The New York herald., 1920-01-28
INCREASE EXPORTS,
SENATOR EDGE URGES
Declares America Must Have
Greater Production and Seek
Markets of the World.
.OPPOSES FURTHER CREDITS
Must Mobilize Merchant Marine to Aid
Movement, He Asserts at Allied I
Machinery Centre Luncheon.

We have not modified our energies
for peace times" Senator Walter e..
Edge, of New Jersey declared yesterday
at the luncheon celebrating the opening
OF the Allied Machinery Centre at Walker
and Centre streets, a sales organization
designed to further the export trade Of
fifteen non-competitive manufacturers.
The merchant marine is useless to us
In its present state" he continued An
we do is prate about it, wave the old
flag, talk about the seven seas and all
that sentimental stuff. Unless we pre-
pare. as business men, to use the merchant
marine to advantage. ships will be going
across in ballast rather than laden with
products of America
The Senator advocated the exporting of
goods on which a profit couldA be made as
a better method OF reconstructing Europe
than the extension of foreign credits or
other forms of financing on which tax
has to be paid at home. He urged the
capitalization of our present credit bal
ance.
1 believe in the purchase of securities :"
he said, for We will never solve the
problem by lending Europe any more
money. Cash credits will not solve the
problem; we have overexhausted every
possible means of taXation we are not
solving our own problems in that way.
Must Increase Production.
I'VE must increase production. 1t can
not be done in narrow market but through
the markets of the world. The income
tax will never leave us, but the excess
profits tax should go and go quickly. We
should make bonds sufficiently attractive
to reach the public and popularize our
debentures among the popuace It is
just as important that we sell these deben-
lures for the good of posterity as it was
to sell Liberty bonds for the success of
our armies abroad"
Joshua w. Alexander. Secretary of Com
merce. in the course of his address said
that he was not in strict agreement with
government ownership of the merchant
marine and strongly favored the taking
over of shipping by private interests. He
also praised the administration of William
G. Refield. his predecessor and announced
that the foreign trade balance at the end
of 1919 was sf,0is,0 900 900 in favor of the
United States. In pledging the, support of
his department to the foreign trade and
shipping interests of the country he said
that the department has recently been
holding weekly conferences with the Ship
ping Board in the interests of foreign
trade.
George Ed. Smith president of the Royal
Typewriter Company and a former presi-
dent of the American Manufa cturers'
Export Association, declared that the
manufacturers of the United States are
seeking foreign markets not to profit from
an abnormal and temporary situation but
as part of settled and permanent policy.
Not one of us would have dreamed be-
fore the war that We could sell to Eng
land with the pound sterling at $50. to
France with the franc at 12 or to Italy
with the Ira at II. Yet we are doing this
toners are bankrupt or their necessities
are satisfied" Mr. Smith said.
Not a Healthy situation.
This is not a healthy situation. either
for Europe or for ourselves. The Ameri-
can producer makes no profit from the
depreciation of European exchange and
the European buyer is compelled to pay
prices which we recognize as runous
as well as he" 1t was the wisest
policy for America, he concluded, to i'm
prove present methods of purchase and
tide European customers over the diff
culties which now beset them.
AS an example of the assistance possible
to give Mr.. Smith cited the need of Italy
for coal. She must come to the United
States for practically her total supply of
coal this year (about 100000 tons), Mr..
Smith said. In normal times the coal
could be supplied to Italy at s. ton and
be paid for at the rate of five lire to the
dollar. Today coal costs more than $50
a ton in Italy. and the present rate of
exchange is fourteen lire to the dollar.
The approximate difference to Italy be-
tween present and pre-war costs, he said,
is therefore almost 2,s0O, 900 900 lire.
Government owned vessels carry the
coal to Italy. and the greater part of the
advanced cost is in transportation charges.
Would 1t not be feasible, he suggested. for
the United States government to charge
only the actual operating expenses for the
transportation of Italys coal and take her
bonds for anything over and above that
figure?
Charles r. Lang presided at the lunch
con, which was served amid huge boilers
and machines.