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FOREIGN COMMERCE

BY

AVARD LONGLEY BISHOP

PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN YALE UNIVERSITY

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COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY AVARD LONGLEY BISHOP

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

423-4

The Athenæum Dress

GINN AND COMPANY. PRO-
PRIETORS BOSTON • U.S.A.

06-3-27 MK.H.

Wahr
1-71-27
14766

PREFACE

In this volume an effort has been made to develop in a simple, logical manner a study of our foreign commerce in the light of the fundamental principles upon which trade is based. The writer has had two main purposes in view in the preparation of this work: (1) to provide a textbook for mature beginners in the study of foreign commerce; (2) to furnish for the business man whose interest lies in whole or in part in the foreign field a work sound in principles and broad in scope. It is also hoped that the book will prove to be not without interest to the general reader. No attempt has been made to include much of the technique of exporting and importing; this can be gathered from works of a different kind, or can be learned, if necessary, in the school of experience.

The plan of this book may be seen by examining the table of contents. It may not be out of place, however, to mention here a few outstanding facts in the outline which the writer endeavored always to keep before him. The trade of a country or of the world in general is governed by certain fundamental principles; in Chapter I these have been set forth in some detail, and in the preparation of successive chapters they have been kept constantly in mind. Chapters II-IV are concerned with a brief survey of the natural resources of the country and of the industries based upon the development of these resources. Several years' experience in teaching courses within the general field of American commerce has convinced the writer that the study of the commerce of any country which is not based upon an intelligent examination of that country's resources, with some reference to the world in general, is futile. Hence the inclusion

of Chapters II-IV. For the purpose of showing certain important relations between the foreign and the domestic trade of the country, Chapter V has been introduced. It is hoped that this will be instrumental in preventing the reader from overemphasizing the importance of our foreign trade, as compared with the domestic trade, and that he will appreciate the fact that the foreign trade of the United States, in spite of its great importance to the nation, is only one aspect of the country's larger commercial life. The writer is convinced that a more intelligent and profitable study of our foreign trade can be made by referring at times to certain features of the domestic trade as well, rather than by centering attention exclusively upon the foreign trade.

The next two chapters are concerned, respectively, with the export and the import trade. To most people foreign commerce means little more than the export trade; at any rate there is a marked tendency, excepting on the part of certain leaders of thought in academic and business circles, to minimize the importance of the import trade, to overlook the necessity of its encouragement or promotion, and to disregard its intimate relationship to the export trade. An effort has been made here, however, to set forth in their proper relationships the export and the import trade of the United States and to discuss, in the light of existing conditions, our present and probable future situation regarding the balance of trade. The opinions of the keenest students of these matters are set forth, and the conclusion is reached that on the whole no serious consequences are likely to result should the balance of trade against the United States become "unfavorable."

The remaining chapters are concerned with certain important features of our foreign trade, such as those pertaining to transportation, marine insurance, and finance. There is included also a discussion of the promotion of our foreign commerce, and of

the various plans and methods of promotion which are followed in other leading commercial countries-Great Britain, Germany, and France. A discussion of commercial policy, particularly that of the United States, completes the volume.

The writer is not unaware of the fact that certain topics which sometimes are included in books on foreign commerce have here been omitted. In practically all cases, however, where such omissions have been made (as, for example, in the case of foreign exchange) there are books and materials, available in other forms, which can be used, if thought desirable, to supplement the present work. Moreover, such topics as have been omitted, such as foreign exchange and the organization of the export and import trade, do not lend themselves very readily to adequate and intelligent treatment within the limited space of a single chapter.

In the preparation of this book the writer has examined the voluminous literature, within the general field covered, which represents the accumulated product of individual writers and speakers, and he has at times drawn freely from such works. The task has been one of selection and condensation, and could not have been performed without the utilization of the large body of material accumulated by earlier writers. The bibliography, which has been added at the end of the last chapter, contains practically all the books, pamphlets, reports, etc. which were consulted, and in the footnotes references have been given, here and there, to the works of specific writers. In addition to such references the author desires here to express his indebtedness to all those whose writings have assisted him in the preparation of this book and to numerous others, including business men and government officials, who by conversation, suggestion, and letters have rendered invaluable assistance.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut

AVARD LONGLEY BISHOP

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