Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-15

palace for examination on the morning
following. We sent several. and with them
one OF our best looking German employees
to show how they worked.
This was done at the palace in the
presence of the empress. the crown prince
and otheT5. The empress wanted one Of the
cheaper machines, but the crown prince
insisted on the best and got Il. The money
for 1t was paid at once, and within a few
weeks others were ordered, so that now a
half dozen are owned by the royal family.
l am told that his majesty, the kaiser, now
and then uses them, and that his favorite
tunes are our plantation melodies"
The Americans appreciate the advantage
of location better than the Germans. They
are rapidly getting hold of the best corners
in Berlin for their different business en-
terprises. This is so with the shoe store
above mentioned. II is on the corner Of
the two chief retail streets. The rent Is
high. but it pays. The building, which as
l have said belongs to an American insur-
ance company, is one of the best in Ber-
lin. 1t has many Americans in it, includ-
ing the United States consulate general
and several American newspaper CORES
pondents. The kodak is sold on a corner
further up street. and an American cash
NNoseNA OhAPtHJ Ioo ohONhSA " hSA IN
windows full Of catchy advertisements Of
its machines. One of our chief typewriters
has another prominent corner, where you
can see pretty German girls clicking away
on American machines at any business hour
Of the day, and the American German
Graphophone company has alC0 a corner
filled with these red, white and blue boxes
containing it's records.
One reason for choosing an expensive To-
cation is the advertisement. The Germans
have their own laws as to such matters,
and all billboard advertisements have to
be submitted to the city architects before
they can be Put up. No one can put out a
sign without such consent. Advertising is
not done on the walls. Real estate boards
are not put up in the vacant lots, and
when a circus comes to town it has to be
contented with little round towers which
have been put up at the street corners for
advertising purposes. When Buffalo Bill
gave a show in Berlin he could find no place
for his show bills, and when the Barnum
circus came some years ago it solved the
problem by buying up store windows lad
store fronts and putting the pictures in
side the stores. This was not liked by the
other German merchants, but 1t was a new
thing, and at that time no law had been
enacted against it.
One must be careful how his advertise
ments are worded. There is a law against
stating anything which cannot be. sub
stantiated, and he who does so is liable to
be sued for unfair competition. 1 have
from Brainard II, Warner. jT., our consul
at Leipsic, a translation Of the law of un-
fair competition. 1t provides, In the first
place, that any falseto God in an advertise
ment concerning the method Of production,
source OF supply. or character of the wares
subjects the person making 1t to a fine OF
1857. Second. that spreading a false report
concerning a competitor is punished with
a similar fine, or Imprisonment for one
year. And third, any deception as TO
quality of goods, including false weight,
is punished for every infringement with a
fine Of $35. The same law prohibits a clerk
from divulging a business secret while en-
ployed, and any competitors who takes ad
vantage OF such information is also liable
to punishment. The fine in this case is
1900 marks. or STA.
Indeed. an American who comes to Ger
many to do business has many things to
learn. There are new laws for everything
and he needs legal advice at every step.
One American who is in trade here recently
wanted to remodel his store and throw fouI
or five rooms into one. He asked for com,
petitive bids from several builders on the
understanding that the lowest bidder was
to have the job. He awarded 1t accord
ingly, and then, one of the other bidders
brought suit against him for the time and
labor employed in making the PLANS he haC
submitted. The American fought the suit
and lost it. He not only had to pay 500 e
the unsuccessful bidder, but also the costs