The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-05-06

the last months of this year. The
basis for this belief are found in the
slow liquidation of commodities, with
the resultant freezing OF domestic
and foreign credits and in continued
government borrowings.
Despite a buyers strike, many re-
tailers were unwilling to take their
losses and sell for lower prices. Mr..
DRUM said. in discussing domestic
markets. This condition existed for
a time he declared, but has changed
and now many retailers are marking
down prices to a basis OF present
cost.
Cancellation of orders followed re-
duced sales and, as result there are
now great quantities of all kinds of
goods for which there
is no demand, lying in the hands OF
manufacturers; Cancellations were
tion has been righted to consider
able extent. Opinions indicated that
the decline in domestic markets to a
great extent has been caused by and
is a reflection of an even more seri-
GUS fall in foreign demand for Amer
lean goods.
Europe Needs Our Goods
Europe needs our goods but has
not the money nor can she arrange
purchase them" DR.. Drum said: THE
United States, pre- eminently the
creditor nation Of the world, must do
for the whole world what the old
world did for us when we as a nation
were younger.
I'VE must help the countries of the
world financially as they can become
Gu toners by using our raw materials
and our manufactured goods in
such quantities as will keep Amer
lean capital and American labor and
natural resources employed to their
full capacity We must become a
nation of foreign traders.
Neither England nor Germany or
any other great trading nation has at
any time in its commercial history
the great opportunities that lie at the
worlds capacity for consuming
American products depends upon the
worlds productive ability, its power
10 create wealth with which to pay for
the raw materials and the manufac-
tured goods it needs. And America,
the creditor nation of the world, the
reservoirs OF the worlds gold and
credit, must by investment in foreign
countries help to create in that pro-
ductive ability. The United States
alone can help financially to restore
to the world that machinery which
is necessary to revive and sustain the
flow of Americas foreign trade"
And the bankers of the nation, Mr..
Drum concluded, must take the lead
ership. I'VE. as bankers" he said,
must face the situation squarely.
We must realize and We must, by
example and education, create an en-
ightened pubic opinion that will make
the people of our country realize just
what the situation is, that there is
no panacea for our ills and only time
and hard work can remedy them"
The Foreign Trade Financing Cor
poration to my mind offers the solu-
tion of the manufacturers problems;
AS ! view the big fundamental
thought back of the Edge Law. I see
in it this problem solved. The Fore
ign Trade Financing Corporation
through its deventures speaks in
American dollars to the American in
yestor, and the American investor
need only have faith in the vast
capital of the corporation and in its
management. Surely, it is automatic
thinkable that the management will
not be both able and of a superior
order.
81 want to protest most strenously
against the viewpoint so prevalent
and now so often expressed to the
effect that we must keep down the
tariff bars to our own markets.
submit that it is a rank financial
heresv to throw a $500 a dav man
out of job in this countrS and sub
stitute $1.00 day man in Europe,
which is a starvation ware at rest.
and expect a saving to ac tue out of
the dollar that will compensate the
American workman for the loss OF
his $500 day job"
Favored Iona Time Credits
Long time credits is essential to
hinges finally uron some actual assur-
ance that another world war will not
occur, Frank H. Taylor of Philadel
phia, told the Eighth Annual Nation
al Foreign Trade Convention here to-
day.
goods today. and cannot pay for
them tomorrow or the next day, how
shall we sell them on long, time
have a right to ask for long credits
because it is a fact that we have be-
come a creditor nation, and ought to
be able to give them financial assist
ance.
There are few manufacturers in
this country who can afford to fin
ance exports upon short term paper
difficulty is that such extended credit
is mere temporary bridge to enable
our customer to buy what they can
not pay for now. 1t is a bridge to
carry the load until the balance in
foreign trading right themselves.
Foreign business is not to be done
by chance, and foreign credits are not
to be granted by chance. We are in
fact a creditor nation, therefore it is
our responsibility that a stabilizing
plan, a permanent bridge shall be
built up by cooperation between our
bankers and our manufacturers. We
ought to try jointly to formulate the
basis by which our power to extend
credit can be used effectively.
"As we are a creditor nation, and
if we mean to do an export business,
che first step is to create a broad
foundation of invisible imports into
the United States that will hold one
abutment of our permanent bridge.
This can be managed under the guild
ance of our great bankers. Our
bankers can count upon eventual re-
lief through a gradual growth of i'm
ports. Under a proper tariff, impor-
tations will increase, but not nearly
fast enough to meet the requirements
of the day Foreign securities must