The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-02-14
OurCoyernn,ent
How It Operates
CLEARING HOUSE FOR
FACTS AND FIGURES
BY william, Bruckare

4 tually is a national clearing
house for facts and figures, and il
one may Judge from the demands
upon it, commerce 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
commerce gathers its information.
but that is only half of the story.
Those facts are worse than useless
unless they are available, and quick
~ so. to those who have use for
them.
Dissemination of facts Is never
easy. Ask the advertising manager
of any store or manufacturing es-
adjustment So the department has
slowly built up what this same ad-
vertising manager would describe as
complete coverage. To accomplish
this end, the mails, the newspapers,
the radio. all are employed. The
bureau publishes a weekly maya,
zine, known as Commerce Reports,
and hundreds of other documents
and periodicals. Even then, it has
some difficulty in getting the vast
store of facts thoroughly distrib
uted.
In order to gain the fullest use
Of newspaper space-no begging is
necessary. for business news in these
days is as likely to find a place on
the front page as is a police scan
day-the bureaus staff sees to it
that the latest cable-and radio mes
sages are made available to the
newspaper correspondents in Wash
ington. The facts that are of imme
diate import are made public as
! quickly as it is humanity possible to
do so. The correspondents, trained
to recognize what is of value from
a news standpoint, 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 section
of the new revenue act; summary
of reports from trade commissions
ers in every South and Central
American country, showing economic
conditions there; statistics on Cana
dian gold production; cable from
Vienna that the Austrian National
bank had suspended all sales of for
eign exchange temporarily; trade
figures from Greece, Hungary, Tur.
key and Rumania, for the last
month; radio advices that Great
Britain would require marks of the
country of origin on imports of rub
Der footwear and certain iron and
steel products; official notice thar
the Polish government had es
tablished bonded or free zones with
in customs territory, permitting man
ufacture or storage of foreign goods
therein; cables announcing that
France had reduced and that Italy
had increased the amount of foreign
wheat permitted to be used in do
nestle milling in those countries;
compilations of credit conditions
and data concerning collections in
dozen nations; a detailed analysis
of Netherland India tire market.
Even a casual reading of that list
will reveal what widespread inter.
est the departments Pandora's box
of facts can develop. How impor-
tant it is for exporters of wheat to
know that France win use a little
more. that Italy viii use little less,
than heretofore, and how necessary
1t Is for the producer of rubber foot.
wear and other enumerated prod
ucts to know before the next order
Is sent to the seaboard that the ar,
tees must bear the name of the
country of origin or they viii not be
admitted through the British Gus
toms houses! And from the re.
ports on credit and collection con-
ditions. every exporting agent can
CLEAN what may prove to his firm
TO be the difference between profit
and loss.
It is quite obvious that on single
days reports at the department are
going to be of interest to every line
of trade in this farflung nation of
varied commercial effort. 1t is
equally obvious, however, to those
whose function is that of observers
Of government operations. that there
are valuable facts for every line
within very brief periods Of time.
There has been much comment
during the last year or so, especially
In congress. that the government
was spending too much money in
the type Of work that shows no di.
rect return to the treasury, such for
example as that which has Just been
outlined. One group has maintained
steadfastly that such expenses ought
to be eliminated entirely. while an
other school Of thought argues
against that course. The latter main
tanned those expenses could be re-
duced In accordance with other re-
auctions in the cost Of government,
but that the function should be con-
tinued.
/ ind 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 ls doing business, 1t is pro-
ducIng wealth and when wealth Il