TRADE SUGGESTIONS FOR ASIATIC TURKEY.

Consul Washington sends from Alexandretta, under date of June 2, 1899, copy of a report by the British consular representative at Erzerum, containing suggestions for increasing the trade of his. country with Asiatic Turkey. Mr. Washington thinks that the information may be of value to United States exporters, as showing the kind of competition they are likely to encounter. The report reads, in part:

Trade catalogues and price lists, edited to suit the different localities of this country, with comparative measures and prices in both languages, would be valuable. At present, English catalogues reach me with no comparative price list in the currency of this country, and of manufactures utterly unsuited to this district. Recently, a catalogue of bicycles came to hand, none much cheaper than £20 ($97.33) apiece. This betrays ignorance or carelessness. No bicycles can be used here, where a decent road is unknown, in a mountainous district varying from 5,000 to 10,000 feet high. Even if they could be utilized, no one could afford to pay more than £2 or £3 ($9.73 to $14.60) for a machine.

The distribution of catalogues should vary according to the very different requirements of each district of Asia Minor. Thus, goods for Adana would be useless in Erzerum.

For the above reasons, I would advocate the establishment, by interested British merchants and manufacturers, of a central office in Constantinople for the collation and distribution of catalogues and other information, as a center of reference for native merchants to ascertain comparative weights, measures, and prices, and to communicate the wants of this country to manufacturers at home. Such an agency might also serve as a general commission house for the transaction of considerable business now passing to Germany and Austria. The fact that almost all merchants in the provinces obtain their goods from middlemen in the capital points to the advantage of what I here advocate. It would be of much benefit to British commerce in Asiatic Turkey, where each district has its own particular rate at which gold payments are accepted. Thus, at Adana this rate is 136 piasters to the English £1. In Erzerum, it is 109 or 110 piasters. At Constantinople it is, I believe, 118 piasters, and so on. How is it, then, possible to compile comparative price lists in England? At Adana, a tropical summer heat prevails for seven months, while at Erzerum the thermometer registers a general winter temperature of some 40° of cold. Yet at both places I have received identical catalogues of goods totally unsuitable for the one or the other locality. Again, the advocated agency would, in my opinion, turn into British channels many orders now going elsewhere. Many merchants are deterred from direct dealings with England through ignorance of the necessary methods for establishing such a trade. They are driven for their orders to unscrupulous Greek or Armenian middlemen in Constantinople, who palm off on them the cheap wares of other countries, the prices of which enable them to make a higher profit than on our more expensive, but better, goods.

I hesitate to advocate, at Constantinople, anything so extended as the formation of an amalgamated company of British manufacturers or merchants. I can not think that this is practical or necessary. It is not to be expected that our merchants would risk their capital in such an enterprise without having first some fair guaranty of remuneration. Nor would I establish at such a center a general corps No. 228-8.

of commercial travelers. I am persuaded that such an understanding would not pay, with the difficulty of regulating fairly the share of business interests of each firm; of controlling unprincipled individuals who might use unfair means to stimulate their own concern through undue remuneration to the traveling agents, or other means. Thus, one might offer 5 per cent and another 10 per cent remuneration on all undertakings. In the East especially such a scheme is impracticable. The plan which I propose is something far simpler. It is nothing more than a reference agency, at very small cost, open to every branch of trade, at which all classes of business can be done at a fixed rate, such as the compilation of catalogues, comparative price lists, the distribution of suitable catalogues in different districts, the drafting of letters in the vernacular of the country, replying to all questions, and many other useful matters. If a certain number of British firms would join in starting such an enterprise, a guaranteed sum of from £1,800 to £2,000 a year would probably be sufficient to maintain it, the private work of individual firms going afterwards to defray extra expenses incurred in fulfilling the objects of the agency already set forth. The agency would also be found useful for the collection of bad debts.

If our mercantile classes will not give themselves the little trouble entailed by this proposal in order to endeavor to develop and recover our trade at such small monetary risk, the fault will lie with themselves alone if commerce slips more and more through their fingers into the hands of foreign traders. In my own district alone, I could put such an agency in the way of bringing much small trade to England, such as paper, cloth, fezzes, fancy goods, and many others, which now goes elsewhere owing to the impossibility of explaining the necessities of this country to merchants totally unacquainted with its peculiarities. This is the chief reason why so much trade in smaller articles now goes to foreigners who, not content with supplying the Greek and Armenian middleman, have established the means of directly studying and satisfying the wants of the local merchant. Most foreign houses, besides, have a traveling partner in their business, with a good linguistic knowledge, who travels in order to pick up useful hints independently of the information which comes from their agents. It is by such means, alone, that

we can hope to retain our trade in these days of increasing competition.

