Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1919-08-22
EASTERN CONN.
MICS MEET AT INN
w. Irving Billiard of Boston
and Danielson Special
Guest of Evening
Says Connecticut Has Big Oppor-
tunity for Foreign Trade

held at the Putnam Inn at 8 o'cfocE
Tuesday evening. The special CUES
Of the occasion was w Irving Bullare
of the Merchants bank of Boston
who recently returned from studyine
industrial conditions abroad.
Mr. Billiard has addressed manu-.
=, facturers on various occasions and
his words are listened to with inter-
est, as he has investigated conditions
and is in a position to state matters
authoratively.
after making a careful analysis
Of the markets of France, Spain,
Switzerland, italy. and Belgium for
such products as are manufactured in
Connecticut, / am thoroughly con-
WINGED that the international demand
! for our goods was never so great as
at present" says Mr. Billiard in re-
! port which has been made TO E. Kent
Hubbard of Middletewn, president of
the Manufacturers, Association of
Connecticut.
Mr.. Billiard, who was formerly as
sistant treasurer Of the Goodyear
Cotton Mills at KillinE1y has just re-
/ turned from a trip tor Europe, where
he went as a member IF the commits
sion of the World Cottsn Conference
Speaking of the emergency require
ments for tools and hardware, Mr..
Billiard says: "The emergency re-
quirement for machine tools and
heavy hardware is beng met from
the surplus supplies held by the liner
lean government in France, but am
confident, after many conferences
with representative commercial inter-
ests and government officials in the
FIVE countries mentioned, that il will
be several years before the present
demand for re-equipmeut can be sup
Piled He takes up the various
countries in detail as f0dows:
Belgium
Il have had talks with Baron For
geur. head of the Belgian Reeonsrrue-
ton. He declared that the entire
couu6ry was in great need of small
tools and utensils Of al sorts, espe-
cially those things used by household
ers. Only one factory 50 far as he
knew. was at tine moment engaged IN
mapmfact urfng these household af-
fairs, and as the Germans took, or ru-
med, the equipment 81 thousands OF
places, the people IN towns and IN
rural communities are esrdeavoring to
arrange for the purchase Of sucd
hardware in Germany.
Belgian industry Will not tie re4ess.
tabishe4 until the machinery prob
| lem is thoroughly served through the
! return or purchase ard installation of
| pre-war equHpment. How the various
! industries are now carrying on raay
be imagined from che following rig-
ures, which are seni-officiai, of the
montaIy production of Nay, rsf3,
and May, 1919:
| Coal 1913 $50, 900; (19f9e H.
100000
Coke (ie13) $4,000 tsne5 (Esrs,
$4,000.
Cement u91S) $4,000 sons; trsts)
1900.
| Blast furnaces 19S) elo,o0C
tons; (fei9) 4.D65.
Sugar refines). Q9E3) @,206. 1867
silos; (f9l9) S.700,00W
| Cotton for weaving C1913t $4,000
meters; (l919) 500.
Flax for spinning tt91SA $4,000
brooches; 19t0 SS,od0.
The above. figures do not include
the glass industry, which Is far and
away ahead of all others in the mat
ter of resumption of work.
These figures include losses
through iuieness IN the war. as wei
as actual destruction and requisitior
of material by the Germans; also the
financial! aid given to Belgium work
ers at home and in German prison
camps
FIoin Il ~
gium is very strong. The indemnities
from Germany and the cancellation OF
war debts to the allies will make hei
credit Al. Already in America there
is commercial credit of 800, 00O,-
600 for Belgium. This is the great
field today for Connections manufac
turers.
France
Clementello. minister of commerce
and industry, Paris, IS enthusiastic
over the future commercial relations
with America The demand for ma
chine tools, structural steel Of al
types, heavy hardware and genera
machinery, is without limit in France
In many of the manufacturing cen
tiers of France, there win have to b
purchased hundreds of millions o
! dollars worth of machinery for th'
! re-equipment of the French indus
tries.
The French credit is rather NOR
\ difficult than the Belrian, but man,
\ of the larger international banking in