UNITED STATES SENATE, United States Senate. Hon. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, Chairman Interstate Commerce Committee, MY DEAR SENATOR: I respectfully make the following suggestions with regard to H. R. 1750 "To promote export trade and for other purposes now pending before your committee. On page 2, line 19, after the words "the United States" there should be added: "Provided, That such association does not enter into any agreement or understanding either in the United States or elsewhere to act in restraint of the export trade of any American competitor, and does not refuse to any competitor any shipping facilities the association may control, direct, or have an interest in." On page 4, line 11, insert after the words "foreign trade": "It shall also furnish to the commission at any time it may be requested to do so or in answer to a complaint of any competitor, such information as the commission may ask in reference to its organization, practices, conduct, and management; and such agreements with other associations, corporations, partnerships, and individuals as may be required." On page 5 of the bill, line 3, could be inserted to read somewhat as follows: Whenever any act or agreement of such association is apparently done in restraint of trade of any American competitor, the Federal Trade Commission shall have the power to summon before it such association and its officers and agents, and shall make an investigation in the circumstances. If upon investigation the Federal Trade Commission shall find that such practices are harmful or unfair to the legitimate export trade of competitors they shall place the matter before the Attorney General of the United States for further action." Yours, very respectfully, ROBT. L. OWEN. UNITED STATES SENATE, January 11, 1917. MY DEAR SENATOR: Please note the inclosed letter from Hon. J. J. Culbertson, Paris, Tex., and give his suggestions regarding the Webb bill (H. R. 17350) careful consideration. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: The Webb bill (H. R. 17350), which has passed the House, is now pending before Senate Interstate Commerce Committee, from where it is hoped a favorable report will come. The amendments added in the House operate against some of the objects for which the bill is intended. It would under its present form prevent the export association from buying the very goods it is organized to export. The law, therefore, would be neither changed nor clarified if the bill were enacted in the form in which it was passed by the House. The business man would, therefore, be deterred from engaging in cooperative work in export trade by the fear or the doubt regarding antitrust laws and would be left in exactly the same position as before. It is therefore respectfully asked of you to aid in the elimination of the amendments that have been added to the bill in the House, and we trust you will give, to the bill itself, with these eliminations, your support. Very truly, yours, J. J. CULBERTSON. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SANTA ROSA, CAL. Whereas the Webb bill, "to promote export trade, and for other purposes (H. R. 17350), now pending in the Senate of the United States, will, when modified in the respects suggested by the Merchants' Association of New York, permit cooperative action in the American export trade under safeguards that will adequately protect the American public and every individual American exporter, producer, and consumer; and Whereas the Webb bill when so modified will accord with and respond to the recommendations of the President and of the Federal Trade Commission and of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and of many trade and commercial organizations, which have strongly urged such legisaltion; and Whereas the Webb bill, with the modifications as outlined above, will fulfill the purposes expressed by these officials and unofficial bodies in respect of American export trade, and by removing the handicaps now imposed by American antitrust laws upon American export trade will permit American exporters to utilize the advantages of cooperative action in selling the products of American labor against the competition of foreign combinations in the markets of the world: Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, through its membership, representing many American employers and employees whose welfare depends upon the success of American export trade, heartily indorses the bill with the modifications suggested by the Merchants' Association of New York, and strongly urges upon the President and upon the congressional committees having the bill in charge and upon the Members of both branches of Congress the importance of promptly passing the bill with these modifications: And be it further Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the President of the United States and to the Members from California of both branches of Congress. SANTA ROSA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, GLENN E. MURDOCK, President. WALTER H. NAGLE, Secretary. Hon. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS, New York, N. Y., February 13, 1917. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, attached, copy of the preamble and resolution adopted by the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers of the United States of America, relative to the Webb bill, H. R. 17350, which I respectfully recommend for your consideration. Very respectfully, GEORGE S. BOUDINOT, Secretary. RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Whereas the House of Repesentatives has passed and there is now pending before the Senate H. R. 17350, commonly known as the Webb bill, the purpose of which is to relieve from certain restrictions of the Sherman Act combinations formed for exclusive engagement in export trade; and Whereas the freedom of combination, according to export agencies, in the countries of our chief competitors has operated to the serious detriment of our manufacturers, and the proposed legislation is essential to equalize this heavy handicap: Therefore, be it Resolved, That the directors of the National Association of Manufacturers indorse the principle of the Webb bill, and we urge upon the