The Department of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal
Reserve Board, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Bureau of
Markets, the Shipping Board, and many other agencies of the Federal
Government are engaged in promoting and regulating the commercial
business of the country. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,
a branch of the Department of Commerce, collects information about
foreign markets for American goods from American consuls, commercial
attachés stationed at the principal foreign capitals, and a corps of
traveling special agents. The Bureau issues a daily newspaper called
_Commerce Reports_, containing notes and articles of commercial
interest from all parts of the world and a list of “Foreign Trade
Opportunities.” Each of these “opportunities” for American business in
some foreign country is set forth in a brief paragraph. The following
are examples:
29267.*--Chemicals, and equipment and supplies for
electroplating work are required by a firm in Denmark.
Correspondence may be in English. Reference.
29268.*--A company in India desires to purchase and secure an
agency for the sale of steel and iron in bars, sheets, tubes,
plates, etc.; builders’ and engineers’ hardware; caustic soda;
and petroleum and lubricating oils. References.
29269.*--The purchase of plywood and veneers in all thicknesses
and sizes is desired by a man in England. Terms, credit
preferred, or will pay cash against documents. References.
An American manufacturer or exporter who is interested in one of these
notices can obtain the address of the foreign concern that desires
goods, agencies, etc., by writing to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce, in Washington. The Bureau maintains district offices in
several large American cities. At the New York office, which is in
the Custom House, there is a permanent exhibit of samples showing the
various kinds of foreign-made goods sold in the principal importing
countries of the world. The exhibits, after being shown first in New
York, are usually shown in the principal centers of the particular
industry concerned. Special exhibits of samples are also held in
connection with trade conventions. Apart from _Commerce Reports_,
the Bureau publishes an immense amount of statistical information
concerning the foreign commerce of the United States and foreign
tariffs, and also extensive studies of foreign markets for particular
lines of goods.
The other bureaus of the Department of Commerce are the Bureau of
Standards, which facilitates commerce by regulating weights and
measures and by carrying on scientific research relating to all the
manufacturing industries; the Bureau of the Census, which compiles
elaborate statistics concerning trade and industry, as well as those
relating to population; the Bureau of Fisheries, which has immensely
stimulated trade in fishery products; and four bureaus which aid,
protect and regulate navigation--the Bureau of Lighthouses, the Coast
and Geodetic Survey, the Steamboat-Inspection Service, and the Bureau
of Navigation.
The Federal Trade Commission is charged with the duty of preventing
various abuses in interstate business, especially in the nature of
unlawful trusts and combinations. The Federal Reserve Board supervises
the affairs of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, and indirectly
exercises a certain amount of control over the banking system of the
country. The Interstate Commerce Commission regulates interstate
transportation, controls freight rates and passenger fares, and
promotes the safety of travel by prescribing rules concerning equipment
and methods of operation. The Bureau of Markets of the Department of
Agriculture promotes business in all kinds of agricultural products,
and maintains a market news service. The Shipping Board, which was
established in 1916, is engaged in the very important work of building
up the American merchant marine.
The Pan American Union, a potent factor in promoting our trade with
the Latin-American countries, is not a branch of the United States
Government, but an international organization in which all the American
republics are represented. It has its permanent headquarters in
Washington, and the Secretary of State of the United States is _ex
officio_ chairman of its governing board.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 7, No. 11, SERIAL No. 183
COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Illustration: IMMIGRATION STATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
HONOLULU--JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS AWAITING EXAMINATION]
_THE STORY OF UNCLE SAM_
_The Department of Labor_