to temporary duty in various European offices, after which he returned to the United States and was detailed to a division of the Bureau at Washington.

Trade Commissioner Norman Hertz completed his investigation of markets for leather goods in Europe, covering the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and Scandinavia.

Trade Commissioner J. Morgan Clements finished his extended survey of mineral resources in the Far East and sailed for the United States in June. His reports will cover China and Japan. Trade Commissioner George E. Hooker has continued his investigation of transportation in the United States.

Commercial Attaché Paul L. Edwards has been detailed during the greater part of the fiscal year to the Department of State, where he has served as secretary of the International Electrical Communications Conference. He completed this work in May and then sailed for his new post in Constantinople.

DISTRICT AND COOPERATIVE OFFICES.

Intimate, personal contact between the Bureau and the business men of the principal commercial centers is afforded mainly through the system of branch offices-the eight district offices maintained by Bureau funds at New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, and Manila, and the cooperative offices in 18 other cities supported financially by local organizations but provided with Bureau service.

The special importance of these offices arises from the fact that they are immediately accessible, so that when a local merchant or manufacturer is urgently in need of information with respect to foreign trade, he need only take down his telephone receiver to be supplied with data collected by trained Government investigators on the upper Yangtze River, in the fishing ports of Norway, or on the high Bolivian table-land. If he calls personally at the district office, he finds available for his use a vast amount of practical material in printed form, as well as the advice and assistance of commercial experts. That business men are alive to the value of such service is indicated by the 39,531 calls at seven of the district offices during the past fiscal year, and by expressions of appreciation such as this from a St. Louis electrical manufacturing firm :

It is especially gratifying to know that this wealth of thoroughly reliable information is in such proximity that it can be obtained, one might say, at a moment's notice. We are very enthusiastic about the Bureau's St. Louis service.

The seven district offices in this country received 86,508 letters during the past fiscal year and wrote 51,528. They sent out 29,883 circular or form letters. They supplied "foreign trade opportunity' information and "trade lists" to the number of 226,803, sold about

$12,000 worth of Bureau publications, and obtained 900 new subscribers to Commerce Reports, the Bureau's commercial journal. Letters in the Bureau's files show that the furnishing of a single sheet of specific commercial data often leads to very large orders from abroad; and with that fact in mind one can readily understand the significance of the district-office activity that deals in such "trade helps " by hundreds of thousands.

While distribution and dissemination form the largest part of the work in these offices, the "gathering" activity functions simultaneously. The Bureau is daily in receipt of material from all parts of the world that requires local investigation in this country before it can be properly utilized. Much of this is highly confidential in char. acter and plays an important rôle in the promotion of foreign trade.

INCREASED EFFECTIVENESS OF LATIN AMERICAN WORK. The Latin American division of the Bureau has rendered notable service to American business men during the year just past. The work of the division consists in gathering, assimilating, and distributing commercial information concerning all that portion of the Western Hemisphere lying south of the United States. The main sources of information are the reports of the commercial attachés and trade commissioners of the Department of Commerce, those of the diplomatic and consular officers of the Department of State, and 182 periodicals pertaining to Latin America, together with catalogues, guides, maps, etc.

In case the division is not able to supply desired data from the material available in Washington, it sends instructions to Bureau representatives or questionnairies to consular officers, and in this way satisfactory answers can be obtained to questions of practically any character. The cable is used in communicating with Bureau representatives.

The information is distributed by publication in Commerce Reports and the press, by confidential circulars, by correspondence, and orally. The great amount of information distributed by correspondence is indicated by the fact that in the fiscal year 1921 the Latin American division sent out more than 7,000 letters answering inquiries. Each year a larger number of visitors call at the offices of the division, 520 being recorded in 1921.

The Latin American division conducts research covering a wide variety of subjects. If the research results in a report that seems to be of general interest, this is published in Commerce Reports in the form of a "Latin American circular." Twelve such circulars were published during the year, including "Inter-American cable facilities," "The petroleum industry of Mexico," "The petroleum industry and laws of Colombia," "Investment of Argentine capital since 1914," "Trade of the United States with Latin America in 1920,"

discussions of automobile markets in Central Am and Venezuela, and in Mexico, and circulars on t of Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, a Latin America.

