TRADING WITH
JUGOSLAVIA IS
RECOMMENDED
By DAN^/UCETICH
Ever since the allied blockade In
1914, at which date German and Aus
trian shipping suffered a serious set
back, which today we could call a na
tional catastrophe, it became known
to the American commercial institu
tions that it was a necessity to build
up their trade beyond our own border
lines and carry same to practically all
corners of the earth. *
The first pressure for foreign trade
relations, brought to bear by the sud
den disappearance of German ship
ping, came from the Central and South
American countries, who realized that
the time was nearing when the well
organized German-Latin American
commercial institutions would be but
a thing of the past. America not be
ing engaged in war then, naturally
greeted these southern neighbors,
who had come to visit us via the
Atlantic and Pacific, and thus their
arrival, for the purpose of talking
business, created quite an excitement
throughout commercial centers. San
Francisco’s young business men took
up immediately the studying of Span
ish, and the business in teaching
Spanish grew large in that city in a
short while. These young business
men were preparing to do their part
in order to attract on the Pacific
coast with little hardship, as much of
the Latin American business as pos
sible. There is no question in my
mind, and custom house statistics
will prove, but that these men have
succeeded, while New York and other
eastern centers have enjoyed much
prosperity due to enormous increases
of this kind of trade. •
In pre-war times the volume of busi
ness transacted with these Latin
countries was insignificant, it is after
the war that we were forced to trade
with them, in other words it came to
us without going after it, and it would
be unwise to believe that the com
merce and trade of the rest of the
world will come to us now like the
Latin trade did then, and the main
reason would be that our banking sys
tem will find other nations competi
tors with a more elastic system than
ours.
The revising of our uational bank
act in 1913 and establishment of the
federal reserve banks contributed
much to our foreign trade success in
the past, this also enabled branching
of national banks in this country as
well as foreign countries, which
branches, particularly the foreign are
now training Americans in foreign
trade and banking. As long as we are
able to produce the goods, realize a
legitimate profit, fairly meeting com
petition, these Latin countries will
learn to like us, and we shall replace
the German institutions now lost to
them. This is how close the war has
brought commercially the two Amer
icas together.
Victory however, has not only elimi
nated (for many years to come) the
stupendous German world-wide ti-ad
ing machinery, but it has also destroy
ed her faithful ally, the once mosaic
empire of Austria-Hungary. The en
tirety of this former empire represent
ed our second largest enemy, cut of
its ruins three allied nations arose,
Jugsolvia, Czechoslovakia and Po
land, representing the majority of its
population. Being more familiar with
the Jugoslav situation as it exists to
day, I shall endeavor to explain to our
American business men, the greatest
possibilities of doing a general busi
ness with Jugoslavia. To begin with,
the people of this new state have been
fed and clothed partly by their former
government and partly by Germany.
Raw material and farming imple
ments were furnished them via Berlin
and Vienna railways, while commodi
ties not obtainable at home or in Ger
many were imported over sea ifnd car
ried mostly by the liners of the once
prosperous Austrian Lloyd Steamship
Company, unloaded at Trieste and
from there transshipped throughout
the empire. The steamship line dis
puted the first place with English
shipping in the markets of the Levant,
and had a well-established reputation
in the markets of India, China and
Japan. The Austro-American line was
the only line worth while mentioning,
trading with the United States. In
years past, the population in the sec
tions formerly under Austrian rule,
had abandoned agriculture for indus
tries and commerce, owing to compe
tition of other grain-raising indus
tries, which had thus reduced the
price of grain; it is a question now if
wheat and grain will be imported
from Hungary, temporarily at least, or
will this new kingdom of the Serbs,
Croates and Slovenes find it more
profitable to import same from the
United States. The wheat and grain
raising sections of Serbia proper were
scenes of many a battle. It will thus
take some time to place the old Helds
in cultivation. There is a great de
mand for coal oil, while coal imports
will be less needed; this commodity
could be furnished from the coal
mines of Moravia, Styria, and partly
from Bosnia Herzegovina, the latter
in stage of development. The neces
sities which are needed now and
needed badly are fibers, yarn, cotton
cloth, machinery and all sorts of farm
ing implements. Swine products are
the main exports of old Serbia, where
some of the largest hoggeries are to
be found. There in every valley beech
nuts, acorns, oak and beech trees
grow. Ninety per cent of Serbia’s hog
exports were formerly purchased by
Austria. But this new kingdom has
now many important harbors on the
Adriatic and from these ports it will
be able to distribute the exports to all
markets of the world; newcomers are
welcome indeed. The early bird
catches the worm. The Adriatic coast
is no more controlled by the Austrian
Lloyd and the controlling of Serbia’s
commerce by Austria is a thing of the
past. The Berlin and Vienna railroads
are practically out of the run; larger
European nations are busy in recon
struction at home. All Europe is heal
ing its wounds. We have our own
troubles, of course, not of a serious
nature, however, to prevent us grasp
ing good opportunities when same are
presented. Is it not then up to us to
prepare at once in order to meet the
commercial demands of this new state
of the Serbs, Croates and Slovenes?
