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Show WOULD REPEAL SHIPPING LAWS St. Louis, Jan. 21. ' One week of the European war did more than ten years of academic discussion to convince con-vince the Americau people that foreign for-eign trade Is a vital element In domestic do-mestic prosperity No doubt remains that the nation Is determined to see Its foreign commerce safeguarded and Increased. Differences of opinion relate re-late only to method. All parties and all elements are united in patriotic co-operation for the common end." This statement was made tonight by Jam.es A Farrell, president of the United States Steel corporation, in an address at the banquet to the delegates of the foreign trade convention con-vention In seslon here. Mr Farrell said in part; "Whatever may be the political outcome out-come of the European war, It is apparent ap-parent that each of the belligerents will find it essential vigorously to pursue its foreign trade to repair the ravages of its domestic commerce, to pro lde labor to soldiers returned to peaceful pursuits and to ameliorate' the burden of taxation "Diplomacy of the future, as of the past, will be Intimately concerned with commercial aggrandizement and its is of vital consequence to America's Amer-ica's future position that advantage be taken of the present opportunity to exploit the products of American invention in-vention to establish a firm of foothold foot-hold In the markets of the world, which neither political effort, tariff discrimination or low prices successfully success-fully can assail. "Under the operation of the shipping ship-ping registry act over 100 vessels have been transferred to American registry. Some of the onerous restrictions restric-tions of the ua igation laws were suspended by executive order. It should be remembered that this modification modi-fication is not a repeal of existing navigation laws, but merely a suspension. suspen-sion. Would Repeal Law. "While there may be differences of opinion as to the proper policy of upbuilding the merchant marine, it appears to be generally recognized that as long as these restrictions are not legislatively repealed, the possibility possi-bility of an enlarged American merchant mer-chant marine competing successfully with marine competing successfully with the ships of other nations in timo of peace will be a matter of slow growth. "To little weight Is given the fact that the war, which for the time being be-ing eliminates half of Europe as a I source of supply, likewise curtails I Europe's consumption of South American Amer-ican products. South American purchasing pur-chasing pow er eventuall will im-I im-I prove with Increased exports and imports, im-ports, but American manufacturers and merchants, embarking for the i tirst time in foreign trade, should bo prepared to exercise patience and per-slstence per-slstence in their efforts " Opportunity Offered. Professor .1 . Tenks of Cornell unlverslt) in an address at the banquet ban-quet said The present war has opened up opportunities op-portunities and should stimulate the imagination of the American business man as nothlsg else has done for years. The opening up of foreign markets furnishes an opportunity for the broadening of our outlook, of our sympathy with the people of other nations "The war furnishes the American busines man an opportunity and the fact that he uses this opportunity will be a benefit rather than a bin drance to the belligerents, now and in the future ' South American Market. Secretary of Commerce Redfield departed de-parted from his prepared speech at the convention toda to impress ou his auditors the great opport unvties for foreign trad" that the war has brought American business men He said- "A manufacturer expecting to enter en-ter the South American market recently re-cently told me that as a preliminary he investigated the conditions of his competitors in Europe and found that it would take them four years to recover re-cover from the effects of the war, by which time he hopes to be so entrenched en-trenched that his product can not be dislodged. "I wish I could print the language of the dispatches that come to the department de-partment of commerce, it is a singular singu-lar thing to have the toreign minister of a nation wire his ambassador at Washington that they desire u to tako the place Europe has held in their trade, and yet twice have sucn messages recently come either through ambassadors or direct It became evident in today's discussions dis-cussions that an effort soon would be made to determine whether the Sherman Sher-man anti-trust law prohibits combination combi-nation by American manufactures and merchants for the purpose of obtain ing foreign trade. |