The Washington herald., 1921-04-29
SECRETARY SAYS MUST PROTECT FOREIGN TRADl

moral problems are serious-and at
the same time we have several mill
lion idle men.
nc mic forces involved The costs of
building construction have By no
means come down to the same level
as have the costs OF many other in
dustries- ..s - -.
This difference in economic levels
Is, OF course, a great bar to renewal
of construction activity and 1t is at
tributable to many causes. /
The whole question of economic
levels In the building industry also
Involves considerations of a moral
character. The public is daily re-
ceiving conviction that combinations
and conspiracies of all kinds exist
In this industry to maintain fictiti-
Gus levels-creating waste, extor-
tionate profits. corruption Of various
sorts and kinds. The summation of
these has been to destroy public con-
ndence in great degree.
Suggest Conferences.
A great ma jority of the manufoc-
turing, distributing and assembling
trades and workers are not in anv
manner participants in wrongdoinr
and are indeed suffering from the
actions of a small minority in the
industry. 1t seems to me that the
chambers OF Commerce. in the diff
1erent cities and towns of the
united states could well interest
themselves in the solution of this
problem. and IL they were to fur
ther the movement already started
OF local conferences with the differ
ent branches of the construction
industry-material. labor, contrac-
tors. together with bankers and
other civic bodies representing the
consumer-they might not only
raise moral standards but also Sc
cure helpful economic action by
such community movements.
Prompt and clear-sighted public
service of this character may con-
tribute materially to relieving the
stagnation in the building trades
and to the amelioratiou of suffering
arising from the present condition
The national government cannot go
into the business OF building. The
Department of Commerce is doing
what IL can to contribute through q
voluntary movement to secure the
development of more uniform build
ing codes and the Standardization of
certain materials. This uniformity
alone would save many tens of
millions annually IL IT could be ac-
complished.
Viewing the disastrous phenomena
of boom and slump in the light of
what the government can properly
do, I believe there has been a great
underestimation as to the potential
Importance to commerce and indus
try in this connection of an ade-
quate service of statistics. ] believe
that the stability and soundness of
business can be. greatly enhanced
and that vicious speculation can be
curtailsd by q more adequate infor-
nation service maintained by the
government.
T, Infetmstion Needed.
What i mean is that we. should
have more timely. more regular and
more complete information of the
current production and consumption
and stocks OF every great commod-
ity in the United States. / am con-
WINGED that we should go even fur
ther than this: that we should Sc
cure and publish the proportion of
the total equipment of more impor-
tant industries that is. in .current
production. together with the total
proportion Of labor complement that
is in service; and that in a few COM
modities II may be well to procure
and publish the primary prices.
II. for instance, last autumn, the
public had realized that our stocks
of coal on the surface were probably
above normal, that at the time they
were bidding for coal at SIS per ton.
the actual realization at the mine
was probably less than $500; IL they
had been aware that the capacity
of the coal mines were even then
not running over so per cent; that
the limitation of supply was due to
railway difficulties which would be
solved with a little patience. then, I
am convinced that many sensible
people would have stayed out Of the
coal markeA. and that we should have
had no buying panic. with its profit
eering, it's consequent slump and
great losses.
Another instance is the rubber in
dustry, and / believe the members
of that industry will bear me out
in saying that il there had been an
accurate monthly statement of the
current ratio, Of production capacity
and operation in the different
branches OF: the industry. and IL the
stocks of major manufactured and
raw materials in hand, they would
have been saved tremendous losses
rot only in overaccumulation of
goods, but also in overexpansioa. of
equipment. Il
Government Function.
Various industries have tried
time and again to secure such data
Informally, but It is essential to