Senate of the United States the expediency of promptly considering and enacting this important bill. A true copy. [SEAL.] Senator FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, GEORGE S. BOUDINOT, Secretary. NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE COUNCIL, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: The results of the Fourth National Foreign Trade Convention, which assembled at Pittsburgh, 1,305 delegates representing all activities in foreign commerce in all sections of the country, and which for three days intensively discussed problems of foreign trade, are epitomized in the accompanying final declaration, based upon the report of the general convention committee and unanimously ratified at the final session of the convention, January 27. This represents the accumulated judgment, not only of the delegates present but of all work that has been done since the First National Foreign Trade Convention was held in Washington in May, 1914, shortly before the European war began. We will take pleasure in sending you later copies of the various addresses by business leaders dealing with the topics enumerated in this final declaration, if you care to have them. Very truly, yours, ROBERT H. PATCHIN, Secretary. FINAL DECLARATION OF THE FOURTH NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE CONVENTION. [Report presented by the general convention committee to the Fourth National Foreign Trade Convention, Pittsburgh, Pa., and unanimously ratified Jan. 27. 1917.] The following report of the general convention committee was presented at the final session of the Fourth National Foreign Trade Convention and unanimously ratified: "World conditions because of the European war offer to the United States both opportunities and responsibilities. These responsibilities must be recognized if the United States is to realize the opportunities. The share of the world's commerce to which the United States aspires is that to which its resources, productive capacity, enterprise, and skill entitle it. No thoughtful, patriotic American citizen desires more or will be content with less. "Our trade must depend for its future development primarily upon the efficiency of our agricultural and industrial production, upon the enterprise of American manufacturers, merchants, and bankers, and upon the training of youth in our schools, colleges, and universities. The wider distribution of the benefits of foreign trade is dependent upon the participation of a steadily increasing number of industries and enterprises of moderate size. Governmental agencies, the Department of State with the diplomatic and consular services, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Trade Commission can assist American enterprise by the negotiation of advantageous commercial treaties, by collecting and disseminating information regarding foreign markets, and suggesting improved financing, selling, and purchasing methods. These governmental agencies have already rendered and can render still greater assistance to merchants or manufacturers desirous of extending their foreign trade, but in the last analysis success is to be attained only by the courage, intelligence, and efficiency of the merchants, the manufacturers, and the bankers themselves, the coordination of their efforts, and their ability to cooperate with each other and with the Government departments created to serve them. "To meet world competition, however, American business, using the term in its broadest implication, must be relieved of disadvantages imposed by legislation and protected by governmental action from possible discrimination in foreign markets. The discussion in this convention has emphasized the vital importance, as bearing upon the future of our foreign trade, of certain questions which are being, or should be, considered: 66 I. Doubt as to the application of the antitrust laws to export commerce should be removed. Congress should promptly enact in principle the Webb bill, now pending in the Senate, with the modifications hitherto recommended by the Federal Trade Commission, to the end that American exporters generally, while marketing abroad the products of American agriculture and industry, may have the advantages of cooperative action in their efforts to meet foreign combinations. 66 II. The chief duty of the United States Shipping Board should be to develop a sound national shipping policy, calculated to attain the following objects: (a) The increase of national income and of domestic prosperity by affording greater facilities for the sale abroad of products of the soil and industry of the United States and for the importation of foreign materials and products necessary to American life and industry. "(b) The development, under the American flag, of transportation service with foreign countries and with the possessions of the United States. "(c) Aid to national defense and maintenance of foreign commerce, whether the United States be belligerent or neutral. "To render our foreign commerce reasonably independent of foreign carriers, there will be required a merchant tonnage so great that it can only be sustained on the basis of ability to compete for the world's carrying trade with the vessels of other nations. Such disadvantages in cost of operation as are imposed by economic conditions should be offset by greater efficiency, but it is the duty of the Government to offset those imposed by legislation. "III. While it is impossible to anticipate the future relations of the nations now at war, with one another and with neutrals, it is certain that ante-bellum conditions will be radically altered. Commercial treaties under which the world's trade was conducted prior to August, 1914, have been ruptured by the war. The negotiation of new agreements between the members of both belligerent groups, between these groupings and neutrals, and the relations between the groups themselves, will necessitate a complete readjustment of the arrangements formerly in force. The United States will inevitably be obliged to negotiate new commercial treaties to conform to the bases fixed by other nations to govern their relations with each other. The possible effects of European economic alliances and preferential or