Evening star., 1919-03-02
Foreign Trade Discussed.

The extension of foreign trade is more
important, and yet we had already taken
about all the steps that could be taken,
even before our entrance into the war,
TO take care of the development of our
foreign trade. The first thing that is
essential in developing foreign trade is
to know where the trade is to be had,
and consequently our government es-
tablished commercial attaches in con-
nection with the diplomatic forces, re-
porting through the State Department
and the Department of Commerce, by
which our business men throughout
the United States might be kept ad-
vised of where opportunities for for
eign trade were to be had.
We did more than that. We had
realized that the location of foreign
trade was not in itself sufficient;
that there must be credits establish
ed, credits not simply suitable to our
selves, but also suitable to the coun-
try with which we desired to deal.
Germany had built up a tremendous
South American trade, had built II
up principally because she had es-
tablished system of credits suitable
to South American countries; and it
was necessary if we We're to par
ticipate in foreign business that we
also should establish methods of for
eign trade. And so. in our federal
reserve act, we provided that our
banking institutions might establish
branch banks in foreign countries as
a means of financing the foreign OPP
erations and furnishing the neces-
sary credit, and having furnished the
means of credit and located the bust
ness, then one other very important
step was necessary; and that was TO
f1nd a means of transportation. Our
shipbuiIding operations have now
reached such a magnitude that we are
building even more merchant vessels
than Great Britain herself. By carry
ing on our shipbuilding program we
are in a position to furnish the trans
pcrtatfon necessary for taking care
of our foreign trade. Thus the i'm
poYtant features have been taken
care of in connection. with the recon
struction work of our foreign COM
merce.
Therefore there remains for US, as
the acute problem with which we
have to deal the problem OF demo-
biiizing our Army and our Navy and
our industrial war workers and re-
establishing ourselves on normal.
postwar basis Now. that might be
a very easy thing to accomplish II
every man engaged in business IN
the United States were filled with the
idea that the thing for him to do is
to get going, get his establishment
on at least as large and effective a
basis as it was prior to the war.
There are many employers. many
business men, who feel that II is not
wise to do that from a financial
standpoint. that the war cost of labor
is out of the question, and that the
thing for business to do is TO wait
until the price of material goes down
and the price of labor goes down also;
that IL would be an unwise thing TO
buy material at the price at which it
is obtainabie today, and tomorrow
every competitor be able to buy it al
90 or 25 per cent less. having thereby
a decided competitive advantage; and
the reasoning seems fairly sound
But IL is only a phase of the situa-
tion confronting us. My vision of the
situation is that there Will not be
more than four to six mouths at the
most OF Interim between the signing
of the armistice and our getting into
the regular, postwar swing; and the
reasons which have brought me 10
that conclusion are several