The Washington weekly post., 1900-12-11
EAST AFRICAN COMMERCE.
Germany and England CsnfesfiHs Bitterly
for Trade Supremacy.

Alien s.ngrse. In Alnziess NagzziHs.
Because they do not hurry In Zanzibar II
must not De understood as a 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 t1at
the big-bellled tramp ships from Rangoon,
Hamburg. Liverpool. and New York dis
charge their cargoes on the shsivlnS
beach and ali up agiln with the rics
products of the island and its mainland
near by. This much 10 the poignant envy
of Emperor William. whose oEn posses
sions lie just across the ehannsl, She capt
TAI OF which. Dar es Salaam. Is making
every effort to defect thither the trade
from Zanzibar. In no part OF the world
are Germany and England contestRg so
bitterly for commercial supremacy as On
this African east coast. and tne Tlhail9
mas now reached such point OF intensity
as 10 be a cause of open rupture any mo-
ment- With the projection Of railroads 20
the interior and constant land-graooins,
the two nations are running a necA-ahd-
eek race. and both. not 10 De outcome
one by The other, are sowing the eartn
With golden coin in the hope that II will
be returned tenfold as the land Is de-
veloped.
rlcan steamship line that has now begun
10 cireumnayigate the Dark Continent,
sailing from Hamburg weekly Is IN the
lead eommerciaIIy. and the English min
listers, while wrestling with the IransVsat
problem, cannot afford 10 lose ansht OF
that one which confronts them farther
north In less than decade the willy ana
subtle Teutons have subsidized THIS great
steamship company, now so prosperous
tnat every year II is enabled 10 buiid
new vessel tut 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 our
hundreds Of colonists.
Meanwhile, America has not been IDLE,
having se,Zed tWO-thirdS OF the petroleum
trade. one-half OF the ivory trade, ana
doubled her shipments of cotton cloth,
an item that furnishes one-quartef OF an
the imports 10 Zanzibar Yankees are
landing every week, prospecting Tor
American firms of every description, and
on the coast one will find plenty of ad-
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-
ranean whisper il / was not an AmeFi-
can. On replying affirmatively, he said.
in burst of confidence: so m |. Michi-
gander-lumberman-'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 foated the wood down a
river. and accidentally ran into a 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
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 il. America, however
should w len her market in this part of
the globe with the exporting of hardware.
building material, flour, 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 10 be developed, the country being
rich in that product.
Zanzibar is "a free port for all imports
except liquors. arms, ammunition. to-
bacco, and rice. At all coast ports the
uniform duty is 5 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 wear
from Zanzibar amounted to 1885, OBS OF
the imports those of America for one
month amounted to more than the COM
olned shipments of all Europe.