discriminatory tariffs that may be imposed thereunder upon American treaty relations and American trade should be given careful consideration by the Congress and by the proper departments of the Government, including the Tariff Commission. "The State Department has already created a bureau which is studying these problems. This bureau should be enlarged and enabled to secure the services of experts. This work of the Department of State should be coordinated with the activities of the Department of Commerce, and both these departments should cooperate closely with the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the Shipping Board, and the Tariff Commission when organized. The Department of State, through this treaty bureau, should consult with commercial organizations and business men individually in order that their needs may be taken into consideration. ADMINISTRATIVE METHODS OF TARIFF. "Whatever be its underlying principles the United States tariff system should possess adequate resources for the encouragement and protection of the foreign trade of the United States. To assure to the United States the continuance of the favorable treatment which our commerce enjoyed before the war and to protect American exports against discrimination in foreign markets, Congress should adopt the principle of a flexible or bargaining tariff. "In submitting the foregoing considerations to this convention your committee desires to express its appreciation of the spirit of cooperation which has already been evidenced by the Departments of State and Commerce, and by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission, and of their readiness to assist business men throughout the country. We believe it to be the sense of this convention that the National Foreign Trade Council and the delegates here assembled individually will consider it a privilege and a duty to cooperate with these governmental agencies in their efforts to encourage the development of American foreign trade." CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Hon. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Although the members of our special committee were unable to appear before your committee on January 5, in support of H. R. 17350, which is intended to grant express permission for cooperation in export trade, they have now united through correspondence in a statement, of which I beg to inclose a copy. Very truly, yours, GILBERT F. GOODWIN, Secretary. AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE-LEGISLATION NEEDED. Special committee.-As it is incumbent upon the board of directors to proceed in accordance with the decision at the third annual meeting to urge legislative permission for combinations in American export trade, the board has appointed a committee, with the following members: Messrs. R. G. Rhett, chairman; Henry R. Seager, and Guy E. Tripp. COOPERATION IN EXPORT TRADE. I. LEGISLATION ASKED. Since the spring of 1914 the national chamber has urged legislation which would amend the Sherman Act to allow expressly a greater degree of cooperation in the conduct, and for the protection, of American foreign trade. Four months after the European war began, specification of the exact kind of legislation was made. The committee which indicated the principles which should be incorporated in legislation was composed of Messrs. R. G. Rhett, Charles F. Mathewson, George Rublee, W. L. Saunders, Henry R. Seager, Guy E. Tripp, and Charles R. Van Hise. These gentlemen were unanimous in their conclusions, and their position was unanimously ratified by the delegates who attended the national chamber's third annual meeting, in February, 1915. PRINCIPLES ADVOCATED. The principles which the national chamber has thus come to advocate are: (1) All combinations entered into or carried on in good faith for the sole purpose of increasing, facilitating, or benefiting export trade, including agreements, transactions, and acts entered into, performed, or carried out in the course of export trade, which do not restrain or monopolize or tend to restrain or monopolize trade within the United States should be lawful. (2) The term " export trade" should be confined to trade or commerce from the United States to any foreign nation; and the term "foreign nation should not include any of the insular possessions of the United States. (3) The Federal Trade Commisison should be given the same power with reference to organizations, associations, agreements, transactions, or acts entered into, performed, or carried out in the course of export trade which it has reason to believe restrains or monopolizes, or tends to restrain or monopolize, trade within the United States as it has under the Federal Trade Commission act in the matter of unfair methods of competition. (4) None of the powers conferred upon the Federal Trade Commission in the act entitled "An act to create a Federal Trade Commission," etc., should be in any way abridged in such a bill. TRADE COMMISSION'S REPORT. After the organizations in the membership of the national chamber in referendum had declared unmistakably for an investigation into conditions our exporters encounter in foreign markets. Congress in fact gave the Federal Trade Commission authority to make inquiries and present a report. This investigation became the Trade Commission's first undertaking of importance. After being carried on both at home and abroad, it led last May to a declaration signed by all five members of the commission that: (1) Other nations enjoy marked advantages in foreign trade from superior facilities and more effective organizations. (2) Doubt and fear as to legal restriction prevent Americans from developing equally effective organizations for over-seas business and the foreign trade of our manufacturers and producers, particularly the smaller concerns, suffers in consequence. The recommendations of the commission, for the purpose of equalizing conditions for American exporters, were that declaratory and permissive legislation should be enacted to remove prevalent doubts of illegality in concerted action in export trade. The commission referred to the “pressing need of immediate action," the necessity of "perfecting the organization demanded by the condi |