The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-12-21
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ,. HAsKIN. DtreccOr.
Washington. ID. @.
WORLD KNOWLEDGE COMES
WITH TRADE.

amazing increase IN our foreign Iraue
is making to our national life and
thought Is that it is helping America
to know and understand the rest of
the world. With the greatest inklu-
ence. but nevertheless swiftly and
inevitably, America is growing out of
h,r traditional policy of isolation
This progress seems to be along the
path of destiny. In the attempt to
cling to the old order the people
turned their backs upon political as
ISOLATION with other nations, but
nevertheless our association in fact
with these nations continually grows
more intimate.
Ten years ago man as great as
Clemenceau, coming as a visitor from
foreign land, would have been only
a name to all but the erudite few
who followed international affairs.
Today the Clemenceaus, the Lloyd
Georges, and the Venizeloses of the
earth are almost as well known to
Americans as our own statesmen
Political debate even has become in
ternationaL C1emenceau makes a
speech in New York; he is answered
by Borah in Washington; Nitu in
Rome adds his rejoinder; Pertinax,
the Partisan journalist, comments;
very small; we have become merely
the largest of group of Jostling
neighbors.
In this awakening there is no more
potent factor than our expanding
trade with other nations. The bust
ness man is bound to come to under
stand his market; he cannot sell his
product intelligently unless he does.
Nor is foreign trade entirely a mat
ter of merchandise and bills of lading.
Trade also includes the investing of
money Americans are now buying
heavily of the securities of the whole
world. When an@individual investor in
Shelbina, Mo-, is informed by his local
bank that the National City Bank of
New York recommends Sac Paulo
bonds as good buy, the investor nat
urally wants to- find out something
about the city of Sac Paulo. And nat
urally he goes ahead and finds out
about it.
In this work of educating the Amer
lean public rs to economic conditions
in other countries, the Bureau of For
eign and Domestic Commerce takes
the leading part. Its agents cover the
whole economically important part of
the earth. The business information
they gather is authentic and complete
1t is so complete that at least two
large organizationS-the National City
Company and the association of rub
Der manufacturers-have dropped
their own foreign organizations and
swift is the information in reaching
the United States that the bureau was
recently able to scoop" the efficient
foreign organization of the Baldwin
the Argentine narrow gauge railway
plans.
Broadcasting Information.
No innovation wrought by the new
administration of the bureau is more
marked than its method of broadcast
ing in the United States the informa-
ton which its agents gather abroad. |
Two years ago the bureau, besides its !
statistical summaries, published the |
daily consular reports. These reports |
contained miscellaneous and unas- |
sorted data just as they came in thru |
the mails and over the cables. Today |
the consular reports are no more. |
They have been succeeded by a So |
page weekly magazine called Com
merce Reports, attractively printed /
and bound, iTttelligent1y edited. and in
every way comparing favorablS with /
the best of trade journals.
Commerce Reports is exactly what |
its subtitle calls it-A Weekly Survey |
of Foreign Trade. Once each month |
the foreign agents of the Bureau of |
Foreign and Domestic Commerce are /
to send in a general condition
report answering 43 questions which /
have been carefully formulated by ex-
perts as those necessary to bring out
the complete and pertinent economic
picture of a nation or region. These
reports are digested and summarized
by the editorial staff of the ma gazine
n Washington. The first issue of
Commerce Reports for each month
gives the current economic survey OF
Latin America; the second issue of the
month takes up Europe; the third, the
Far East, and the fourth the Near
East Thus once a month the entire
world is examined for the
benefit of American business men.
This survey has an incidental but
very real value not directly connected
with our foreign trade. Many of these
a ava r, ,7efA fl
1rs to the United States. 1t is highly
important that we keep watch of their
condition, just as a commercial cred
tor watches those to whom he extends
,redit.
In addition to the regular survey
feature. the 5ournaI also contains each
week large number of general arti-
lies OF phases and Developments of in
little more than a year of existence
has built up paid circulation OF
5000.
Service to Newspapers.
The bureau also distributes foreign
papers. Each week the official edi-
ors compile a readable resume of the
able reports from the commercial at
aches, trade commissioners and
American consuls. This is sent to
bout 700 newspapers. many of which
eature ii for a half-page and even a
Thru this channel trade in
ormation goes before more than T.
100000 readers. The bureau also con-
Iucts worldwide surveys of trade con-
litionS affecting American farm crops
md sends weekly patches of news
rom these surveys to farm journals
With a combined circulation of 49,
100. 900. ;
The representativ of foreign gov
rnments in Washington take a lively
interest in the weekly Commerce Re-
,orts. Every Monday. the publication
lay, a special messenger employed by
he British embassy waits at the de-
lartment Of commerce TO get six ]
opies of the journal as soon as 1t is
ssued, and the other embassies are ]
ot far behind. But our foreign COM ,
.htitnrs are xvelcnrrla 70 the Informal