FINANCE  AND  CREDITS  309
vantage  of  the  situation,  the  position  it  assumed ­
  has  positively  hurt  us  as  a  nation.
One  of  the  things  to  be  met  and  overcome  is
the  question  of  long  credits.  European  merchants ­
  originally  extended  much  time  to  reliable ­
  customers.  Instances  are  on  record  of
from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  months  being
given.  Goods  were  often  shipped  on  consignment. ­
  The  tendency  of  late,  however,  as  business ­
  became  established  in  these  lands  has  been
to  curtail  credits.  This  condition  is  one
which  demands  delicate  and  diplomatic
handling  and  very  naturally  will  be  materially ­
  controlled  by  circumstances.  European
banks  were  organized,  as  hereinbefore  explained, ­
  to  discount  long  time  paper,  provided
the  drawer  and  the  drawee  were  considered
good  risks.  The  Federal  Reserve  Act,  however, ­
  falls  short  of  helping  us  in  this  regard
for  the  life  of  a  foreign  negotiable  draft  is
limited  by  it  to  ninety  days.
Long  credits  are  not  to  be  encouraged.
They  were  excusable  in  the  age  of  the  sailing
ships  and  poor  banking  facilities,  but  with  the