Trade as a Science. By Ernest J. P. Benn. (Jerrold
and Sons. 2s. 6d. net.)—Lord Burnham, in a prefatory note to this little book, says that the future of British industry depends less upon fiscal policy than upon the extent to which our manufacturers and traders regard trade as a science. This means, as Mr. Bean proceeds to show, that our industries should be organized, especially for export, so that each trade as a whole, and not each individual trader, may deal with foreign competition abroad and at home. Mr. Bean has drafted an elaborate scheme for a Ministry of Commerce working with Trade Associations, and he has no difficulty in showing that co-operation of this kind might be very helpful. His remarks on the influence of the British shipper in promoting the sale of foreign goods are noteworthy ; it is not clear whether he would dispense with the services of this powerful middleman, who, after all, has done marvels for British trade the world over.
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