has ever paid since it was organized in 1872. The company has a fleet of 31 boats, 30 of which are sail vessels and the other a steamer. In 1900 its herring catch, which is made in the North Sea-for the most part off the coast of Holland-amounted to 20,945 metric tons, worth 740,615 marks ($176,266.37); in 1901, 30,444 metric tons, valued at 855,066 marks ($203,505). In 1902 it was even larger.

Increase in price of German linen yarns.—The flax spinners' association of western Germany has just decided to increase the price of all yarns 50 pfennigs (11.9 cents) per package. This action is taken. because of the prevailing high prices of the raw material.

Consolidation of Wurttemberg breweries. —The Baeren and Storchen breweries, which are located at Ravensburg, a city of about 13,000 inhabitants in the southern part of the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, near the Boden-See, have been consolidated into one stock company. The capital of the new company is 1,000,000 marks ($238,000). The Baeren brewery will be discontinued, while the Storchen will be considerably enlarged and fitted with the most modern equipment.

Consolidated chocolate and cocoa company in Berlin.-The firms of Hoffmann & Tiede and Felix & Sarotti, of the city of Berlin, have just consolidated, forming a stock company, under the name of Sarotti Chocolate and Cocoa Company, with a paid-up capital of 1,500,000 marks ($357,000). It proposes to considerably enlarge its plant, in order to manufacture on an extensive scale.

Ivory-nut button factory in Saxony.—It is reported that the ivorynut button factory located at Hütten, a village of about 850 inhabitants near Koenigstein, Saxony, after having been shut down for a long time, is to resume operations. To start with, it will give employment to 60 hands, a matter of no little importance to that community, where the industrial conditions appear to be still far from satisfactory. BRAINARD H. WARNER, Jr.,

LEIPZIG, GERMANY, September 18, 1903.

Consul.

GERMAN HOME AND FOREIGN TRADE NOTES.

(From United States Consul Warner, Leipzig, Germany.)

Capital in Chile.-A joint-stock company, with a capital of 5,000,000 marks ($1,190,000), has been organized at Valparaiso, Chile, for the purpose of securing control of the water power, erecting an electric light and power plant, and taking over the horse-car lines. The largest stockholders in this company are German firms, viz, SiemensSchuckertwerke, Allgemeine Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, Die Union Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, and a group of banking houses, to which

the Berliner Handelsgesellschaft, the Deutsche Bank, and the Diskontogesellschaft belong.

Locomotives for Japan.-It is reported that a German firm has just been awarded a contract from Japan for locomotives, only after very keen competition, however, with several English firms. American. locomotives are regarded by many as the best in the world. Why, then, is Germany apparently getting more than her share of foreign. orders? She is at present busy upon orders from Italy, Russia, and Japan. Is it because American locomotive shops are still rushed with orders? It has not been so long ago that the firm of Kitson & Co., Leeds, England, was given an order for locomotives by the Sudanese Railroad simply because this firm was prepared to fill the order within five or six months, while an American firm could not even promise to do so in twice that length of time. The Sudanese Railroad is at present using American locomotives, and with such success that it was reluctant to go elsewhere for new ones.

Acetylene in the Argentine Republic.-The Berlin Chamber of Commerce informs German acetylene firms that there is an opportunity for them to do business with the Argentine Republic. It seems that the experiments which the Argentine Government has been making with acetylene lighting have not been altogether satisfactory. The trouble has been caused by the jets becoming easily clogged. What that Government wants is a burner that will consume from 4 to 5 quarts of acetylene per hour and continue burning two to four months without becoming clogged, and that when a stoppage does occur it will not take place suddenly, but slowly, being noticeable several weeks beforehand.

Electric lights for the palace at Peking.—It is reported that a Hamburg firm has received an order to equip the Chinese Emperor's palace at Peking with electricity. For this purpose a dynamo with four steam engines and 16 transformers will be required. Not only is an order of this kind important in itself, but the prestige it will give German industries in that country will be very considerable.

The herring trade and duty thereon.-The Emden Fishermen's Union, in answer to a Government question as to whether or not it would be advisable to increase the duty upon salted herring, has replied in the negative. Under the present tariff raw herrings are free of duty, while salted ones in barrels pay a duty of 3 marks (71 cents) per barrel. In the year 1902 there were 1,577,379 barrels of herrings, valued at $11,874,534, imported into Germany; 756,547 barrels, valued at $5,741,036, coming from Great Britain; and 451,464 barrels, valued at $3,446,478, from the Netherlands. In the same year the total export of herrings from Germany was only 3,294 barrels, valued at $73,066.

Testing building material.-It has just been decided to hold the fourth international conference for testing building material next year at St. Petersburg, Russia. The exact date of the meeting has not yet been determined, but it will probably be held in the month of August, 1904. Herr Fetmager, professor of the technical high school at Vienna, Austria, has been chosen president of the conference, and as vice-presidents Professor Martins, of the University of Berlin, and Prof. N. A. Belelinsky, of the St. Petersburg Department of Public Works, have been selected.

Electric railway in Italy. -The Mediterranean Railroad of Italy, in conjunction with a number of foreign firms-for the most part German-is contemplating building an electric railroad from Rome to Naples. For this purpose, it proposes to ask the Government, in the near future, for the necessary concession. This road will be about 130.5 miles in length, and the estimated cost thereof $19,300,000.

