The evening times., 1900-07-25

George W. Bell, Consul Of the United
States at Sydney. in report to the State
Department, discusses the economic value
/ Of showroom in that city for the exhihi-
tion OF American goods. and incidentally
! draws some comparisons between German
and American methods Of increasing their
export trade. Mr.. Bell writes:
THE ten classes OF articles in which
Germany has increased her markets in
/ New South Wales most rapidly during the
/ five years are apparel and drapery. arms
/ and ammunition; books. paper. and sta
| tiOnery; cement drugs and apcthec2ries'
ware. hollow ware iron ana iron maEufac-
lures. musical instruments. sugar. and tel
egraphic materials
Her advantages in freighss give her the
market in cement. and her subsidies give
her a sugar market; but there is no reason
that occurs to me why we should not nave
a better share OF tnc trade in the ether
items. save that Of hollow ware.
The ten items in which we have most
rapidly grown in the same time are bicy-
cles. carriages and materials, drugs and
! anOthecariCs' ware. iron and steel. ma
chiuery; paper. books. and stationery; sew
/ ing machines. timber; TOBACCO. cigars. etc;
/ and watches and clocks We have done
1 well in furniture and upholstery. but We
/ should do much better, for fGruiture is
I too high in this market. We have done
| well in silyer-plat5d ware; but in hard
ware N which We should excel, We have
not even held our own.
There is d phase OF Australian CONNER
cial transactions. the facts Of which are
hard TO determine. This relates 10 indi-
rect trade It is not easy to get behind the
collectors books Owing partially 20 cur
geographical situation and partially 10 the
distribution Of cur Industries over the
continent. and also somewhat TO cur weak
Esss IN ocean carrying, most Australian
proCucts used by our people are purchased
indirectly and DO not appear On the Ccc1s
as trade between the United States and
Australia, while no small amount Of
Americans goods find the Australian mar
kets by the same circuitous method.
Nest Australian wools Useu N the
United States are marked on the books
here as exports. not TO the United Stats,
bat 20 the United Kingdom. where ;Eey
are marked Imports from New SC;th
Wales; and again exports from United
Kingdom and imports into United states
from United EinEiCm-' Many American
goods. too owing 10 cheaper freigk;s via
London or Amsterdam. come 10 Australia
[ Indirectly. and these % not show CT the
. books of this country a imports from the
United State. This Indirect trade between
the Uai;ed States and New South Wales.
i when swell5 the figures Ter England and
. Germany. must annually amount TO hun
Grels Cf thousands q dollars.
Germany. too. is giving her commercial
/ classes substantial aid il the export OF
/ their proLucts, and is covering the seas
I with enormous cargo craft. The heavily
; subsidized North German lloyd Company
I enters into ana departs from sydney every
. four weeks. the vessels ranging from I.Vtu
/ to 1900 tons burden. making tine about
equal 10 the French or English mail steam
/ oTs The German Australian Steamship
| Company makes about the same number OF
/ trips with its huge cargo tramps. one OF
/ which would carry almost aN the freight
/ brought TO sydney in American steamers
/ during the whole year. These steamers
| run At very low expense. and the regular
/ lines are heavily subsidized. 50 in freights
{ our people are greatly Handicapped
/ German business methods are superior
! to ours. The American agent TOO Ofien
| says You want this; II is the latest and
/ best thing out And while he IS arguing
] his customer into a good humor the Ger
man says. Tell me just what YOU want
/ and you shall have IL BY the Barbarossa.'
/ The American wants to satisfy himself;
/ the German wants 10 satisfy his customer.
! The German is merchant. while too often
! the American is a missionary. II the Ger
J mans would improve the quality OF their
/ wares and give half as much attention
. 20 style as Americans do, We would have
10 look out for our Iaurels. But in view
/ of their enterprise We have a hard com
/ petitOr in this people.
/ As to the showroom although my
- e
: others careful study of our foreign trade
/ has convinced me that for German or
1 United States merchants TO establish and
I support showrOoms in sydney would be a
/ waste of enrecy and money.
In the Introduction of a new class Of
/ wares or in the exploitation Of a new mar
/ bet a showroom might be a very useful
/ sdjunct TO the Individual efforts OF COM
/ merCi3l men. Should new lines OF trans
port penetrate China. Burma SIAM or
any other country 10 whose people our
. products are new. a showroom, where our
/ fabrics could be exhibited ancns curious
& enquiTe-s would undoubtedly hasten the
/ Introduction Of many kinds OF goods. There
Z are large centres OF population where other
/ foreign countries have a monopoly of the
/ trade. and where little or no opportunity
! exists for a comparison Of goods. and in
/ such places showrOCms might be very use
/ fUl in gaining a fOothOld for the new can
| did8tes Tor commercial favor
But none OF these conditions exist in
/ Sydney Sydney is one Of the strongest
competitive points on the globe. She oc-
J Cupies unique geographical position "a
! most on the opposite side Of the word
: from al the great commercial entIes. From
/ all nations. from all climates. traders meet
/ here with their various wares and Corpete
! in the open market on exactly equal terms
! Heavy-laden ships come from the ca
| from the west, ard from the north around
| Cape Of Good Hope. Cape Horn through
] the SueZ, AID through Torres Straits. Sips
/ from more than twenty nations ride az an
! chor in Sydney Hsrbor The goods from
/ every commercial country are pushed on
/ the market by enterprisirg agents and dis
| played in great s1leTooms. rivaling in Gp-
! peararce, in capacity. and in skill Of msn-
! agement those of the most p-eteI t.Ous Cit-
/ les Of Europe and America.
no people in the world are more IA
uiliar with the various products OF com
/ peting nations OF better informed as TO TIE
| relative merits Of goods.
! There is hardly a shop "a pace where
! goods or wares are sold is a shop under
! the law in this country in Sydney where
American articles are rot displayed aud
! sold The same is true to a less degree OF
/ German. Austrian. French, japanese. and
/ other goods At the annual royal show
! the finest exhibits are in American machia-
! cry.
American goods need no 'jotrodr,ctio1 .