Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-03
FOREIGN A EXPERTS
TOLD OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Aug 2.-The
several years and a good many mill
lion dollars in discovering that
romance taken by itself, does not
pay dividends. A revival of the
foreign trade idea was making it
self felt rather strongly when the
war came along and suddenly Great
ed an enormous overseas demand
for American goods. Ships were set
on the sea and went scurrying to
the ends of the earth with the pro-
ducts of American factories and
farms. With the end of the war
came a reconstruction period in
which the demand for American
goods continued, although the pay
was not so good. This series of
events built up in the American
business nan a pleasing conception
of the romance of foreign trade.
The days of the East India Com
pany, the days of the merchant
adventures of the Free Cities, were
recalled and it seemed a fine thing
merely to send cargoes of goods out
from American ports, bounding over
the seven sea on trade missions.
When in 1920 the world wide bust
ness depression came, the American
exporter discovered that the romance
of foreign trade grew pale and
anemic. Under the stimulus of the
war and the post-Armistice hustle,
figures and prices were not so close
ly scrutinized. When depression
came, j~ennies had to be counted. 1t
was discovered that hit or miss
foreign trade did not pay; in fact
that it could be and in many cases
was a source of heavy loss. Many
an American business concern be-
came permanently disguised with
this kind of romance.
There is at Washington a well
organized bureau whose duty it is
to show to the American business
man that there is a middle course
between the gay, adventurous,
romantic type of foreign trading
where everything seems fine, and
absolute condemnation of this kind
Of business enterprise. The Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
takes the excess romance out OF
foreign trade but also it extracts
the excess pessimism. 1t shows the
American merchant that foreign
trade is not a fairy tale adventure
but keen business competition; il
also shows him that, wisely and con.
servatively conducted, 1t is a source
Of legitimate profit. Above all
foreign trade is a balance wheel fol
the business of the whole country.
Great Aid to Business Men
Much preliminary work had beer
done in organizing the Bureau o.
foreign and Domestic Commerce be,
fore the war, but it had lacked the
services Of a promoter. In Herberi
Hoover, the present Secretary o.
Commerce, and in DIR. julius Klein
the Director of the Bureau, 1t has
found the promoter type. These
officials, building yet stronger on tht
old foundation, have made thu
Bureau a live, keen aid to American
business men which now is puttinl
American foreign trade on a bash
of utmost usefulness to the who'll
nation.
The Bureau does not encourag,
Americans to follow the romanc'
of foreign trade. 1t encourages then
to watch the dollar and the romancI
will take care of itself. The Ameri
can exporter finds very littl
romance in a deficit or in an uncol
Iectible bill for goods shipped. Know
the game before you go into it, !
the Bureaus advice. but don't sta.
out because you are prejudice
against it.
II is a fundamental of politica
economy that communities of peopl
like the United States produce good
and trade them off to each Other
While they deal in terms of money
still there is no net gain so long a
, they merely exchange their product
among themselves. Also, it is a LAY
of economics that the lowest pric
of a certain commodity at a certai
] time must become the price of a
there is of that commodity.
If a group of people produce 100
bushels of wheat and the consumr
tive demand is for only 900 bushel
the price of the whole 1000 bushe,
; will be depressed because there
no market for the extra 100 bushel
:. That is true of all commodities.
is the job of the Bureau of Foreig
and Domestic Commerce to hel
the producers sell that extra 1o
. bushels to another group so that Il
domestic price will not be depresse
below the cost Of production. II
sale abroad maintains a remuneri
tive price ana brings into the soul