REPLIES TO CARD AND SCHEDULE INQUIRIES. 437
The secretary of a trade association wrote:

In open cooperation, there can be no such acts as secret arrangements, private
agreements, compacts, nor conspiracies. All such partake of the nature of an
“armed truce” and have long since been abandoned by trade organizations as
Impossible of good, and are now well recognized as unlawful. It is extremely
difficult to see how trade can be restrained without some such compact.
The reasons and suggestions advanced by the majority of those
believing that the domestic market would not be adversely affected
by authorized export combinations, are numerous and vary considerably.
 Excerpts from a number of the replies have been arranged
under general headings, in order to set forth these reasons clearly.
Export and domestic trade unrelated.—The replies from a large
number of informants are to the effect that there 1s no possibility of
export organizations restraining trade in the domestic market, because
 foreign and domestic trade are entirely separate in every way.
Many illustrate by giving the conditions in their specific industry.
A manufacturer of agricultural implements, exporting 30 per cent
of the output, replied:

The two lines of trade are subject to very different conditions. Even with
the same goods, differences in specifications, packing, shipping, selling, terms,
and collections make it practically a separate business.
A manufacturer of furniture, exporting 50 per cent of his output
wrote:

The foreign markets require a different product than the domestic in style,
quality, and price. The business is very distinct from the domestic, even to the
packing of the finished product. It weans practically two distinct organizations.
A producer of lumber wrote:

The best illustration and reason we can give is the present export company
which sells its goods at one price for export and all of whose members compete
in the domestic market for business. It must be borne in mind that the common
 selling agency for export business deals only with exporters, takes their
orders, and divides these orders amongst manufacturers or producers. This
common selling agency does not do any business in the domestic market, and
the manufacturer has no dealing with the common selling agency other than
to receive their pro rata of the orders placed and payment therefor from said
common selling agency. For this reason, domestic business does not come within
the province at all of such common selling agency.

A manufacturer of mechanics’ tools and hardware wrote:

Our export department is maintained entirely separate from our domestic
business, handled by a separate staff, and peculiarly fitted by knowledge and experience
 to look after it, with promotive, sales, and collection work exclusively
applicable to the export business. This policy, we understand, is followed
generally by representative manufacturers of the United States.
A manufacturer of railroad wheels, tires, and springs wrote:

In our experience, it has been found that the specifications of many materials
ased in. foreign countries differ widely from those applicable to the requirements
 for the United States, whose standards can not be readily adapted to
foreign consumption, thus necessitating different treatment and methods of
manufacture. To educate ‘the foreigner to accept United States standards is
practically impossible, and, therefore, the American manufacturers must strictly
conform to foreign specifications in every detail to receive any consideration.
Special facilities must be provided to cater to the foreign trade, and inasmuch
as the material thereby produced is not available for home consumption, there
would be no incentive to restrain trade in the domestic market.
Domestic market more important.— Another large group make the
point that the domestic market is of much greater importance to the