REPLIES TO CARD AND SCHEDULE INQUIRIES. 357
Aid to “seasonal” business—An exporter makes this interesting
point :
Many so-called * seasonal” businesses could greatly extend their season of
yperations, especially if trade with the Antipodes were cultivated.

4. SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES OVER COMMISSION HOUSES AND EXPORT
ageNTs.—Under this head the point most frequently made was that
the interests of the manufacturer and the commission house do not
run parallel.
A commercial agent in Australia writes: .

The millman gains little in his dealing through brokers; it makes no difference
 to the broker whether he makes a commission on the sale of a cargo of
lumber sufficient to build 500 houses, or whether he makes the same commission
on a shipment of cement sufficient to build the same number of houses. The
broker has not the interest of the lumber producer at heart.
A manufacturer of lumber who has made a special investigation
asserts:
Commission houses, etc, are very unsatisfactory in comparison. They
really represent the foreign buyer and are competing among themselves for
foreign business. They use prices quoted by one concern to obtain concessions
from another until the lowest price level is obtained.
ye . . . . } og.
Ability to specialize.—In the opinion of a professor of political
sclence—

The greater advantage of export combinations is that the combination would
represent more capital than the individual and therefore could specialize along
many lines to meet the special needs of foreign trade; that is, one firm could
produce one line of goods by agreement and another firm another line; morepver,
 a combination could keep in closer touch with the needs and demands of
foreign trade.
5. (QUALIFIED REPLIES—NOT NECESSARY TO ELIMINATE COMMISSION
HOUSE.—An exporter suggests:
There Is no reason why such export combinations should not work in harmony
 with commission houses and even though a concern may be a member of
such an organization there is nothing to prevent his employing an export agent
to push his particular product.

Several other respondents took this same attitude.
Efficacy would depend on particular commodity.—This point was
made by a great many exporters. One of them writes:

It all depends on the article, on the nature and conditions of the particular
market under consideration, and to what length and expense the producer is
prepared to go in order to establish his goods in that market,
Another exporter. who imports also, agrees:

The advantages and disadvantages of combinations or exporting through
commission houses, manufacturers’ export agents, etc. is all a matter of the
commodity, and the question of economical distribution and selling. This is
BR question that can hardly be handled correctly in the abstract.

Similar expressions of opinion were received from the editor of
an industrial publication and others.
B. DISADVANTAGES.

1. LACK OF INDIVIDUAL SELF-INTEREST AND DIRECTION.—This was the
chief disadvantage urged. (It will be noted that others made this
same point against commission houses in favor of export organizations.)
