during these
most vexing conditions.
In old markets the United States
Haulted during the war to first place
az source of supply: in many new
markets and in many new lines the
United States is now a close rival for
commerce; before the war the United
states was not a great export ma
ton; today she is the biggest export
| nation on the face of the globe
Other old world nations that have
held business supremacy and in some
| instances unfair monopoly and domi-
commodities are preparing to make a
| drive to regain their lost commercial
prestige and are designing that tn
United States business interests must
suner the consequences. Business In
the United States is being warned and
to some extent preparing to thwart
| this drive in the same glorious way
| that the American soldiery did at the
Argonne and Chateau Thierry
The west coast of South America
furnishes ready and excellent ex-
ample. A close
West Coast of study of this re-
So,+h A,.r;,. gion has just been
made by the bu-
reau of foreign and domestic COM
merce. Business interests in the
United States are planning to cam
paign for South American trade-but
SO also are other important COM
mercial nations.
At the opening Of the war Great
Britain ranked first among the coun-
the west coast of South America; Ger
many ranked second. and the United
States third. During the long and
trade-jumbled years of the war the
west coast has been able to obtain
only a fraction of its usual quantities
Of supplies from Great Britain and
none at all from Germany. This period
h oh
obtaining necessary imports. increas-
ed cost Of imports and the diversion
of trade into new channels. So to-
day we find the United States the chief
exporter to this region toward which
the whole world 10 looking eagerly;
Great Britain occupies second place
and Germany is temporarily out of the
contest. Japan, whose exports were
negligible before the war, has gained
substantial footing for rice. and is
energetically endeavoring to create
permanent market for a wide va
riety of manufactured novelties.
American business interests and the
Latin American division of the bureau
of foreign and do
COnferfiug nestle commerce are
-. p,.h1. now in conference
:: W. '"D1om' on this question:
Can we continue to hold our place
at the head Of the line of exporters
TO the west coast of South America?
Can we compete with European ex-
porters under normal conditions, or
will the west coast trade revert to its
former channels?"
One Of the most encoura ging factors
In this worrisome situation has not been
emphasized suficientIy-namely, the
steady increase in demand for Aperican
products in the west coast markets dur
ing the years Immediately preceding the
war. The federal trade students point
out that the development Of United
States trade with the west coast of
South America has been 50 phenomenal
that American business is prone to for
get that the firm basis for this develop
ment had already been established be-
fore the war.
The present situation and the outlook
for west coast trade have been the spe-
cial mission of a scouting force Of train
ed men, seeking informatin OF value to
the American commerce projectors, and
their reports summarize the conditions
as follows: ~
The readjustment Of commerce to
normal conditions must necessarily be
- slow process. Dur
Readjustmeut ing the past few
Slow Process. "oh'i'S VI suspense
1A0" 1AoSes' exporters have been
waiting until more tonnage should be
released from war uses in the hope
that freight rates might then be low
cred. Importers need supplies Of all
kinds, but are holding OF in anticipa-
ton. of q sharp decline in prices. AS
soon as conditions become sufficiently
normal, however, the United States
OF a bitter war for commercial SUI
premacy. 1t is not going to be easy to
hold the large share of the west coast
trade gained during the war. and it
is well not to ignore the difficulties.
England has endeavored to hold as
much as possible of it's trade even
during tho war: 1t has studied the
market and is used to catering to it,
and its Investments in the west coast
countries still outrank those of
American capital. Germany will at
tempt by every means In her
power to regain q share of the
trade. Japan Is already launching an
SCOPE of it's war trade and hopes to
make it permanent. and since the Jap
anese are becoming q manufacturing
nation they can take in exchange the
raw materials which the west coast
Countries have to export, and give
in return the manufactured article.