Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-20

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! devious routes COM
Commercial mercial pilgrimages
Pilgrimages. only by the great
maritime nations rivalrously ambi-
tious to extend their overseas business,
dom considered, hidden places now
eager to barter with native produce,
which they are just coming to realize
has an important trading value in the
markets of the world.
| No more picturesque group has
come offering to exchange what they
produce for what the United States
! manufac tures than the Abyssinian
mission. which has attracted much at
| tention here, partly on account of
their capes and otherwise unusual
costume, which has led some face
tious observers to remark that they
| look like a group of Elks on parade
While the purpose of this mission is
primarily political. it is known on
most reliable authority that they also
are anxious to arouse interest in the
commercial possibilities of the Afri-
can kingdom and are prepared to give
| American business interests a pref
| erential welcome.
! From a great inland country popu-
| lated by 100000 to 10000. 900 people
| who have never exploited their native
resources and who have little idea of
| their own productive power have
come this mission seeking trade ex-
! change with the United States be-
, cause they are suspicious that their
surrounding nations have political
the utmost confidence that the United
| States will not thus appraise their
| country.
| This trust in the United States is
not of sudden growth, but has been of
| many years development
Good Will When you find a country
! r. w. in which piece of Amer
lean cotton cloth consti-
| tutes a monetary standard. where
| American is a standard medium of
| exchange even as rock salt. cartridges
and such commodities used where
| the Maria Theresa dollar is not avail
American trade already has that
| good will so frequently referred to
as prime requisite for successful
commerce.
| The trade pilgrimage of this Alb
| yssinian mission is one that must in
spire American foreign trade pro-
tectors. 1t visualizes and typifies the
| commercial ideals and destiny that is
opening up before America. Out of
obsecurity, starting on their long
Journey toward the sun" by the
most primitive modes of conveyance
they have come asking that the great
est merchant marine in the world s
history carry goods to them from the
| greatest manufacturing nation in the
world, which but recently back ed
| German science gone mad off the war
| map of Europe.
1t brings back the picture of the
early days of the trader. before this
country became the leader in world
commerce that it is today, before it
| became the richest nation in all Gre
alton. Out of the wilderness came the
indians swapping valuable hides and
game and hSh and native products for
the trinkets of civilization, for cloths
and fabrics and the finished work of
manufacture. 1t brought new and
larger life to the Indians. so that to-
day some of their direct descendants
and one of them is putting his sigma
ture to the currency of this nation:
! 1t brought also undreamed- wealth
to the pioneer merchants.
America was land of rich re-
sources for the early traders. Abys-
sinia is similarly prom
! Outlook for Using. for there does
1 Ahn,,;-;. not exist any equal
' portion of the COM
mercially undeveloped part of the
| world in which the opportunities for
| an important economic and industrial
development are SO promising.
| Here is the proposition to which at
tention has been directed by the visit
must arouse not only the cupidity, the
profit seeking zeal of the American
+! trade pioneer, but the romance Of
trade and especially Of foreign trade,
difficulties that must be overcome in
carrying commerce along unblazed
trails which make the game worth
while entirely aside from the profits
| in the undertaking.:
First The commercial prospects or
future of Abyssinia for American
trade are excellent.
Second. The market is one that in
| wolves pioneering and serious investi-
cation and study of the special condi-
| tons in order to overcome the diff
culties in the way Of profitable and
successful business.
| Until very recently, shortly before
the mission came Offering commercial
| friendship, the Abyssinian govern
ment had never been interested in the
promotion of trade. There are no
government reports or accurate sta
tistical information on resources, pro-
duction, ETC., which the government
| the very gateway to this promising
! market the American pioneer trader
meets an unusual obstacle He next
finds that there is no efficient COM
mercial organization on a large scale
which might aid in the collection of
reliable data. So there is no Abys-
s1nian data on which to base calcula-
tons as to the extent of the market
regarding specific trade opportunities.
! American business interests have
at times criticised the United States
! government establish
| Consul's ments as not being pro-
Report. e eseIals 10 m an Amsp,saa
and exporters to find new markets to
conquer. Here is a notable refutation
of such charges. For even before
the Abyssinians awoke to the COM
| mercial possibilities of their own
country and prepared to encourage
| foreign trade and foreign capital the