2606 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.
Harry A. Wheeler, vice president of the Union Trust Co., Chicago,
Il. said:
And in so far as the export of domestic manufactures to foreign countries
ls concerned, it seems to me, * * * that a very simple rule must ultimately
 be followed, and that rule would be that wherever rights of combination
 or practices of any kind having to do with the sale of productions in
foreign countries must be met by our manufacturers in the foreign field, that
we will of necessity be compelled in this country to formulate those methods of
cooperation or combination which will permit in the shipping of our products
to foreign fields exactly the same rights and the indulgence in those practices
which we must compete with in the sale of our products in the foreign countries
 of the world.
W. H. Kies, manager of the foreign-trade department, National
City Bank, New York City, favors cooperation in export trade. His
plan is as follows:

The plan that I suggested in broad outline was the organization of an export
society, Take, for example, the unbleached-cotton manufacturers: that the
nnbleached-cotton manufacturers should have permission to get together in an
organization; that the charter of this organization should provide that any
nnbleached-cotton manufacturer could become a member upon the same terms
AS anyone else,
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« * * the organization should work along these lines: First, the study
of the industry with the idea of developing more efficient methods; second,
the study of the markets of the world, wherever it is possible to put that
article—to find out the possibilities—and that it should also act as a sales
organization. In order to preserve the element of competition, I think I have
zone too far; I do not think it is necessary, but I have suggested this sort of
plan: That each member of the society should give to the society or the sale§
manager at the beginning of the year a statement of what it could furnish for
export business, and at what price, and then the sales organization would
proceed to sell that, of course, which was offered at the cheapest price first,
and so on—sell everything if it could ; that if, for example, a particular market
was found for—we will say again unbleached cotton; we will say a market was
found for a million yards of unbleached cotton—the sales manager would
notify every member and take bids on it. The lowest bidder would get the
prder. In other words, I have tried in the plan—which, again I say, was
merely brought forward to try to focus attention upon something and to get
some sort of scheme which could be operated temporarily—I have tried to
preserve this element of competition, but the main idea was to permit a pooling
of resources in this expensive study of foreign markets and the development
of the market through sales campaigns. advertising, and the canvassing of the
market by personal representatives.
Willis H. Booth, vice president of the Security Trust &amp; Savings
Bank and general manager Hot Point Electric Heater Co., Los
Angeles, Cal., thinks the following method would be practical in
handling electrical articles:

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My general opinion would be as to the electrical articles of which I have any
knowledge, and one can not speak beyond that, that we would be very glad.
indeed—groups would be very glad to associate in the exploitation of foreign
ousiness if they felt it could be done safely.
Let me illustrate it concretely, perhaps. You take an electrical concern handling
 sockets and electric-lighting fixtures of that kind-—there are a number of
them; Benjamin and a lot of that character whom you know—and then a
concern handling cartridge fuses, screw fuses, screw plugs, or something of that
kind ; another concern handling electric tape, insulating tape, and matters of
:hat kind; a concern handling electric heating; a concern handling devices of
Mr. Hurley's character—there is no reason why one man should not represent
those five,

A. F. Bemis, of the Bemis Bros. Bag Co., Boston, Mass., said:
There is one point that I think that I did not make clear. That is that,
although I rather favored opening the opportunity for merchants and manufac-