The Washington weekly post., 1900-12-11
EAST AFRICAN COMMERCE.
Germany and EnsIapd Csnfsstins bitterly
for Trade Supremacy.


Allen sznxree IN AInsiee's Haszziss-
Because they do not hurry In Zanzibar il
must not he understood IS q lazy spot
let no one think that; on the contrary, Il
has now become the metropolis Of East
Africa. and rarely a day passes but that
the big-bellied tramp ships from Rangoon,
Hamburg. Liverpool. and New York DIS
charge their eargoes on the shelving
beach and iii up again with the rtcs
products OF the island and It's mainland
near BIZ. This much to the poignant envy
Of Emperor William, whose own posses
sions lie Just across the channel. the capt.
tai OF which, Oar es Saiaam. Is making
every effort to defect thither the trade
from Zanzibar. In no part OF the world
are Germany and England contesung 80
bitterly for commercial supremacy a. on
thls African east coast ana tne tNatiy
has now reached such point or intensity
as to be a cause of open rupture any mo-
ment. With the projection OF rahroa9s 20
the interior and constant land-sfaDOihs'
fhs. two nations are running neck-and-
+ eek race. and both. not to be outdone
ene BY the other are sowing the eaItn
with golden coin in the hope that II Will
be returned tenfold as the land Is de-
veloped- .
Germany. however. with her East Al
rican steamship line that has no" gun
to circumnayigate the Dark Continent,
sailing from Hamburg weekly. Is In the
lead commercially. and the EngLIsh NM
istsrs while wrestling with the IransVs;ti
prohlem. cannot afford TO lose 9ught or
that ons which confronts them fSrther
north In less than decade the WHY ana
subtle Teutons have subsidized this great
steamship company, now so proSpsi0 CUE
tnat every year IL IS enabled 10 Dullu
new vessel out of the DIVIDENDS; they nave
planted cloves, coffee, and tea plantations
and made them pay: have exploited rub-
Der companies. built two railroads, as
against England's one, and nave sent OUT
hundreds Of cOlonists.
Meanwhile, America has not been idle,
having seized two-thirds OF the petroleum
trade one-half OF the ivory trade, ana
doubled her shipments of cotton clotn,
an item that furnishes one-Quarter or all
the imports TO Zanzibar. Yankees are
landing every week, prospecting Tor
American firms of every description. ana
venturers While at dinner at the Euro
pean hotel in Zanzibar the evening before
/ left a great red-bearded person with
sun blisters on his face and hands sat
down opposite and asked me in a subter-
raneap whisper il I was not an Ameri-
can. On replying affirmatively. he said,
in a burst of confidence: Som l. Michi-
gander-lamberman-'n | got the greatest
graft OUt here you ever saw. Just landed
about $4,000 worth of teakWOOd thirty
miles below here. and if / can get il away
from the hippOtots I'll go back TO the
States in style He and his partner, he
explained. had floated the wood down a
river. and accidentally ran into hippo
potamus family. whereupOn both had to
swim for their lives. They had come up
TO Zanzibar for guns and ammunition TO
rescue their property.
As in other parts of the world, one is
Inundated TO see no vessels carrying the
American flag. In the last twelve months
but two Maine sailing ships, and no
American steamers landed at Zanzibar.
Fortunately, however, this is no criterion
of our commerce At present no country
can compete with US in the sO-called
piece-goods trade, though the British
consul points out religiously each month
to the home office that this is the most
profitable traffic in East Africa, and
wants to know why the Manchester firms
do not get after it. America. however
should widen her market in this part of
the globe with the exporting of hardware.
building material, -four, provisions, and
all kinds of cheap cloth. "Americani'
shoes. machinery, and novelties are as
popular on the East Coast as below the
Zambesi. The rubber industry, too, only
waits TO be developed, the country being
rich in that product.
Zanzibar is q free port for all imports
except liquors, arms, ammunition, to-
bacco, and rice. At all coast ports the
uniform duty is per cent. ad valorem
Export duties are the same, and the list
includes rubber, ivory, cloves, hides, pep
per, cocoanuts, tea, coffee, and many
tropical products. The exports last year
from Zanzibar amounted to 81, So, OBS. OF
the imports those of America for one
month amounted TO more than the COM
blned shipments of all Europe.