The congestion at the port of Habana, Cul the early part of 1920 and grew rapidly wor summer, led the Secretary of Commerce to resenting the Government and transportati to investigate and make recommendation: Bureau and the chief of the Latin American of this committee. There was cooperation appointed by President Menocal. After the Cuban and American committees rend a joint report, many of the provisions of effect by Col. Desplaines, who was app the port. The work of the committee at of the congestion problem.

Other Cuban matters that occasio were the embargo on the importatio embargo, the financial crisis and th work of the Sugar Finance Commis Union Telegraph Co. and the All-A improve their services in Latin

tention.

The International Congress of ican Good-Will Commission, th (1921), and the Brazilian Center the trade-promoting projects to The division attempted to s trade disputes. It endeavore

2 American

from the

rconditions at detrimental to

the manufactur

me original sources

at Singapore, at the su study of the subject whi

stered by Representative L de from a draft prepared in

as the result of conferences and representatives of other G The bill passed the House of sion of the St-venth Cong tim in the Judy Committee of

wrted the movement to relax the imm permit certain Chinese students to actual experience in American shop pr

that the most important factor in machinery in China will be American

IN CONNECTION WITH BUROPE, CANADA, AND AFT

The organization and methods of the European divi

providing information as to the of the older Latin American and Far East

sas gathers and disseminates data in much the same It covers however, a larger field than any of the other geog divisies its territory including the United Kingdom, Fr may, Belgium, the Nathenis, aly Scandinavia, Sp

can market. Among the othe the division were the Saltaplan for disposing of Amer ports; the Tornquist propos in favor of Argentina; t

branches of the National Ctugal Austria, Cechsla, Hungary, Canada, and (

tition; the methods of tran the fixed rate of exchange in the Association of Nitr

EXPANSION AND DEY

The work of furtheri through the Far Easter

the inclusion of certain colonies) practically all Africs Obviously, the sin has to deal with many problem peculiarly perplexings of the virtual disintegrat prevar i struture in certain sections of Europ rendered a ser by watching the striking develo Brownie and interpreting them for the Amin sins. By pesenting dependable data an sins um tom has enabled freign trader

Lavgary Sarangh the onstrukce mobeaten in de Enervaz #aché it Then, wring on size im the Sana * Ivar morsnement vis fecret in me pur "mdicons it Korn figna. whera tenajormenta nad vegada (emental Petak Magnusk, Sment of Amerean Foods 2) the Crent

1a 1 varen company interested ʼn derainging de manufature A hujaa vahed to obtain information on the gak sores of * pacha, and the trade commissioner 2 Sapera & the sig gra en el ma Veirean, made an exhaustive andy of the supet winch ms of mutant.al benefit to the industry.

Foot Trade Act of 1921" fostered by Represencia L. C. front of Mammt, was perfected from a draf prepared in the women office of the Department as the result of conferences beTweet, the Vat Vinstern division and representatives of other Government departments interested. The bill passed the House of Repprontations early in the first session of the Sixty-seventh Congress and is now under consideration in the Judiciary Committee of the Sonata

The Bureau has supported the movement to relax the immigrs. tion law sufficiently to permit certain Chinese students to devote part of their time to actual experience in American stop practice, because of a realization that the most important factor in future of American machinery in China will be American-trained Chinese engineers,

pl

port

in fa

WORK IN CONNECTION WITH EUROPE, CANADA, AND AFRICA.

organization and methods of the European division are those of the older Latin American and Far Eastern divi• zothers and disseminates data in much the same manner. or, a larger field than any of the other geographical erritory including the United Kingdom, France, Gerthe Netherlands, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Porhoslovakia, Hungary, Canada, and (because of fast colonies) practically all Africa.

branch tition; th the fixed rat in the Associ

on has to deal with many problems that are reason of the virtual disintegration of the .. in certain sections of Europe. It has watching the striking developments in 4 interpreting them for the benefit of nting dependable data and drawing has enabled foreign to

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