New-York tribune., 1919-10-20
Business ENJOYS of England,
Belgium, France and of
Italy Meet America at
Atlantic City This Week
Economic League Likely
Informal Sessions to Start
Today: Reconstruction
Work Will Be Taken Up

international trade delegates from five
leading nations have gathered here.
Spokesman for American industry
are hero to suggest new business
methods to keep alive the nations
foreign commerce, on which they feel
ultimate prosperity depends From
Belgium, France, Italy and Great Bri-
tain ENJOYS have come to propose
extraordinary measures to keep open
which goods in endless stream have
been flowing eastward. Delegates from
the Old World are not envisagng pres
ent economic conditions purely as a
matter of business. Without the raw
materials and the credit that they
confidently expect to get in the United
States they frankly predict that their
nationals may be unable to muddle
through the coming winter. The
Americans, too, are looking beyond
the horizon Of immediate, comm ercial
interest and are concerned over the
human aspect Of the problem Of get
ting Europe to function again as
going concern.
Economic League Likely
From the standpoint of international
machinery, the most important result
Of the international trade conference
which informally opens tomorrow
morning, may be the establishment of
permanent international trade body.
a quasi-economic league Of nations,
similar in nature to the international
labor organization created by the treaty
Of peace.
special committee, of which Harry
A: Wheeler, first president of the
Chamber of CommeHe of the United
States, is chairman, has been appoint
ed to suggest plan for permanent
organization. and will report Friday.
Each of the foreign delegations has
world trade body, and the various
suggestions will be worked over by
the American committee. 1t has been
proposed that all members of the
league Of nations be permitted to en-
ter the contemplated trade organiza-
tion. The newer natons-such as
Czecho- S!ovakia, go-Slavia, Poland
and the European neutrals-would
probably be the first additional ma
tions invited to participate, and some
delegates think that Germany ought
sooner or later to be admitted.
Then Latin America
The Latin American nations, which
are just beginning to take an intereet
in international economic groupings,
may also be asked to sit in at future
the Belgian delegation, will be one of
the prime movers in the freezing of
the present temporary conference into
a permanent organization. He was
presiding officer at all the internation-
al meetings OF chambers of commerce
which were held between 1905 and
1914.
Edward A. Filene, Boston merchant,
was an enthusiastic observer of these
earlier strivings after better under
standing between nations in the arena
of trade. He succeeded in having the
1912 conference held in Boston, and
that gathering is the only precedent
for the present great meeting of the
worlds foremost men Of business here
at this time.
Mr.. Filene is member of the
American committee on permanent or
ganization, and to him the delegates
eigners seem inclined to defer to an
American in this matter. With E. G.
Miner, president of the Rochester
Chamber Of Commerce, and Thomas
w. Lamont, of ]. P. Morgan & Co, Mr..
Filcne attended committee meeting
in Paris last April in which the idea of
the present conference was born. The
purpose of that exchange of views was
to determine how best to revive the
annual meetings of chambers of COM
merce Of various nations.
Conference Is Limited
Besides the four European nations
of the others sought the right to send
delegates, but it was decided to exclude
them temporarily. The reason for that
was a desire to concentrate at present
on the immediate needs of the coun-
tries of Western Europe which are
facing. physical problems of recon-
struction.
Of the four foreign nations having
informal trade ambassadors here Great
first place her delegates are not clothed
, with the same semi-off1cial authority
that the others have, and they are con-
sciously stressing the fact that they
| come in no sense as supplicants. A
. member of the mission said to-day that
, Great Britain hopes to extend vast aid
to the continental nations herself
1ather than seek help outside.
The French, Belgians and Italians
! have been budgeting their wants and
will begin tomorrow to present them
to the American delegates who have
, been grouped into various sub-com-
mittees. Five hundred men are already
here for the conference, and officia Is
of the Chamber of Commerce of the
.. United States, under whose auspices
, the conference was arranged, predict
, that more than $500 will participate
, in the formal meetings which start
Wednesday,
Meet This Morning
, At 10 o'clock tomorrow morning the
missions from Belgium. France, Great
Britain and Italy will meet all the
American subcommittee at the Hotel
Traymore, the conference headquarters
j. S. Alexander, president of the Ma
tional Bank Of Commerce of New York
in an address will touch on Americas
ability to lend credit and the condi-
tions under which it can be done.
In the afternoon the Belgian dele.
gates will hold special conferences with
American business leaders on food.
stuffs, reconstruction supplies, petro.
/ leum and textiles, and the French will
exchange views on coal. metals chem.
, icals and foodstuffs. The Italians will
relate their need for coal and ton.
mage, and the British delegates will
, confer with bankers of the United
States on credit and finance.
> Air Limo to Cut 48 Hours