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Show ESTABLISHING COST SYSTEM NECESSARY I Federal Commission Head Urges Strengthening of American Industries. COMilllU'S. Ohio, Sept. 13. Estab-. Estab-. lishmrtnt of a cost system by manufac-turers manufac-turers was recommended us one, of the most important moans of strengthening American industry to meet Kuropean competition after the war by Kilward . Hurley, chairman of tlic federal trade commission in an address before tiie Ohio Bankers' association here to-ilav. to-ilav. 'The man who does not know his true ousts is the man who prices his jinoits foolishly and thereby impairs the ( business of sound competitors at the Kime time that he ruins his own," said Air. Hurley. lie also urged that strenuous efforts to inereaso American foreign trade, particularly by establishment ot branches of American banks abroad, be made to meet the more efficient and larger scale production of European countries when peace comes. 'Nine-tenths of the concerns reporting report-ing to the federal trade commission do not keep adequate cost systems," Mr. Hurley declared. "Since they cannot tell where they are making money and where they are losing it, they cannot tell where to introduce economies," lie added. "Out of the sixty thousand corporations corpor-ations that report ail annual income of .foOfii) or over, half do not charge off a single penny for depreciation. They even go on paying taxes to the government govern-ment on inflated values and iuflated earnings. ' ' The trade commission has prepared pamphlets describing fundamentals of cost accounting, and is prepared to send experts to assist trade associations in adopting sound systems, Mr. Hurley explained. Comparing British and American banking systems, Mr. Hurley said: "The total capital and ' reserves of the 1 British overseas banks exceed 500,i00,000'. Although our domestic banks, loan and trust companies have a capital and surplus of $.1,400,000,000, which equals that of all the domestic hanks of all the rest of the world combined, com-bined, the capital and surplus represented represent-ed bv our overseas banking is less than $7,000,000. We are permitting our commercial com-mercial rivals to do our foreign banking for us. and to obtaiu the profits and commercial advantages that naturally result." ' |