Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-03

nearly every other ONCE for which one
Of those nat pins nestles on the map
this work of arranging for reliable Local
| agents goes on. In Brussels in the
same way, you might have seen in q
few months time 100000 saved te
| automobile makers of Michigan and
Wisconsin. and other thousands to other
| Americans.
And then you might have seen our
| trade commissioner put on his hat and
! go over to the charming old building In
which the Belgian equivalent to our
! Treasury sits, to embark upon tactful
| and logical argument on the subject OF
the latest rulings on the Belgian tariff
So tactful yet so logical was he that
the increase in duties on automobile
parts destined for assembly in Belgium
was reduced, consequent saving to two
automobile manufacturers in Michigan
| OF something under a quarter of a mil
| lion dollars.
Work Of Successor.
| NJ NJ Mitchell, who carried this on
has left Brussels and Raymond C. Mil
Ter, formerly of Paris, has just taken his
place.
| could expand upon my theme of the
dollars and cents value of our trade
commissioners from Mr. Miller's work In
Paris, but prefer to illustrate the quiet
power of them from a personal expert
ence. When was ordered to interview
a certain great man and arrived in
Paris with suit case full of letters by
which to get on with it, began in a
thoroughly routine and ignorant way
by going through with them. I got
nowhere and I wasted an enormous
amount of time.
Casually, I made the acquaintance OF
Mr.. Miller, and equally casually hap
pened to mention my difficulty to him.
Twenty-four hours later that appoint
ment (Which at the end of 10 DAYS OF
effort had seemed as far away as before
sailed from New York; was made.
Mr.. Miller had known the right person
to see, and he had been on suficientIy
good terms with that right person to
| fix 1t for me. There is always a right
person everywhere. and I have almost
always found in my wanderings across
the earth that our trade commissioners
know him.
| One of the most important matters
which Mr. Miller-like all our CONNER
cial representatives in Europe-has had
to know a great deal about Is American
films. Our motion pictures, as everv
one knows, swept across the field like
, prairie fire. Foreign exports represent
third of our film production.
They were-and are-actually great
missionaries for our homemade prod
ucts. Every detail of our domestic
scene. from electrical appliances to
/ plumbing: every speeding automobile
even If 1t went over a cliff; every hat on
the heroine and shoe on the hero be-
came an ad for an American product.
! One of our commissioners, for in
stance, told of the direct sales of road
making machinery in certain country
Of Central Europe that followed the
showing Of an American film. In the
wake OF the road-making machinery
came more automobiles, more tires,
more accessories, more gas and oil.
! Immersed in large variety Of prod
ucts. 1t soon became impossible for anv
single trade commissioner to give to the
subject the attention it required. A
special trade commissioner for films
had to be ppointed-now George
Canty, with headquarters in Paris.
Formality of Protest.
! When a formal protest is made
against discriminatory ruling by a
| foreign government, it has to be lodged
through our embassy or legation. But
there are often times when the more
informal-though official-character of
the trade commissioner can arrange
discussions with both sides in the con-
troversy.
A recent example Of the efficacy Of
Continued on Fourth Pagel