State potash mine in Prussia.-The Prussian Government has at last obtained permission to open a State potash mine at Bleicherode, a small town of about 4,000 inhabitants in the district of Sangerhausen, Harz Mountains, Province of Saxony. The Government recently obtained the mining rights to a tract of land of 2,188,970 square meters (23,552,317 square feet) in area. It petitioned the Imperial Department of Commerce and Industry for a mining concession. This, however, was refused. Prussia obtained this concession subsequently, nevertheless, with the assistance of the Erfurt District Mining and Inspection Board, to which it appealed.

Electric cars for Argentina.-The Wagenbauanstalt und Wagenfabrik für elektrische Bahnen, formerly W. C. F. Busch, in Hamburg, has just received an order to build electric cars for the Buenos Ayres Electric Street Railway Company. It was recently reported in the German press that this concern was to build electric cars for companies in the United States. The company has informed me, however, that there was no truth in the report.

Alcohol for the Netherlands.-The Dutch Government has refused to give its sanction to a bill to increase the tax upon alcohol, as it was requested to do. During the year 1902 over 3,000,000 marks' ($714,000) worth of wine, beer, and alcohol was exported to Holland from Germany.

BRAINARD H. WARNER, Jr.,

LEIPZIG, GERMANY, September 3, 1903.

Consul.

TO MAKE BERLIN A SEAPORT.

(From United States Consul-General Hughes, Coburg, Germany.)

The Berliner Tageblatt has recently published an article on "Berlin als Seestadt" (Berlin a seaport town), some interesting particulars of which I submit to the Department.

The idea of connecting Berlin with the Baltic by means of a canal and at the same time to turn the capital city into a seaport into which even the largest class of ocean steamers could enter with perfect ease at any time was first conceived about twenty years ago by Strousberg. In a pamphlet, which on its appearance created a sensation, he communicated his daring idea to the public, proving, both from a technical as well as a financial standpoint, that his scheme could be carried out. He also showed the many economical advantages that it would bring to Berlin and the neighboring districts. At that time, however, the German public was not ripe for such a bold idea and treated it as the speculation of a dreamer, but the idea begins to be considered feasible. The Tageblatt says: "In view of the American danger which threatens our commerce and industries, its carrying out appears to us as—one would almost like to say an unavoidable necessity." To what degree this latter idea. has gained ground is best illustrated by the various projects of the Prussian Government with regard to a number of canals, one of the most important of which is that to connect Berlin with Stettin. It is true that the Berlin-Stettin canal, as now planned, will not make Berlin a seaport, but the first step toward the accomplishment of Strousberg's scheme will be made when the bill recommending that it be built shall have been accepted by the Prussian Diet and put into execution.

The water traffic of Berlin has been very important for many years back, but nobody would have predicted that it could ever develop to such an extent as shown by the present official statistics on water traffic. The water traffic around and about Berlin must be counted among the most important of the whole European continent. In comparison to the traffic done on the rivers Rhine and Danube, that of the much smaller Spree is simply marvelous and almost incredible. In 1899 not less than 10,900 passenger steamers, most of them probably in the service of Berlin excursionists, departed from and arrived at Berlin. In the service of the goods traffic there were employed 34,271 towing steamers, 1,710 goods steamers with a total tonnage of 107,895 tons, 70, 266 sailing vessels-among them the wellknown Spreekähne (large river boats)-with 6,360, 354 tons of cargo,

and last, but not least, 117 unloaded goods steamers and 30,506 unloaded sailing vessels. The timber contained in 4,172 rafts must not be forgotten, so that the total goods traffic amounts to about 5,500,000 tons.

There can be no doubt that the people of Berlin have understood how to develop the traffic on their comparatively small river to its present immense extent, and considering that this traffic is steadily increasing year by year it would seem as if the time for making Berlin a seaport town is not very far distant.

COBURG, GERMANY, August 22, 1903.

OLIVER J. D. HUGHES,

Consul-General.

GERMANY'S TRADE IN DYES AND CHEMICALS.

(From the Textile Mercury of August 29, 1903.)

In recent years Germany has rapidly advanced to first place among the countries producing dyes and chemicals. Her success in the manipulation of coal tar reads like romance. Perkins, the English chemist, might discover that Germany alone has learned the art of exploiting. In 1892 the Empire exported 21,879, 204 pounds of coal-tar dyes, of which England took 4,146,872 pounds and the United States 5,153,448 pounds. In 1901 51,060,792 pounds were exported-11,830,776 pounds to Great Britain and 10,461,324 pounds to the United States. German price lists put the price of these coaltar products at 57 cents per pound in 1892 and 37 cents in 1901.

One hundred and twenty companies, working under the limitedliability laws, with a paid-up capital of $83,931,914, paid out $10,323,520 as interest to the stockholders in 1901-a 12.3 per cent dividend. This is a trifle less than the one paid in 1900 and a little more than 1 per cent less than in 1899, when the dividend was 13.52 per cent.

INDIGO.

Nothing in the long list of modern discoveries is more wonderful than Germany's investigations and success in the production of indigo. For a long time it had been the dream of dyers and chemists to find a substitute for India's natural product. They had driven French farmers to desperation when they destroyed the value of madder by substituting an artificial red won from coal tar. They expected to do nearly as much with a substitute for natural indigo. In 1892 the Empire had to import 3,556,740 pounds of natural indigo, valued at $4,450, 600; in 1896, 4,026,756 pounds, worth $4,926,600; in 1902, only 1,074,468 pounds, valued at $833,000. India, the Dutch East Indies, and parts of Central America were the great