The business man can derive great benefit from the excellent service rendered by the Foreign Trade Bu reau of the Museum. This bureau publishes a monthly, Commercial America, which is published also in Spanish and widely distributed in Latin Amer ica, where the Museum is known and highly regarded. A weekly bulletin gives a list of inquiries received from foreign firms and much valuable current infor mation. Upon request the bureau furnishes informa tion about specific markets or products. It gathers credit information, makes translations into any for eign language, circulates printed lists of manufac turers and their products among foreign buyers, aids in collecting over-due accounts and in securing reli able agents abroad. Its library is one of the best in this country for the subjects of foreign trade and shipping.
The exhibits, which occupy two large buildings, represent a large investment and are arranged so as to give a complete picture of the products of each country, by types, grades and steps of manufacture. The collection of photos, drawings, and models deal ing with the history of transportation is highly in structive.
The oldest and probably the best commercial mu seum in Europe is the Commercial Museum in Vi enna. This instilvtion, tho nominally an independent corporation, was officially maintained by the Austrian Government. It constituted the official channel thru which the business man obtained information from the Austrian consuls. It issued two publications. In
connection with the museum the Export Akademie s maintained which trained for business and pre pared for the consular service.
Other examples are the museum in Brussels, which published a weekly Bulletin Commercial, the Imperial Institute for the United Kingdom, the Colonies and India, in South Kensington, London, which issues the splendid monthly Imperial Institute Journll and the quarterly Bulletin of the Imperial Institute. Other museums are found in Bordeaux, A•arseilles, Amster dam, Bremen and Berlin.
13. Export publications.—Many excellent maga zines enable the progressive business man to keep in formed. The American Exporter with editions in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, as well as in Eng lish, El Comercio, The Exporter's Review, Dun's In te•national Review in English and Spanish, Russia, Asia, The Pan-American Magazine, The South American, and a number of house organs, such as The World's Markets, issued by R. G. Dun and Corn pany, and The Americas, published by the National City Bank of New York, are but a few of a long list of excellent publications.
The development of foreign markets is such a deli cate business and calls for so much specialized knowl edge that any firm about to enter the foreign field will find an investment in a fairly complete library of export and special trade publications a paying prop osition.