390 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.
Some lines call for sale of both.—The secretary and manager of a
company manufacturing machinery for grinding tools, dies, ete.
explains that, in his line of business—

* * competing machines overlap to such an extent that it is very difficult
 to find a high grade line that doesn’t compete at some point or other with
other lines. We don’t compete with one concern in their particular line, but
they do make a machine which competes with one of ours. Another one doesn’t
compete in that machine, but it does compete in some other machine. In
our three principal lines we would therefore compete to a certain extent with
at least one-half of the really high-grade American machine-tool builders.
Therefore, we again say that the only way in which the matter can be handled,
with any degree of satisfaction, is to allow only combinations to be made as
the individual businesses and the conditions in those individual businesses
demand.

Depends somewhat on the product—A company manufacturing
steel products answers by its vice president as follows:
In certain cases competing products could be successfully handled by one
selling society—different kinds of canned goods that vary in price and are sold
distinctively under brand. I do not believe competing articles made to specifications,
 such as rails, bridge work, copper, and standard types of machinery
of the same price, etc., would go well together. I am, in general, not in favor
of cooperative selling in articles that have a wide market, but it would be
good in classes of goods whose use is restricted and alone would not warrant
the expense connected with foreign introduction. I believe that Americans,
selling their goods in competition with each other, should act in a cooperative
manner, in that it would call attention to American products.
Requires competing products also to meet foreign trade methods. —
A member of a smelting company contends that—

Unless competing products are covered, the whole difficulty would be
ignored. An export combination restricted to trade in noncompeting products
would represent only an insignificant portion of the export trade, and in any
case would be a negligible factor in such trade. Any particular products
covered by such a combination would fare no better against a combination of
buyers of that product simply because sold by an organization selling noncompeting
 products also.

Power in cooperation—An official of a company manufacturing
vehicle equipment affording protection against the weather says:
The development of the sale of a given American product abroad can certainly
be most advantageously nurtured by the combined brains and skill of all the
neople concerned in that industry.

Would tend to consolidate American export interests—A soap
manufacturer states that the combination should—
« * =* include competing articles so that American firms in same line won't
be cutting each other’s throats in export business but collectively will go after
the other fellow’s.

Products should be grouped and classified. —A merchant importing
 linen goods for nearly half a century thinks that—
A combination made of noncompeting products would in 'a way be a jack
of all trades and a master of none. It is well to specialize. It would be
better to have the group competing products, or products that could be sold in
conjunction with competing products to the same line of trade. Thus various
textiles of different fibers and styles could be in one group, as linens, cottous,
woolens, silks; various kinds of iron manufactures and other metals in another
group. - Jt would be a matter of intelligence to properly classify the different
gToUDS.