The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-01-20

How 1t Operates
By William Brxckart
CLEARING HOUSE FOR
FACTS AND FIGURES

Tor factS and ngureS, and III one may
Judge from the demands upon it, COM
merce and industry of the nation are
fully aware of Its potentialities and
make the fullest use of its facilities
and its services.
1t has been demonstrated how the
bureau of foreign and domestic COM
merce gathers its information, but
that Is only half of the story. Those
facts are worse than useless unless
they are available, and quickly 30,
to those who have use for them.
Dissemination of facts Is never
easy. Ask the advertising manager
of any store or manufacturing estab-
lishment! So the department has slow
ly built up what this same advertis-
Ing manager would describe as COM
plete coverage. To accomplish this
end, the mails, the newspapers, the
radio, all are employed. The bureau
publishes weekly magazine, known
as Commerce Reports, and hundreds
of other documents and periodicals.
Even then, it has some difficulty in
getting all Of the vast store Of facts
thoroughly distributed.
In order to gain the fullest use Of
newspaper space-no begging is nee
essary, for business news in these
days is as likely to find a place on
the front page as is a police scan
dal-the bureaus staff sees to it that
the latest cable and radio messages
are made available to the newspaper
correspondents in Washington. The
facts that are of immediate import
are made public as quickly as it is
humanity possible to do so. The cor
respondents, trained to recognize
what is of value from a news stand
point, do the rest.
Let US examine one days grist of
those press releases:
The number of automobiles owned
throughout the world, world CEN
sus; an expert analysis Of a section
Of the new revenue act; summary
Of reports from trade commissioners
In every South and Central American
country, showing economic conditions
there; statistics on Canadian gold
production; cable from Vienna that
the Austrian national bank had sus-
pended all sales Of foreign exchange
temporarily; trade figures from
Greece, Hungary, Turkey and Ru-
mania, for the last month; radio ad-
vices that Great Britain would re-
quire marks of the country of origin
on imports of rubber footwear and
certain iron and steel products; Off
cial notice that the Polish govern
ment had established bonded or free
zones within customs territory. per-
hitting manufacture or storage Of
foreign goods therein; cables announc-
ing that France had reduced and that
Italy had increased the amount Of
foreign wheat permitted to be used
in domestic milling in those countries;
compilations of credit conditions and
data concerning collections in a doz-
en- nations; a detailed analysis of
Netherland India tire market; statis-
tics indicating the potentialities of
the Canadian market for shoes, and
discussion of the production and
distribution Of electricity in northern
France.
Even a casual reading Of that list
will reveal what widespread interest
the departments Pandora's box Of
facts can develop. How important it
Is for exporters Of wheat to know
that France will use a little more,
that Italy will use a little less, than
heretofore, and how necessary it is
for the producer of rubber footwear
and the other enumerated products to
know before the next order is sent to
the seaboard that the articles must
bear the name of the country of orig
in or they will not be admitted through
the British customs houses! And from
the reports on credit and collection
conditions, every exporting agent can
CLEAN what may prove to his firm to
be the difference between profit and
loss.
1t Is. quite obvious that no single
days reports at the department are
going to be of interest to every line
Of trade In this farfiung nation of va
ried commercial effort 1t is equally
obvious, however, to those of us whose
function is that of observers of gov
eminent operations, that there are
valuable facts for every line within
very brief periods of time.
There has been much comment dur
Ing the last year or so, especially In
congress, that the government was
Snnndinp foo much money in thp tvna
of work that shows no direct return to
the treasury, such for example as
that which has just been outlined.
One group has maintained steadfast-
~ that such expenses ought to be
eliminated entirely. while another
school of thought argued against that
course. The later maintained those
expenses could be reduced in accord
ance with other reductions In the cost
of government, but that the function
should be continued.
/ find myself aligned with the lat.
ter whose argument is that by pro
noting trade the whole country gains,
assuming that conditions are normal
or near normal. When the country
Is doing business, 1t Is producing
wealth and when wealth is produced,
men have income which the govern
ment can and does tax. So In the
end, aid by the government in this
direction appears to result In a net
Increase to the treasury In its revenue
receipts.
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