Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-11
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM

..
and Domestic Commerce. The Cen
fury Co.
A drab word, trade" Nowhere
laughter. A dour figure ever hurryinR
away upon some mysterious and ire
mendous busy-ness. Yet, within this
clipped 5-letter noun is crowded the
worlds geography, much of its adven-
ture, much also Of its history. Indeed,
here lies the basic urge of civilization
itself. Mother-naked, the word trade"
evokes two primitive groups-maybe but
two individuals Of that far time-each
possessed of something that the other
needs but has not. Here barter is born.
Trade is setting out upon its long way
to become, finally, one Of the supreme
potencies of modern life. It may be
safely asserted that before those early
exchanges became fact there were many
approaches and recessions, many offers
and refusals, each side juggling for ad-
vantage to itself. So, bargaining began.
At that very time the modern negotiator
became nascent, as in an expanded field
the diplomat also came into being.
X X 4 4
A far call from then to now. A long
uphill road between there and here.
But, here we are, standing at a high
and slightly point on the laborious trade
trail This immediate foothold covers
the incredible decade" Of commercial
exchange that has followed the close
Julius Klein, director of the u. S. Blu
reau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce. Now the professional engroSs-
ment of Mr. Klein Is to know trade
home and foreign-in its origin and
purpose, in the sum Of its contributory
influences either harmful or helpful, In
its results both immediate and more re-
mote, and, above all, in its effects upon
the common life of the people Of this
country. At this juncture Mr.. Klein
slips Frontiers of Trade" across to us
while he hurries away to the days
work.
\ n 4 y.
Frontiers of Trade" stands as a
blend of evidence, story, picture. In
the first capacity It is fortified with
facts, figures, balances, futures. Since
the history of trade expansion in the
United States Is the prime purpose of
this study, the evidential content Of the
book outweighs, greatly, the story and
the picture which appear here, partly as
inherencies Of the subject that refuse
suppression, and partly as the authors
imaginative seizure of the drama that
actually embodies and projects world
trade.
Trained to orderlineSs of thought, to
proper sequences Of progress, Mr.. Klein
begins his study with survey of the
past of commerce, with its gradual
growth in this country, with its vicissi-
tous advance. However, a reader has
more latitude than an author. So, with
the book In hand, you and are likely
to begin the story on our own standing
ground-right in the middle Of this "in-
credible decade" that so excites us to
wonder, possibly to O little shiver Of
fear. "C'est la guerre," 1t turns out
that worked the miracle. The war and
science Destruction on the one hand,
the imperative to carry on in ell speed
on the other. Science opened the earth,
the air, even the hoavenS, to the i'm
pending crisis Makeshifts and devices
turned into discoveries and inventions
innumerable, for the mind of man also
opened wide for ways to meet, and bar;
the hideous holocaust. Then, after the
war-fear, exhaustion, tired business
muscles, money squeezed of its content,
enterprise tagging, unemployment grow
ing. Then-up and at it again! To turn
all the enginery of war into industry
became the urgency Of the day that
brought about this amazing decade OF
the airplane, the radio, automotive cleo
tricity, synthetic chemistry-each and
all working for the industrialist, for the
constructive uses of man. And, under
the guidance Of this trade student, Ju-
Illus Klein. we come to realize as a
pivotal point In history that such has
been the effect Of war generally. It was
such after our own warS-SpaniSh
American, the Civil and Mexican Wars,
the War Of the Revolution. Each took
its turn in squirting civil activities, in
promoting trade, in changing its from
tiers, In enlarging its borders and its
influence on the common life Of the
people Of this country.
X y y 4
Commerce is based upon financial activ-
tiles. So the subject of money bulks here
in discussion of the accommodates
practical usages of credits and exchange
and balances of trade, through flnan-
cial accounting of exports and imports,
reflections Of national growth and in
ternational influence. This considera-
ton Is of clear and definite value, not
only to the astutely money-minded
citizen as the man of trade must be,
but to the average man as well to whom
a fair understanding of this subject is
of immediate Importance In q country
constituted as this one is.
4 X X
Who said that trade" is a dull and
stodgy figure, threading the intricate
undergrowths of bewildering and I'M
inspiring money accounts2 Who said
that7 Well. 1t is not true. Here is open
and full evidence that it is not true.
y y \ \
Frontiers of Trade" Is a demonstra-
ton Of ceep significance. It is, I'M
designedly, an object lesson IN the vital
ly important truth that, taken together
the Government bureaus of Washing
ton constitute a great university, prob
ably the greatest and most generally
accessible in the world. Each of these
bureaus stands for one of the basic in
terests of the country as whole. At
the head Of each is carefully chosen
administrator. Under these as o whole
is an army Of workers. captained by
experts In the various lines of govern
mental activity. Each bureau is bent
to the examination of its own field,
testing its measures for their direct
usefulness to the people as a whole
studying 1t for its logical expansions
and applications, reporting upon it.
These reports are, In the main, at the
disposal Of any student of special as
poets of the national life. Indeed
these are made of daily use In enor-
nous numbers by the outlying citizenry
of the United States in support of the
special needs of any or all of these
In no other country can such free use
of Government material be found This
freedom goes back in a sense to the
Constitution of the Government itself
Some day the people, in hosts, are 60
ing to wake up to the rare opportuni-
stitution of learning. Books Of the
stamp Of Frontiers of Trade" are d.
rect agencies in spreading this signifi-
cant fact and in Showing at It's best