The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-02
COLOMBIAN TRADE RELATIONS.
The Revolution HIS ParnIyzed Com
mcrcinI DenlinEs.

In view of the attention attracted %
Colombia by the recent revolutionary ont
breaks, the following description of com
merciaI conditions there. made by a CON
sular agent rs interesting He says:
The commercial situation here is more
depressed ana more difficult for all kinds
n legitimate transactions than il has
been since the beginning OF the civil war
now in progress. From the gathering Of
the crops 10 the shipping Thereof great diff
h"ulti-s, in many cases insurmouutabIe.
IRE encountered. The majority of the cof-
see crop has remained ungathered because
iabpTers could not be secured. OF the
crops gathered. "a great deal remains on
the plantation OF deposited elsewhere be-
cause beasts cannot be secured To ship
it TO the MagdaIena River. Other large
quantities remain AT river ports awaiting
shipment. The coffee in hand. which. for
various reasons. cannot be forwarded for
export, is roughly spoken Of as hundreds
Of thousands Of bags. y great deal OF
this coffeee was bought by foreigners or
taken by them in payment Of debts be
fore the imposition Of the present duty of
60 cents per 220.46 pounds. and before the
heavy increase in freight rates from the
interior to the coast had taken place. All
1T is insisted by those familiar with the
business that coffee from the interior Of
Colombia cannot withstand the present
charges against il. For example. an item
lied statement Of the charges on q ton
of coffee in the husk jpergaminoJ from
BoEOta to New York foots up SS059 gold
before the coffee is taken out Of the ship
at a New York dock. II is stated by way
OF comparison that the cost Of shipping
the same amount Of Brazilian coffee from
the interior OF Brazil TO New York Is 80
gold, leaving the ton Of Colombian coffee
at a disadvantage of $70.59 gold as com
pared with the Brazilian product Add
ing TO the sum of 5000 gold representing
the shipping charges from BOgOta 10
New York, the sum Of SO gold per ton,
present value Of the coffee in this mar
ket. the ton Of coffee costs the shipper
$l3o59 gold IN the hold Of the steamer
alongside the dock in New York The
ton Of coffee when cleaned is reduced to
about Loo pounds. so that the coffee
when it arrives in New York, and before
IL is unloaded, represents a cost Of SIS
cents gold per pound. To this must be
added commission and all costs Of han
ding in New York.
Hides. are held i'm large quantities and
cannot be shipped for the reasons that
prevent the shipping Of coffee. Quantities
Of hides, representing large values. have
$50 dcterioTated as 20 become WORT lesS
In some Instances. this has resulted from
the ImpOssibuity Of obtaining poison for
their preservation. and in others because
they had already been so heavily poisoned
that they would stand no more. The in
ability 20 ship hides is practically veNa-
tIOus 10 holders. because of the present
high prices of this article of export in the
New York market Hides. unlike coffee
would easily stand the present heavy
freight and other charges against them
II they could be- got 10 New York Many
American houses are heavily Interested
IN the present large holding of Colombian
hides and coffee, some Of them directly
rs owners. others as creditors OF Colon
blau holders, and some IN both respects.
There is no means of fCreJelliuE how
soon the present strained situation may
be relieved Those most Interested are
not basiuE their calculations on early re-