COMMERCE AND THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15750, 27 October 1914, Page 6

COMMERCE AND THE WAR.

Two great changes may be regarded as certain results of the war— an alteration in the map of Europe i and a diversion of the channels of I the world's trade. While Germany i is devoting all her energies to hold--1 ing ground against the allies, her 1 ports closed, her factories silent, i belligerent and neutral nations are . busy planning a commercial invasion •of her overseas markets. To-day's : cablegrams state that an alliance has ; been formed in Liverpool and New . York to capture Germany's carry- : ing trade. This is only one phase ' of the commercial activity which has I been developed by the war in Great i Britain and the United States. The i British Board of Trade has collected j valuable information regarding marI kets in all parts of the world, which i has been placed at the service of ! British manufacturers. Xeutral j America is taking the same course, j The Bureau of Foreign and Domes | tic Commerce at Washington has ; pointed out to exporters in the UniI ted States what a magnificent opI portunity the war presents to them. !In both cases manufacturers are ' urged to seek no temporary profit, I but to put forward every effort to i j lay the foundations of a permanent ! trade. To both Great Britain and ! the United States has come an ap- ; peal from Russia to take the. place ; of industrial Germany in the Russian markets. M. Sazonoff, the Russian ; Minister for Foreign Affairs, has i pointed out that Russia imports i i from Germany about £60.000,000 of ] products annually. This, he says, is | only the beginning of a demand that ,' will soon place Russia amongst the I most desirable and valuable markets |of the world. M. Sazonoff strikes ! the same note as the British Board : of Trade and the Washington Com- : mercial Bureau ; he advises manufaci turers to take up the task seriously, i to send experts to Russia, even while j the. war is in progress, to study the i wants of the people scientifically t and fundamentally, bo that when I peace comes " those channels which | have for decades flowed deeply with j German products may continue to I flow with products from America and England." The Russian mar- | ket is only one of many which GerI many will have largely lost by the j time her military rulers are in a i mood to accept the terms dictated | by the Allies as the price of peace. ! The British trader is reputed conI servative ; the American keen. Between them they should be more | than a match for the German in j every market which they consider | it to their interests to explore.