THE INDIA-RUBBER TRADE.

The past year has been a notable one as respects imports of india rubber in the controlling markets of Great Britain and the United States.

The following printed tables show the increase in receipts in England, the United States, and the primary Brazilian market of Para for the year 1898, compared with former years.

Imports of crude india rubber into the United States (calendar years).

New, fine Para rubber was quoted at New York from 66 to 69 cents per pound in 1893, 69 to 71 cents per pound in 1894, 73 to 77 cents in 1895, 74 to 88 cents in 1896, 80 to 87 cents in 1897, and 82 to 83 cents January 8, 1898.

The price of crude rubber at Para is shown by the March (this year) shipments of 3,489 tons, valued by the Brazilian Review of Rio de Janeiro at £1,395,000, or $6,696,000 gold, at the rate of $4.80 per pound sterling.

The Revista Agricola of São Paulo, dated April 15, has the following:

On February 23, the largest cargo ever known left Para for New York, consisting of 1,167 tons of rubber, valued (calculating exchange at 7d. and the pound sterling at $4.80) at $2,210,000 in United States gold. The same vessel, because of lack of space, was compelled to leave on the wharf 200 tons, valued at $308,000 in United States gold. The exportation of rubber from the country in 1898 amounted to £8,000,000, or $38,400,000 gold.

SANTOS, April 28, 1899.

FRANK D. HILL,

Consul.

REFORMS IN THE COTTON TRADE.

There have been some misstatements in both American and English newspapers as to the adoption of new rules by the Liverpool Cotton Association. For a long time, there has been an agitation on the part of the association for a revision of the rules of the trade in the Lancashire district, many of the old rules being thought out of date and considered to interfere with the easy and natural course of trade, particularly with the United States, which produces most of the cotton handled here. It has, however, been found impossible for agreement to be reached on most of the points favored by the Liverpool Cotton Association, there being much opposition among the Manchester cotton men, and particularly on the part of the spinners of Lancashire. After a number of conferences and long consideration, the Liverpool association has decided to make only one of the proposed revisions obligatory-and that is a requirement that the weighing and invoicing of cotton shall be in pounds, instead of hundredweights, quarters, and pounds, as at present. This new rule is to go into effect on October 1. The association has also agreed to recognize the following optional rules: (1) That the allowance for tare on American cotton shall be 4 pounds per 100 pounds, instead of 112 pounds, and that the allowance for "double draft" be abolished; (2) that the allowance of 11⁄2 per cent in invoices be abolished.

The prospect is that with the first arrivals of the new season's crop in October, there will commence an active competition in this market between the new and the old systems of baling. Up to within the last few months there was but small interest taken here in the new systems of baling, although the present system is universally condemned as being wasteful and antiquated. The cotton men of this market, while expressing disgust at the present system, have not felt called upon to take any active steps in the direction of reform. They are all on an equal footing, and by insurance and by the customs of the trade they protect themselves against financial loss arising from the present defective and wasteful system of baling. Indeed, middlemen actually make a profit out of the imperfections and wastes of the present system. Of course, somebody ultimately has to pay for these gains made by those who handle the cotton here as intermediaries. The bulk of the loss caused by the present system undoubtedly falls in the end on the original producers of the cotton in America, and most of the remainder of the final loss falls on the spinners.

During the past two years, there have been a number of different systems for the baling of cotton presented before the Liverpool trade, all of them being of American invention. Eighteen months ago the cylindrical "roll" bale, introduced by the American Cotton Company, attracted some attention here. A few small shipments were made, but no more was heard of the bale in this market. One sample of the "Churchill" square bale was sent here about six months ago. This bale is of greater density than the ordinary square bale and is held together by wire instead of steel bands. It was highly commended here and was thought to be equal to the Egyptian system of baling, but no more has been heard of the Churchill bale. Since then, information has come of another square bale, manufactured by the American Cotton-Baling Company, of Providence, R. I. By this system the cotton is tightly compressed and is incased by thin steel sheets, fastened together by metallic strips. There is great curiosity as to this bale. It is conceded that the cotton will be preserved in excellent condition, but the seeming difficulty of sampling. is urged against the bale. It is said that shipments under this system will be made at the commencement of the next cotton season.

The most thorough and energetic attempts that have yet been made to introduce into the Liverpool market an improved system of baling is that now being made by the Planters' Compress Company, owners of the "Lowry" system of cylindrical baling, already described in CONSULAR REPORTS No. 219 (December, 1898). I find a marked change of opinion in regard to this bale since the above report was written. The two chief objections urged against it were