The Washington herald., 1921-04-30
CONFERENCE HELD
BY BUSINESS MEN
| ON TRADE PLANS
Meet With Hoover to Help
Reorganize Depart
/ ment.

The frst of q series of confer
ences with Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover and a large dele
cation Of business and professional
men to consider plans for reor-
ganizihg the Department Of Com
nerces was held here yesterday.
Thelsession started at $3.50 in the
afternoon and lasted until late in
the e9ening. Mr.. Hoover outlined
. the situation confronting American
business at home and abroad and
told the members of the commit
tee he would depend upon them to
make recommendations looking to
the Improvement of the department
| TO meet the needs of industry. 1t
was Explained that the problems
presented are so complicated that
no definite program could result
from rhe first gathering and that
other conferences will be held un-
I'll a workable plan is agreed upon.
feed Information Service.
Onei of the big questions under
|eonsideration is a more adequate in
formation service, a feature that
the department believes will con-
tribute to the stability and sound
ness OF business and curb vicious
Speculation. II Is planned to have
more regular and timely statistics
ef the current production and con-
sumption and stocks of every great
commodity in the United States
Various industries have tried to
gather this information, it was
said. but in order to be useful II
should be collected and presented
to the whole commercial world by
some government department which
would approach the problem in a
purely objective way.
This service would naturally in
elude information on the foreign
markets and some plan Of meeting
the active competition abroad.
Get Ideas From Business Men.
1t Has emphasized. however. that
the conference was called to enable
Mr.. Hoover to get ideas of repre-
sentative business men as to how
the department could be made high
ly useful. Practically all attending
the cehference, it was said. had had
extensive dealings with the different
branches of the government and
were in a position to suggest in
whatsway the Department Of Com
mercs might be elaborated so as to
give the nation the kind of service
most bneeded
Following is a list Of those at
tendik B: John p Wood. National As
social lion of Wool Manufacturers,
PhilSeelphia; Sydney l. Wright.
Philadelphia Commercial Museum;
wilfard H. Schoft, Philadelphia
Comrpercial Museum; William Nc
Cormiek. Johnson and johnson, New
Brunswick; W. H. Stackhouse. pres
idents National Implement and We
hicle Association; W. G. Jamison.
American Farm Bureau; Hugh P.
Baker.i American Paper and Pulp
Association: W. J. Ringhold. Rising
Paper Co.; George W Sisson. r.
Rocqnett Paper Co; W. L. Rcqua.
mining engineer; r. H. Claiming.
president Utah Consolidated Mining
Co.: Stuart W. Cramer. president
National Council Of American Cot
ton Manufacturers: ". D. Adams
American Cotton Manufacturers AS
sociation; H. l. Thayer. Tanners
Council: Charles Piez. Link Belt
Co.. Chicago; Charles H. MacDowell
president National Fertilizers Asso-
ciatidH; Hamilton Stewart. Harri-
son-Walker Refractory Co: NJ A
Cudin, vice president General Elec-
trio Co; Ernest T. Trigg. vice presi-
dent John Lucas Co; S. NJ. Evans.
president National Paint. Oil and
VarnEh Association; Alexander
LegCs. International Harvester Co.
Julius Rosenwald. Sears Roebuck
and 60; Frank H. Briggs. Thomas
G. Plant Co; ]. ]. Roskob. General
MotoSs; Ralph P. Merritt. San Fran
ciscoS, \. W. Shaw. Chicago; J.
Walter Drake, Hup Motor Car 60.
and National Auto Chamber Of Com
merce: Clarence Woolley, pre1ideEt
American Radiator Co.
After the conference the members
of the committee were guests CfI
Mr.. Hoover at n dinner at his homo
last night.