Evening star., 1922-05-07
NATIONS TRADE LEADERS
COMING TO THE CAPITAL
Five Thousand Business Men Expected to
Attend Convention of Chamber of
Commerce of United States. ,

the prospects are. as shown in these
reports, that the accumulated short
age OF dwellings will be somewhat
cut down this year. For the purpose
of determining whether these. reports
are borne out by facts. and for. the
purpose of going into other construc-
tion questions. there will be held
meeting on housing in connection
with the convention.
The principal speaker at the hous-
ing section will be Leonard p Ayres,
vice president of the Cleveland Trust
Company. who will present the "Pros-
poets of the Construction Industry in
American Cities" Lyman Clark of
the General Electric Company, Schen-
ectady. n. Y, will speak on The
Dangers of Shoddy Construction"
Ample opportunity will be afforded
builders. and others who are interested.
to take part in the discussion.
Railroad questions will be dealt
with in two group sessions, the first
having to do solely with domestic
problems and the second with gen.
eral transportation questions which
have bearing on foreign trade. The
railroad group session will be held
on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 16.
with the general topic for considera-
tion "Experience Under the Trans
portati Act, 1890" and special ref
erence to the rate-making provisions
and the financial provisions of the
act.
Experiences OF Railroads
Under u. s. Control.
The transportation act has now
been in operation for more than two
years. The Interstate Commerce Com
mission has established a new level
Board has established a new level of
wages under the provisions of the
act. The Railroad Administration
and the commission have made sub
stantial progress in settling the in
debtedness of the government to the
railroads for the period of federal
control and for the guarantee period
Of six months Immediately following
the return of the roads to private OPP
Grafton. The commission has also
exercised a number OF new executive
and administrative functions of rail-
road regulation and has held a pro-
tracted general inquiry to determine
whether it would be lawful for the
commission to make further reduc-
tions in railroad rates at the present
time, and what should be the rate of
return to the railroads after the ex-
80 -. ctn
| Of the act
The speakers at the railroad group
session will present an authoritative
statement Of the experience gained
under the new provisions of the act
and there will be an opportunity for
free discussion of their addresses by
the business men and railroad Off
cials attending the meeting. On May
16, also, two other groups will dis
cuss transportation problems. one
dealing with highway questions and
the other taking UP the merchant
marine. All of these three groups
will combine on the second day.
when international phases of the
TRANSFORMATION situation are gone into.
Domestic Distribution Problem
One of Most Important.
Domestic distribution will be con-
sidered at two group sessions. The
domestic distribution department of
the national chamber, which is ar
ranging the program for these two
group meetings, has selected three
topics for discussion at the first group
meeting on May Is. These topics, ac-
cording to THE department. affect inti-
mately every merchant and most
manufacturers in the United States.
At the first group meeting How
Changes in Rates Alter the Geogra-
ply as Efectually as New Range
of Mountains or the Disappearance
Of q Great River" will be described
by Charles E. Efmquist of st. Paul.
ex-president of the National Associa-
| tion of Railroad and Utilities Com
missioners and now advisory counsel
for several of the largest shipping in
terests. "The Growth and Signifi-
canoe of Chain Stores to All Types
of Distributors" is one of the most
serious business questions of the
day. Independent retailers and the
, , wholesalers who serve them have felt
! chain stores are a danger. but there
is reason to doubt the unqualified
| truth of this view, since it has been
stated by one of the owners of
great chain that he could locate an
independent store beside his own best
| chainN store and drive it out of bust
| ness. DR.. Paul H. Nystrom, director
of the Retail Research Association.
will tell the results of recent study
| Of chain stores.
Business Realises Need
OF Accurate Information.
Business conditions are of such II
character that distributors feel an
acute need for accurate information
| to dispel the uncertainties which
| cloud the future. Lack of definite
| knowledge in the recent past has led
| to much distress which might have
been avoided If there had been
| wider acquaintance with the relation
between the peaks and precipices of
prices and production. When the fig-
ures Of distribution reached an un-
/ precedented height it was the time
| to prepare for a descent. Had every
\ one known then what a comparative
ly few were aware of-but what most
distributors understand only too well
| today good many disasters would
have been escaped. Franklyn Hobbs