New-York tribune., 1902-05-14
TRADE WITH MARTINIQUE.
IT AMOUNTS TO S75O.OOO A YEAR-COM-
MISSION HOUSES FEEL LOSS.

The entire volume of trade from this country to
the i'll fated island OF Martinique. it learned
yesterday, amounts to only S75OO0O annually at the
most. This is outside of lumber and staves of
which products great deal is exported to the
disc exported from This '' coGntr9 IN rg TO rnqae is
supplied by houses in this city. and those will
fall the losses that may result from the recent
calamity.
That these losses will be severe admitted by
a head Of one Of the foremost commission houses
doing business with Martinique. But he added
that the losses would fall firms who were well
able 10 bear them
The products exported to Martinique from this
country comprise breadstuffs provisions. kero-
and corn. Few drygoOds are supplied by this
country the principal articles being sail duck blue
drills and duck. Add TO this a small amount OF
hardware. The business is mainly being done
through commission houses. and almost the entire
trade in Martinique is divided among four large
firms in this city-A. d. Straus & Co. the Ameri-
can Trading Company Middleton & Co. of No. IS
Broad-st.. and L. w. & P. Armstrong. of No 1Os
WaIl-st.
we have postponed all shipments to ST. Pierre
of course" said Edward F. Eberstadt of A. d.
Straus & Co., yesterday. "As the effect OF the
catastrophe the bulk of business with Mar
Unique. believe there will be large increase in
the near future. with gradual return normal
conditions. The people must have something to
eat you know
Mr. Eberstadt said that most OF the shipments
would be made to Fort de France but that some
would go the other smaller shipping ports in the
island "Of course he continued. the losses will
be severe. We have not yet had time
our eggs, but We know that some of the chickens
who laid them dead There will hardly be any
failure, though, result OF the calamity which
befelI the French island. Happily. the losses in this
instance fell on houses which Were able to
tain them"
1t learned from Mr. Eberstadt that the busi-
ness with Martinique done a different basis
from that with the other islands in the West
Indies Ordinarily the commission houses shipping
goods to these islands, we'll the case Of
shipments TO Mexico. Central and South America,
received in return the products of those lands
BY the French tariff regulations extraordinary in
ducements offered the islanders TO export
their products to the motherland. and also
ceive the products of the motherland return
This. according Mr.. Eberstadt. explains the
small amount of American trade in the French pos
sessions of the West Indies.
France allows the products Of her colonies"
said Mr.. Eberstadt, what is known a return OF
the taxes de distance'-a remittance of the duties
larger. in proportion to the distance between the
colony and the motherland, which makes il more
profitable for the colonial exporters send their
products to France. even II they cannot obtain
high prices for them there in america The chief
products of Martinique are sugar rum and cocoa
As result, all business with Martinique
done money basis"
Mr.. Eberstadt said that while il would seem that
the terrible catastrophe meant humiliation to busi-
ness in St Pierre, not only the business houses
had been wrecked. but all the population practi-
cally had met destruction WELL there
fact that had been overlooked-that in many
the st. Pierre business houses branches OF
firms which had their headquarters in the mother
land.
When asked whether he thought St. Pierre would
be rebuilt, Mr.. Eberstadt said that depended large
ly upon whether the upheaval there had caused
serious changes in typographical conditions.
st Pierre situated a plateau" he
remarked. and il is quite possible that the havoc
wrought may make that plateau UNIT as human
habitatiOn- Then there may have been disturb
ances the bottom of the harbor. The harbor OF
St Pierre never very safe 1t became the prin-
cipal seaport only after Fort de France was de-
sJroyed by hTe and birthstone in the last century
Its main advantage was that IL was sheltered from
the storms during nine months of the year"
The lumber and slaves exported TO Martinique
Mr. EberStadt said, went chiefly from Portland
Me. and were quite considerable The slaves were
used for the manufacture OF rum and sugar barrels
A tour OF the large wholesale export grocery and
drygoods houses in this city brought out the fact
that none of them did any direct business with
Martinique The chief article of OF he
wholesale grocers consists of canned goods and the
French possessions take their canned goods from
the motherland. The bulk of Martnique's dry
goods imports outside of France. comes from Eng
land