The opportunities are unlimited, from
12 to 15 million people of a free and
friendly nation are anxiously waiting
to give the Stars and Stripes the place
of honor in their harbors. It will not
take very long before the Jugloslav
ships visit our waters. What merchant
vessels the former monarchy possess
ed before the war, most of these an
chored in the home waters during the
war, had to be turned over to the al
lies in accordance with the terms of
the armistice, and it is possible that
through an act of the peace confer
ence, the Jugoslavs be granted their
share of that shipping. These same
people are anxious to see a friendly
nation like ours come to their rescue
now and bring them a gradual com
mercial prosperity, knowing that our
motives are purely from a business
standpoint, and realizing that if they
had to fall back on any one large Eur
opean nation looking for assistance, it
would mean national concessions of
different kind and secret agreements
which would eventually bring trouble
and dissension at home. Why must we
Americans hibernate then? The op
portunity is now ripe to trade on the
Adriatic, and as it takes time to devel
op credit and transportation we must
start at once, start small if necessary,
and grow, but it is essential to do it
now. The billions of dollars spent by
this nation for shipping alone will af
ford this opportunity; it will take per
haps from six to eight vessels to make
this new start, which unquestionably
will prove profitable to run. Our bank
deposits are larger than at any time
previous, our commercial institutions
are greater than ever, our foreign
debts are smaller than ever, the. trade
balances are again in our favor and
our merchant marine larger than
ever, daily gaining in tonnage.
The people of America ask for no
territorial aggrandizement as a price
of war, they ask for no concessions.
It is well known to them why America
threw her hat in the ring, but what
America is entitled now, something
rightfully belonging to her is to take
Germany’s place in world commerce.
There is no question but that we can
supply the twelve or fifteen million
Jugoslavs with what they so urgently
need now, and it will depend much
upon our skill in producing these and
other goods to fill the ever-increasing
orders in the future. We shall not
find the trouble hard to step in and
trade with this newly-born state. We
know her people well; millions of
them are among us today, good and
loyal citizens, who will support us in
this new enterprise. Conservately esti
mating, 50 per cent of the American
Jugoslavs, citizens or aliens, have one
or more relatives living in the old
country, which Is now a free country.
The American Jugoslav can now
freely visit his old home people, some
thing which most of them could not
do before the war for political, mili
tary or other reasons. The frequent
contact of the American Jugoslav
with his mother country, brought
about by medium of American trans
portation, will eventually link both
countries commercially and awaken
the American Jugoslav to the fact that
It is chiefly up to him to take a hand
in developing his mother country by
diverting his knowledge through the
proper channels. Just like the Ameri
can Italian has done whose commer
cial activities are known from the At
lantic to the Pacific. Much greater
and quicker results could be achieved
to carry on this program In this new
field with an organized American
Jugoslav, and the time has come
whereby he must organize and show
his adopted country that he is ready,
be he a small business man or laborer,
to invest his surplus earnings in such
a commercial way that will bring re
lief to his war-ridden mother country,
thereby helping his relatives and help
ing himself as well.
Political dissension was the main
factor that blocked the commercial
development of the American Jugo
slav in the past. He, however, has
no excuse to give now, because his
chief enemy is gone and the mother
country’s national aspirations have
been realized. The first Jugoslav ex
port import concern was founded in
Chicago, Illinois, a few months ago.
This I consider to be the first good
sign of their commercial activities.
All Jugoslavs should support this
movement to the utmost of their fi
nancial abilities. They must show
their good faith in the matter. Sooner
or later the American capitalist will
join them to carry their program to a
successful issue. There is room in
America for a dozen concerns of like
nature, and of latest reports the
farthest north American Jugoslav
community, located -at Anchorage,
Alaska, has in less than thirty days’
time raised over |10,000 for the pur
pose of organizing a similar concern,
whose headquarters will be located
either on the Pacific coast or in the
east. The organizers as I understand,
will have their special representative
call on different outside communities
for the purpose of urging them and
explain the vital necessity of commer
cial relations between their mother
country and the United States.
Such news as this should be re
ceived with much interest and enthus
iasm by our American industries and
business men. It shows what these
people in such a short space of time
have decided on this subject. An in
flux of Jugoslav business men might
follow in this country as soon as the
peace treaty is signed In Paris, just
like the Latin-American did after the
blockade, but why wait for their pos
sible arrival? Go to him now and get
the business.
Just arrived, a fresh stock of Hot
Shot Batteries at the Northwestern
Hardware Co. 14-tf
Your eyes fitted. Compound and
stigmatic lenses replaced. 8ee Os
borne.
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