REPLIES TO CARD AND SCHEDULE INQUIRIES. 358
A manufacturer of electrical supplies stated:

The advertising, introduction, and sale of goods could be better accomplished
ander one head than by numerous companies having separate-departments. The
pxpense of each would almost be the equivalent of the whole, were they combined
 in one. On account of having to compete with foreign labor, it is obviviously
 necessary to keep the selling expense as close to the minimum as possible.
Others thought cooperation an advantage if composed only of
related but noncompeting concerns. Thus, a large manufacturer of
watches said:
We do not think it would be any particular advantage for us to cooperate
with any other watch company, but we do think it very desirable to cooperate
with a watchcase company.
The reply of a manufacturer of household specialties was of the
same nature:
We are not favorable to a cooperative selling agency for export trade, unless
it should consist of merely a few manufacturers of noncompeting lines, who
should pool their interests to reduce the cost of export advertising and traveling.expenses,
 and to send large consolidated shipments in one order, in the
hope of securing favorable transportation rates.

Aside from the largeness of the number who favor combination or
cooperation, probably the most interesting feature of the replies
received to this question is that so many small manufacturers believe
that by this method they can either enter the foreign field for the
first time or expand their present business in that direction.
As viewed by exporters, domestic merchants, professional men. ete.

In order to obtain information from others than manufacturers as
to the advantages and disadvantages of export combinations three
questions covering particular phases of the subject were sent to
export commission houses, manufacturers’ export agents, export
brokers, domestic merchants, importers, engineers, contractors,
lawyers, economists, publicists, bankers, etc. The summary of replies
to these questions follows.

Export ComBINATIONS CoMparED WrTH INDIVIDUAL MANUFACTURERS
OR EXPORTERS.

The first of these questions (which is Question 4 on the schedule)
1s as follows:®

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of export combinations or
cooperative organizations of manufacturers or producers as compared with
Individual manufacturers or producers exporting through commission houses.
manufacturers’ export agents. etc.?
Out of a total of 594 persons answering the schedules sent to others
than manufacturers 511 replied to this query. The answers, however,
 did not confine themselves to a discussion of the relative merits
and demerits of export organizations as compared with the commission
 house and export agent systems. The replies generally went
further afield to consider the whole problem of combination as
against unfettered competition, often ignoring the more specific questions
 applying to the existing mechanism of foreign trade.
Most of the respondents favored export combinations of some kind
or other. Many qualified their opinions by statements that the
efficacy of such organizations would. depend on the particular com-97941°—p1
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