The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-06-18
Here's A Job for Hoover

There was a time when it did not matter much
whether our President thought the earth was round
or fiat.
We were pretty self contained Nation. His Job
was mostly domestic one. Our hookup with the
rest OF the world was triing. National production
was hard put to keep up with national consumption
Now it's different Production has doubled and
quadrupled. Population has slowed down, thanks to
the immigration quota We have an enormous and
growing surplus, for which it is vital that find an
outlet otherwise millions of workers will be
thrown out of jobs
But where can we find a marketq Abroad, of
course. But England, Germany, France, Italy, Japan
and lot of other nations also are producing enor-
nous SURPRISES which they, too, must dispose OF
abroad. And this they doing in competition with
us, in China, Latin America and elsewhere.
Thus it would seem that we are up against stiff
proposition when it to increasing our foreign
trade. If there is just much trade in the world
and this already is divided, what then?
Shall set about the old game of stealing the
other fellows business grabbing it by hook crook?
That would mean war; certainly as water runs
down hill Shall the strong powers gobble up the
weaker ones and exploit the inhabitants2 That, too
would mean war-among the eXploters-asde from
the right or wrong of the procedure.
The answer is to be found elsewhere. There are
approximately billion six hundred million people on
EARTH OF these less than onefourth really have be-
gun to buy things The rest still in varying stages
of emergence from the dark ages
Many don't wear any clothes at all. Millions more
never had on a pair of shoes Hundreds of millions
have not advanced much beyond the flour sack stage
and to many, many more our barest necessities are
still undreamed of uxuries.
We must educate these backward peoples into
consumers. Here is how we can expand our foreign
market without stepping anybody's toes.
1t used to be said that 100000 automobiles would
be the absolute maximum the people of the United
States could absorb Then the figures raised to
100000; then to fve ten and twenty million. Now
manufacturers agree there is limit They already
have sold 250OO0OO automotve machines to the Amer
lean people and are preparing to sell another to each
owner of one of these.
If this is true of the United States and automo-
bes it is true of the rest of the world and the rest
of the things sell.
Take China. She has population of more than
4OO0OO0OO. On an American basis the Chinese would
have 100000 automobiles.
Canadas enlightened population of 100000 buys
some $65o0Oo,0o0 worth of our products every year
On a Canadian basis China would buy $4,000 100000
worth of our goods five times present total
ports to the entire world China included! The figures
are staggering.
The great exporting nations Of the world like
Britain the United States, Germany, France, Italy
and Japan do not steal anotherS trade by
war or otherwise If they will have the good sense to
cease trying to exploit the backward peoples and go
to work to increase these peoples purchasing power
they will have solved the problem of an increased
market for their surplus goods
Here is of the keys to prosperity not only for
U.s. but for the world And we know Herbert Hoover
at all, problems like this are just his meat.