Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-12-26
Bureau of Commerce Taking
Leading Part in Educating
American Public = Banks
Aid Campaign
BY FREDERIC j. HASKINS

| One incidental contribution Whlch
| the amazing increase in our foreign
| trade 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 reluctance, but
nevertheless, swiftly and inevitably,
America is growing out of her ira
ditional 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 associa-
ton with other nations, but never
| theless our association in fact with
| these nations continually grows
more intimate,
Ten years ago a man as great as
| Clemenceau, coming as a visitor
| from foreign land would have
been only a name to. all but the cru
dite few who followed international
affairs Today the Clemeneeaus,
the Lloyd Georges and the VENICE
| loses of the earth are almost as we'll
| known to Americans as our own
statesmen. Political debate even has
become international. Clemencean
makes speech in New York; he is
answered by Borah in Washington;
| Nitti in Rome adds his rejoinder;
Pertinax, the Partisan journalist,
comments, and so it goes. The world
| has grown very small; We have be-
come merely the largest of a group
| of jostling neighbors.
| In this awakening there is no
more potent factor than our eX-
handing trade with other nations.
| The business man is bound to come
| to understand his market; he cam
not sell his product intelligently un=
| til he does.
Foreign Trade Grows
| Nor is foreign trade entirely a
| matter of merchandise and bills of
| ladlng, Trade also includes the in
vesting of money. Americans are
now buying heavily of the securities
of the whole world. When an indi-
vidual investor in Shelbina, Mo, is
informed by his local bank that the
| National City Bank of New York
recommends Sac Paulo bonds as a
| good buy, the investor naturally
wants to find out something about
the city of Sac Paulo. And natural
| ly he goes ahead and finds out about
| it.
! In this work of educating thu
American public as TO economic con-
ditions in other countries, the br-
reau of foreign domestic commerce
takes the leading part. It's agents
cover the whole economically impor-
| tant part of the earth. The business
| information they gather is authen-
! tic and complete. 1t is so complete
| that at least two large organiza
! tions-the National City company
and the association of rubber man.
| facturers-have dropped their own
| foreign organizations and now rely
upon the government. So swift is
| the information in reaching the
| United States that the bureau was
recently able to scoop the eff
cient foreign organization of the
Baldwin Locomotive company with
the news of the Argentine narrow
gauge railway plans.
! No innovation wrought by the new
administration of the bureau is more
marked than it's method of broad
casting in the United States the III
| formation which its agents gather
abroad. Two years ago the bureau
besides its statistical summaries
published the daily consular reports
| These reports contained miscella
neous and unassorted data just as
they came in through the mails and
over the cables. Today the con
sular reports are no more. They have
| been succeeded by a 50-page week
ly magazine called Commerce Re
ports, attractively printerd ana
bound, intelligently edited, and in
every way comparing favorably with
the best of trade journals.
Commerce reports is exactly what
it's subtitle calls it-"A Weekly Sur.
vey of Foreign Trade" Once each
month the foreign agents of the
bureau of foreign and domestic com.
merce are required to send in a
general condition report answering
forty-three questions which have
| been carefully formulated by experts
| as those necessary to bring out the
| complete and pertinent economic
picture Of nation or region. These
reports are digested and summarized
by the editorial staff of the maya
zine in Washington. The first is.
sue 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, apd the
fourth the Near East. ThuA once
a month the entire commercial
world is examined for the benefit
Of American business men.
This survey has an incidental but
very real value not directly con.
nected with our foreign trade. Many
Of these nations thus surveyed are
| heavy debtors to the United States
1t is - ,hly important that we keer
watch of their condition, just as q
| commercial creditor watches those
TO whom he extends credit.
In addition to the regular survey
feature, the journal also contains
each week a large number of gen
Eral articles of phases and develop
ments Of international trade. The
magazine in a little more than a
t year of existence has built up a paid
! circulation of $1,000.
The bureau also distributes for
eign trade information through the
newspapers. Each week the of
fetal editors compile a readable re
sumo of the cable reports from The
commercial attach IS. trade commits
sioners end American consuls.
This is sent to about seven hun
dred newspapers, many Of which
w.