Assemblies

The week was replete with assemblies of importance to business & finance:

International Economic Conference, under auspices of the League of Nations, brought to Geneva representatives of 46 nations to discuss ways of smoothing international trade and finance. More businessmen and bankers were there than politicians. Frank A. Vanderlip, onetime newspaperman, onetime U. S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and onetime President of the National City Bank, New York, dressed up the bogey of foreign debts to the U. S. He said that War debts to the U. S. Government total $12,000,000,000, debts of foreign governments and corporations to private U. S. investors $13,000,000,000. The U. S. is lending abroad $1,000,000,000 each year and is collecting interest of $1,000,000,000 each year. This, he said, increased the likelihood of war against the U. S. (For a further report of this conference see p. 12.)

Pan-American Commercial Conference. At this assembly, in Washington, President Coolidge said: "Our associates in the Pan-American Union all stand on absolute equality with us. It is the often declared and established policy of this Government to use its resources not to burden them, but to assist them; not to control them, but to cooperate with them."

At the Pan-American conference U. S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover warned against international loans. Money should be lent abroad, said he, only if it will be used for production of goods, never if for the balancing of budgets or the maintenance of armies.

U. S. Chamber of Commerce. At Washington, John William O'Leary, of Chicago, retiring after two years' presidency of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, said: "The rapidly growing membership of the Chamber, the increasing reliance on the Chamber as the national representative of all proper business activities, the widening confidence and co-operation between Government and organized industry, based on its lengthening record of high ideals and trustworthiness, have so multiplied the responsibilities resting on the office of elected president that a step has been decided upon to strengthen the direction of the Chamber"--the election of a permanent chairman of the board of directors of the Chamber. More and more, as the Chamber has gained influence in the affairs of this country, initiative of its policies has drifted toward its executives.

Judge Edwin B. Parker of Texas will be the first chairman of the board, to whom will fall the duty of "assuring stability in furthering the adopted principles and policies of the Chamber and of dealing with broad public questions which arise from time to time, such as volunteer presidents elected from the field of active business cannot longer in justice to them be asked to provide." Judge Parker, corporation lawyer (the Texas Co.), is now completing four years' work as umpire of the German-American Mixed Claims Commission. He will devote his full time to the Chamber.

No one expects Lewis Eugene Pierson, new president of the Chamber, to give all his time to the organization. He is chairman of the board of the American Exchange-Irving Trust Co., 13th largest bank, in point of deposits, in the world. But because his domestic and foreign banking, industrial and public utility affiliations are so widespread and so intricate, one hour's conference with him as president of the Chamber will bring more positive result than five hours' conference with a less extraordinary executive.

As at the International Economic Conference and at the Pan-American Commercial Conference, a foreign-debt bogeyman came to the Chamber's assembly. He was Thomas W. Lamont (J. P. Morgan & Co. partner) who warned against indiscriminate lending of money abroad. U. S. investment bankers are competing so strenuously to place clients' money, that they are demoralizing European governments.

Joint Assembly. At a joint session of the Pan-American Commercial Conference and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, businessmen of two continents commingled; heard President Victor Macpmber Cutter of the United Fruit Co. instruct them specifically:

"The United States Government has repeatedly stated that its aims are not imperialistic. There should be no economic invasion as part of the policy of any government, north or south. Each government should give all possible statistical and other aid to its businessmen, but enterprise should be left to private initiative. . . .

"All the governments can greatly aid businessmen by simplification and unification of shipping, harbor and pilot requirements; simplification of customs and tariff requirements; extension of postal, cable and wireless communications, and all other proper functions of government.

"The most important step that can be taken is to appoint the ablest men and to change the mental attitude of some of the present diplomats in South and North America. At the present time a number of consular and diplomatic officers appointed between the American republics consider their work in North or South America only as a stepping stone to a bright and merry social life in the older capitals of Europe. . . . The diplomatic butterflies might well be allowed to flit to the social centres.

"North American businessmen must realize that greater efficiency is needed in foreign trade than in domestic. There must be' built up what is now entirely lacking--a North American personnel eager to go to foreign fields which will understand the social and cultural life and language of Latin America as well as the business facts. North Americans must learn that building foreign trade is an art--and that art is long.

"South American businessmen should encourage their governments in promoting wise laws which will furnish a stable basis for the investment of large Sums of capital, which will prevent monopoly or exclusive privilege, but which will not hamper the development of trade. They must realize that in largely undeveloped countries capital must be employed in large units."

World Wheat Pool Conference. As so often happens to movements of profound significance and wide import, the world conference at Kansas City, Mo., last week of 200 men carrying on great wheat pools received little mention in the daily press. Nine western states of this country already have wheat pools in operation.* Their representatives were at Kansas City. So too were chiefs of the pools of Canada, Australia, Russia, Italy. From South America, Great Britain and elsewhere came messages approving the aims of this conference--to control the price throughout the world of wheat produced by no matter what country.

Their intention is by no means chimerical. Russia already has a perfect monopoly of wheat sales, and in two years will be ready to export 100,000,000 bushels yearly, said its representative, Saul G. Bron.

Colin H. Burnell of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, gloated: "The Canadian wheat pool enrolled 138,000 farmers and handled 212,000,000 bushels of Canadian grain last year, or more than 56%. It is the largest grain handling organization in the world. It owns 700 country elevators and several terminals. The total assets are $16,000,000."

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture William M. Jardine, privately a member of the Kansas wheat pool, attended the conference; declared: "If this conference produces a central structure for the nine state pools, great good will be accomplished."

Although the nine state pools did not consolidate last week, the presence and encouragement of Premiers James G. Gardiner of Saskatchewan and J. E. Brownlee of Alberta caused those attending to hope for a world wheat pool perfected within the next 50 years, no long term for such a movement.

National Foreign Trade Council. Of the great assemblies important to business and finance, the Foreign Trade Council is yet to be held-- at Detroit the last week of May.

*Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas.