which is to remain in force for ten years. The concessionnaire pays to the Government in return for the privilege: For each cedar or mahogany tree to be cut... For all dyewoods........ For all chicle gathered..... For all rubber gathered...... Yearly for each 2.471 acres (1 hectare) under cultivation...... The Government requires a deposit of $3,000 as a guaranty of good faith, and the concession shall be declared null and void if for no good and sufficient reason work shall cease for the term of six months. Similar concessions have been granted since the opening of this new territory. German-Egyptian Trade. In his annual report the AustroHungarian consul at Alexandria writes of the growing trade of Germany with Egypt, largely due to the direct shipping facilities by the German-Levant Steamship Line. German exporters receive bills of lading at any railroad point in Germany on consignments for any port in levantine countries. The freight rates of this line are also lower than those of the Austrian lines. In consequence thereof many Austrian export firms in Bohemia now ship via Hamburg instead of by Trieste, when expediting consignments for Mediterranean countries. The consul also states that articles of German manufacture are now sold in Egypt which were formerly supplied by other countries.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy ConsulGeneral, Frankfort, Germany, August 15, 1903. German Exports to South America.-According to official returns, the exports from Germany to South American countries in 1902 were as follows: ་ Germany's exports to these countries consist mainly of textiles, ironware and machinery, guns and ammunition, leather articles, glass, porcelain, and earthen ware, fancy goods, cutlery and notions, and beer.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 11, 1903. Emigration via Hamburg and Bremen.-The emigrants via. Hamburg and Bremen during the seven months ended July 31, 1903, numbered 205, 168, against 170,932 during the same period of 1902. About 90 per cent of this exodus goes to the United States. Germany furnished but a small part to this contingent, the bulk coming from Bohemia, Hungary, Roumania, and Russia.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 11, 1903. Hazelnuts in Europe.-Germany and other European countries. import annually large quantities of hazelnuts, which are used by confectioners and form a prominent item of the dessert at hotel and private tables. Besides this they are as popular an article of consumption as peanuts are in the United States. The hazelnut bushes require no attention and will grow almost anywhere; yet the nut can be greatly improved by proper cultivation. The children of our American farmers might add to their savings by planting hazelnuts. If nut raising were to be conducted on a large scale by our fruit growers, hazelnuts would soon become a valuable item of our export trade. Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 31, 1903. Commercial Duties of German Consuls.-The Commercial Diet of Germany, which is the central board of all German chambers of commerce, has applied to the Imperial Chancellor for a list of those German consulates which would furnish commercial information, credit rating of business firms, etc. In his reply, the chancellor stated that though all the German consuls are instructed to name the firms in their districts with whom it might be desirable to form business connections, and to furnish all other proper information, yet no general instructions can be issued to require consuls to give an opinion on the credit rating or responsibility of firms. doing business in their districts. It must be left to the judgment of each consul whether he deems it in conformity with his duty to furnish information of this kind to German inquirers; therefore no such list as asked for by the commercial diet can be supplied.Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, September 17, 1903. German Machine Building for Foreign Markets.-United States Consul-General O. J. D. Hughes, of Coburg, Germany, in his annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, writes as follows concerning the conditions under which German machine builders hold their place in foreign markets: For many years German locomotive builders have had an office in Warsaw, but the news comes that it has now been closed in consequence of a lack of orders, this lack arising through instructions on the part of the Russian Ministry of Traffic that State as well as private railways must draw their supplies from Russian factories. In a speech at St. Petersburg last spring M. de Witte stated that the Government would take measures to assist the home iron industry. M. de Witte also said that "only an independent industry. standing on its own feet and understanding how to accommodate itself to the needs of the country was able to live." The annual report of the Cassel Chamber of Commerce contains some interesting and significant passages, among others the following: Although home orders in 1902 were about a third fewer than in the year 1901, yet the firm of H- & Son (engine builders) succeeded in avoiding material limitation of labor by accepting orders from abroad at prices which did not cover the costs of production. The firm in question built for Egypt, Italy, Denmark, Holland, and Servia and took orders for 2,000,000 marks' ($476,000) worth of work at prices that left absolutely no profit. Doubtless other German engine-building firms did business abroad on the same terms. The Cassel chamber further observes: The possibility of foreign markets becomes more and more limited, owing to the customs isolation of other countries, which is on the increase. The new tariffs of Russia and Austria impose such duties on locomotives as to render importation almost if not quite impossible. In times of weak home demand, such as prevailed in 1902, the highly developed German locomotive-building industry can not, however, do without foreign orders if it is to live. ་ Alcoholic Liquors in German Africa.-During the year 1902 the shipments of spirituous liquors (rum, brandy, whisky, etc.) from the port of Hamburg to the German colonies of East and West Africa amounted to 4,128,747 gallons, an increase of 631,752 gallons over the exports of the preceding year. It appears that spirituous liquors form the chief export from Germany to her African colonies.Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 15, 1903. British Exports to South and West Africa.-United States Consul Frank D. Hill, Amsterdam, Netherlands, under date of September 3, 1903, reports that the London Standard of August 11, 1903, contains the following: Mr. Chamberlain, replying to a printed question of Mr. W. Thomson, said that he could not undertake to say to what extent the increases in the exports to the colonies are due to the wars in South Africa, Nigeria, and elsewhere, but it may interest the honorable member to know that the value of the exports of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom to the South and West African colonies, respectively, for the last five years have been as follows: Foreign Trade of Egypt.-During the first sixth months of 1903 the imports of Egypt amounted to $37,364,045 and the exports to $43,986,655. The following articles enter into the imports of Egypt, the values being given in round numbers: Our exporters should direct their efforts toward Egypt.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 19, 1903. Foreign Trade of Austria-Hungary. The imports of AustriaHungary during the first seven months of 1903 amounted to $219,097,900 and the exports to $235, 195, 800, an increase as compared with No 278-03-11 the same period in 1902 of $13, 134, 100 in imports and of $29,232,000 in exports. Austria-Hungary is making vigorous efforts to enlarge her export trade, and with good success.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 24, 1903. Austrian Floating Exhibition.-According to the leading paper of Vienna, Austrian exporting circles are contemplating the fitting out of a steamship for a floating industrial exhibition to visit the ports of the East Indies and eastern Asia. A similar enterprise, undertaken in 1901, brought profitable results to Austrian manufacturers and exporting houses which participated therein.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 15, 1903. Foreign Commerce of Bulgaria.-The foreign trade of Bulgaria for the first six months of 1903 is given as follows: Imports, $7,430,500, against $6,422,075 for the same period of the preceding year; exports, $9,109,600, against $8, 202,500 for the corresponding six months of 1902. Of the imports, $965,000 came from Germany, $1,891,400 from Austria-Hungary, $1,582,600 from Great Britain, and $1,080,800 from Turkey. The United States seems to have no interest in the trade of Bulgaria.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy ConsulGeneral, Frankfort, Germany, September 4, 1903. Industrial Establishments in Russia.-According to official statements just published there were in Russia, at the beginning of 1902, 17,786 industrial establishments employing 1,710,735 persons, of whom 73.2 per cent were males and 26.8 per cent females. The female employees have increased in number, especially in the establishments engaged in the manufacture of cotton textiles, matches, and cigars and cigarettes. The Russian factory inspectors during 1901 made examinations of 70 per cent of all industrial works.— Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 21, 1903. Shoe Polish in Russia.-Shoe blacking and polish is in good demand in Russian markets, where these articles have as yet little competition. As the United States is admittedly the greatest producer of these articles, American manufacturers and exporters should pay more attention to the Russian market.-Simon W. Hanauer, Deputy Consul-General, Frankfort, Germany, August 31, 1903. |