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y} D AA? A, Af Y Y YZ Y Five Hundred Representatives of American Industries Discuss World Market Opportunities at New Orleans Meeting of National Foreign Trade Council DEFINITE plan for the com- ing campaign of American dollars against the pounds, marks and francs of Europe for the trade supremacy of the world was mission, declared before the Council: “Doubt .:as: ‘to the legality of co- operative effort in export trade is undoubtedly one of the factors which hinder development of foreign trade Bo ie H. Bass upon the participation of a steadily increasing number of smaller manu- facturers, all gaining a wider market as a protection against recurring peri- ods of domestic depression, and as- formulated at the third annual confer- at _ this ence of the National Foreign Trade Council, held re- cently at New Or- leans. Five hundred men, representing almost as many in- dustries and more than as many mil- lions of invested capital, made the session a memorable one by the earnest- ness and co-opera- tive spirit which they manifested. A feature of the con- ference was the de- velopment of a posi- tive sentiment in favor of the crea- tion of a govern- ment shipping board composed of men familiar with for- eign trade, to recommend to con- gress measures -necessary to build up the American merchant marine, to maintain American standards of living and compensation among seamen, to maintain communi- cation with distant American _posses- sion and to con- tribute to the national defense. Repeated emphasis of the’ fact that; because of obscure anti-trust laws, Am- erican exporters combinations encouraged by foreign time. In the absence of Declares for Shipping Board The following recommendations were drawn up by the merchant marine committee of the National Foreign Trade Council at the recent convention of the latter in New Orleans: “That congress establish a permanent shipping board, composed of five members, who shall be men experienced in shipping and foreign trade. This board shall recommend to congress such revision and modernization of all Umted States laws relating to shipping as it deems necessary and shall permanently discharge all the functions of the federal government relating thereto. This board shall constitute a permanent advisory body empowered to recommend to congress the measures necessary for the maintenance of United States shipping upon an equitable competitive basis with other nations, always having due regard for the maintenance of American standards of living and compensation, and keeping in view the needs of the national defense and the necessities of the foreign trade. To this end the board should be directed to ascertain the cost of construction and operation, rates of interest on shipping mortgages, insurance rates, etc., of American shipping as compared with that of other nations, and it should be its duty to determine what line of ocean-carrying trade shall be permanently developed under the American flag for the benefit of the foreign commerce of the United States, and to recommend methods whereby such lines may be rendered possible, in the event of the cost of their operation preventing effective competition with foreign services in the same zone. “That the board bring to the attention of congress the necessity for modtfications. of the speed requirements of the mail act of 1891 in special cases, so that the establishment. of mail communications with South America, South Africa, Australasia and the far east may be considered from the several points of view of the cost of operation of such lines and of the speeds at which it is desirable that these lines be maintained. “That the board so constituted shall likewise report upon the measures necessary to render investment in American shipping safe and attractive to private capital, and to increase the present resources of our systems of credit, as by the establishment of mortgage banks, to supply funds to the shipping industry for financing the construction of tonnage, and to throw around shipping mortgages such protection as to remove any appre- henston on the part of investors regarding the safety of shipping proposi- tions. “That the President be empowered to suspend the operation of such of the provisions of the seamen’s law, as he may consider detrimental to the interest of American shipping, until congress, having before it the advice of the shipping board, has revised and modernized the United States navigation laws; or if this suspension be deemed not expedient by congress, then that section 13 of the Seamen’s Act be amended so as to eliminate the language test and the minimum percentages of able seamen among the deck crew, substituting therefor provisions equivalent to the requirements of the British merchant shipping act, and that the require- ments of section 14 and annexed regulations concerning certified life boat men, etc., be modified in conformity with the 1914 amendment to the British merchant shipping act.” injury to any American interest, a of the greater degree of co-operation in ex- -the new port trade than is allowed in~ do- singly meet Brazil doctrine icanism, “one for all and all for one”, suring greater stabilization of labor employment. A dis- cussion of the tariff, avoiding contro- versial domestic is- sues, revealed appre- ° hension. that the allies in war may become economic allies in peace by means of preferen- tial tariff agree- ments. It was felt that the United States, equipped as it is only with a single level tariff barren of a trading margin, should meet this post- bellum danger by a more flexible or bargain- ing tariff, enacted by congress with the aid of a non- partisan tariff com- mission. That American capital must be invested in foreign markets, in such manner as to assist their develop- ment and stimulate an enlarged de- mand for American products, was almost unanimously agreed, and _= en- thusiastic applause was given the dec- laration of James A. Farrell, presi- dent of the United States Steel Corpo- ration, and Percival Farquhar, president Railways Co., that of Pan -=Amer- governments to resist American com- petition and depress prices of Amer- ican exports, was followed by ‘he . most positive statement yet made by the federal trade commission, which has questioned 30,000 American busi- ness men on the subject, when Chair- man Joseph E. Davies, of that com- mestic trade may be beneficial to the country. If this is not now permitted by law, new legislation to that end, properly safeguarding the public in- terest, should be enacted at once.” Increased recognition was granted the fact that national welfare depends 103 would not become real, if Europe is allowed to remain the sole reliance for the sister republics’ needs for capital. The greatest question before the council was that of the American merchant marine and the removal of