The Washington herald., 1921-04-05
United States Makes Plan
To Assist Industries in,
World Markets.
EXPERTS BROUGHT
INTO CONFERENCE
Federal Resources Asked
To Assist in Financing
Sales Agencies.
By MARK SULLIVAN.

The conference of bankers ana
business men from the COTTON
States, held here yesterday on the
initiative of Eugene Meyer, CHAIR
man Of the War Finance Corpora
tion. was the first public step In
group of actions which, as a whole,
constitute a clear policy on the part
of the administration toward busi-
ness.
The policy is a striking depart
urs. It goes to the extent OF bring
ing about for the purposes OF for-
eign trade a high degree of coop
Grafton among business interests
The cooperation Is to be, not
merely under the auspices OF the
government but actually under the
leadership of government ofhciais
To Assess Bankers.
|" The principal proposal at Mr..
Meyers conference with the South
ern bankers, stated very roughly
and briefly, was that they should
assess themselves a small sum, on
the basis of the number OF bales
raised in each State, on the unsold
cotton which they are now carry
ing under considerable embarrass-
ment; that they should use the
money so raised to form a cotton
export association: that this export
association should work with a for
eign trade bank recently formed In
New Orleans. and that by means
OF the two Institutions they should
ship that part of the cotton which
is causing the greatest embarrass-
ment to the banks, to warehouses
in London, Hamburg, Marseilies,
Genoa. and other ports In Europe.
Once the cotton is actually In
Europe. many difficulties of mar
keting, inherent in the present
state of exchange, will be elimi-
mated, and the cotton will be. to
that extent. more readily marketed.
Gsvernnenf 70 Help.
= Mr. Meyer. e chairman OF sns
War Finance Corporation, stands
ready to facilitate this process with
a certain amount of government
help. the money that the govern
ment advanced being contingent
upon the advance Of a much larger
sum by the banks concerned.
To be read in connection with this
action. as rejecting the new govern
ment attitude. Is the step taken by
Secretary of Commerce Hoover In
reviving. to q degree. that voluntary
cooperation of industry which was
practiced by the War Industries
Board during the war. Mr.. Hoover
has summoned to Washington sew
ersl of the dollar-a-year men who
served in the War Industries Board,
to give either all or a part OF their
time to a revival of the system.
To standardiEe.
The theory is that each line of
business. like shoes, for example,
shall be asked to agree 10 make GER
tain standardized models for spe-
cific foreign markets; that they
shall. to some extent. allocate these
foreign markets among themselves.
one group taking South America.
another group China, and so on; and
that they shall achieve economy by
agreeing to eliminate the waste of
competition among themselves In the
field of foreign trade.
These are two potential steps In
a policy which involves an attitude
toward business such as has never
been practiced by the American gov
ernment. except during the war. II
is an intimacy between business
and government which our people
have always been disposed rather to
.frown upon than to approve.
other governments, however, have
long followed the practice. Ger
many followed II with her cartels
and Great Britain follows 1t In the
close intimacy between the British
board of trade and the British for
eign Office. Since the war. Great
Britain has gone muh further with