The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-12
LOSING A FINE OPPORTUNITY.
Consul Mason's Suggestions to Fire
Apparatus Manufacturers.

Frank H. Mason, United States Consul
/ General at Berlin, in a letter to the State
Department, says he fears that American
manufacturers of fire preventing and ex-
| tinguishing apparatus are going to lose
valuable opportunity through their unac-
| countable indifference to the special in
! ternational exposition of that whole class
of appliances and methods. which is to
be held in Berlin during the coming sum-
mer.
This Indifference" Consul Mason says,
lis all the more remarkable since the
brilliant record made by the American
firenen and makers of fire apparatus at
Paris last year, which, as will be re-
! membered, was one of the noted features
OF the exposition. In view of that success
and the well-known pre-eminence of
American fire brigades and their equip
me1t, the managers OF the forthcoming
exposition at Berlin have been especially
anxious that the United States shall make
full and representative exhibit, and are
somewhat surprised at the meagre re-
Spouse which has been thus far received
from our country. This is certainly due
to no lack of publicity. The whole plan
and schedule of the neutrality-suspicious.,
classification OF exhibits. cost of space,
etc.-were reported simultaneously and in
detail from the United States embassy at
Berlin and from this consulate general
early in August.
.As result of those publications few
somewhat languid enquiries were receiv-
ed, but nothing at all commensurate with
the fame of American builders of engines
and fire apparatus, nor the unequaled op-
portunity that they will find here at
trifling cost for showing their products
before the assembled experts and NUM-
cipal officers of Europe. who are many
years behind our people in all that relates
TO fire eXtinguishing and will come here
to see, test, and order the best that the
world has to offer II may be many years
before such another exhibition will be
held at capital of central Europe, and
the opportunity now lost will certainly
not soon recur.
In order to especially facilitate Ameri-
can exhibits, arrangements have been re-
Gently made by which all machinery and
apparatus intended for exhibition shall
not only be admitted free of duty, but
shall be brought from New York to Ham,
burg and Brerpen by the Harlburg-Ameri-
can and North German Lloyd steamship
lines and returned after the exposition
free of charge for freight or handling. |
Exhibits coming from these two seaports |
VIII be subject to the usual charges for !
railway freight a1d delivery at the expo |
sition. but they will afterward be return |
ed gratis to either seaport, so that the |
only expense of this kind from the Ameri- |
can port Of shipment and return will be |
the ordinary railway freight rate from |
Bremen or Hamburg to Berlin. Certain |
ly this is a very liberal proposition.
The exhibition. was originally scheduled |
for the months of June and July, but as |
now decided will open about May 10 and |
continue until the end of August. Appli |
cations should nominally be all in by |
April l, but this Limitation Will be relax
ed somewhat in favor of foreign exhibl- |
tors who may have postponed their deci-
sion until the last moment All kilograms
and correspondence relating to exhibits,
space, or any difficulty about ocean or
rail freights should be addressed to Grand
Director Giersberg, Berlin"