The Alaska daily empire., 1920-09-17
U. s. MARKETS NOT M|EAACEED N BY LAPS,
National Bank of Commerce
 Outlines Reasons Why Competition Not Feared.

does not menace American industry. the National Bank of Commerce in New York declares in the September issue of it's magazine, Commerce Monthly. On the other hand an ex- animation of the trade of the United States with Japan since 1914 empha- sizes the important relationship be- ing to the bank, indicates the desir- ability of maintaining satisfactory mutual trade relations between them.
 "The possibility of such competi- ton on considerable scale.' says Commerce Monthly, lis to be deter mined partly by general conditions and partly by special conditions in those industries where Japanese com petition seems most likely
 Distance Big Factor
 ''The first factor is distance Yo- kohama is 4,536 nautical miles from San Francisco, 9,699 miles from New York via the Panama Canal. and 8,414 statute miles by water and rail via San Francisco. Freight charges are not a large item in the case of articles the value of which is high in relation to weight, but it is obvious that the distance makes competition a negligible factor in the heavier classes of commodities which either by reason of natural resources the United States is fitted to produce or the character of the labor supply. It is true that Japanese competition is much more important factor on the Pacific Coast than on the Allan tic Seaboard, but it is likewise true that about 90 per cent of the popula- tion of the United States, hence ap- proxiimately the same percentage of purchasing power, is east of Denver, so that the relatively more advanta- geOus position of Japan on the Pa cific Coast is not to be regarded as constituting a serious threat to Am erican industries.
 Relative Labor Cost
 "The second factor by which the competitive ability of Japan is to be measured is the relative labor cost Ten years ago the labor cost enter ing into Japanese manufactured prod ucts may have been notably lower than the labor cost in the United States. Whether or not this was the case cannot be said to have been are not a criterion.
 Tn recent years, however. great changes have taken place in the labor situation in Japan. Prices have risen even more rapidly than in the United States. Wages of necessity have advanced to meet the increased cost of living. Moreover Japanese labor is slowly growing out of it's passive orientalism and the stand ard of living is rising. Although it is probable that the efficiency of Japanese labor is improving as a re- suit of changing conditions, the gain has not yet been great enough to offset the increased money cost which has taken place. American manufacturers. therefore, should not be at any marked disadvantage as far as sales in the nited States are concerned.
 Imports From Japan
 Imports from Japan cover a wide and interesting range. The principal articles which we import regularly are articles which we do not produce ourselves because of conditions which do not make production profit able, such as silk, tea and camphor, or such commodities as we do not domestic use, such as beans, peas soya bean oil, peanuts for oil and braid for hats. A large share con- sists of miscellaneous type of small wares which are usually thought of as oriental goods typical Japanese products.
 Our heavy purchases enable Japan in turn to buy from the United States many raw or semi-manufactured and manufactured materials which the United States produces or can pro- duce in excess of domestic needs. Examples are raw cotton, iron and steel, machinery and engines, kero- sene oil and chemicals. In other words there is a sound basis for an exchange of commodities between the two countries to their mutual advantage.
 "The character of Japanese i'm ports into the United States indi-