Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-11

! Here Is one now. have ordered the
| makers to cable me terms and prices, so
that can order from 10000 to SO, 600. as
/ want them. Il must have the goods here
in order to do business. These people
| won't wait, and they won't buy from
catalogues. They must see the goods.
| themselves. II tell customer it will
take six weeks to supply him be goes
somewhere else.
HOW OUR F-URNITURE GOES TO EU-}
ROPE.
! am especially interested In the way
American furniture is handled on the
continent Mr.. de Clerq imports more Of
our Office desks, unit book cases. files
and chairs than any other man In north.
ern Europe. We went together over his
warehouses He has two great buildings.
/ packed with our furniture and he sells
! something like 2O0O desks every year.
/, Much Of his furniture is from Cincinnati.
and other stuff comes from Grand Rap
ids. s$3f
| Mr.. de Clerq says the Europeans can-
not compete with US as to Office furniture.
, La Dor Is low. but is not so cheap az
,, American machinery. AS It is now. the
desks and chairs come here In rectan-
gular boxes in pieces Knocked down.
They are not smoothed nor vanished.
Tho finishing is all done by Belgian cabi-.
net-makers as good as our best men in
the States. who will work for from
eighty cents to 81 day. The chairs
are sent in such way that dozen din
ing chairs come in box foot thick
and four feet feet square. while roll
top desk takes but little more space In
this way TIE freight is low. The tariff
on rough goods is also less than that on
the finished articles.
-sa4s-A y 49,
Mr.. de Clerq says that we ought to
have an American warehouse In Brus-
sells. where our exporters could keep sup
plies Of American goods on hand and
sell on CALL. Said he:
| IF a half dozen of cur big firms would
put In. say. $4,000 a year each. and dis
! play their goods in such warehouse
near the Bourse they could build up an
enormous trade. The Bourse, or stock
exchange. is the business center of Bel
! GUM. Every Wednesday the N erchantss
and ma nufa cturers from all parts of the
country meet there to buy and sell and
talk over trade. and they could be easily
taken into the warehouse
mot only that continued Mr.. de
| Clerq, "but such a warehouse would build
up our trade in all parts of northern and
central Europe. This Is the ma tura1 head
quarters for the sale of our goods to that
territory. 1t is central. and you can
reach the different parts Of Europe more
! quickly from it than from any other great
point. The taxes are light and the ter
| ritory Is neutral. The Germans don't like
| to do business with the French. nor the
! French with the Germans. but either will
| trade with a Belgian. or a man who lives
here. For this reason I prefer Brus-
i sells to Paris
r11r rTpST rnNr1@rN-r rNvAnrp
Leaving Mr. de Clerq. called upon
Mr. George W. silcox, the vice president
Of the Belgian Anglo-American Chamber
of Comm cree. Mr.. SilcoSs does an enor-
nous business in importing American
goods and selling them to all parts of
Europe. He was about the first, If not
the very first, to found an American
house on the continent, and he might
be called our first continental invader.
/ He came to Europe as secretary of the
Vienna Exposition of 1878, and in the
year following represented American in
terests at an agricultural exposition in
| Bremen. Said he:
AT that time manufacturing In Ger
many was in the first throes Of its birth.
| The Franco-Prussian war had closed. and
| the empire was at its beginning. There
were no factories, The German peasants
were blowing with wooden plows,. shod
with iron by country blacksniths. their
grain was failed out and they knew
nothing of modern agricultural machin-
!, cry. The Bremen exposition opened their
eyes, and they gave such orders for our
farm tools that about twenty American
firms were established in Bremen. rep
| resented one OF them. and the only one
which has lasted to this day. L did busi-
ness there for some time, but when Ger
| many established Its zol veren. or pro-
tective tariff combination, came to
Brussels and opened my house here
What kind Of place is Brussels as
a headquarters for American goods I
asked.
| It Is the best in Europe to reach the
whole country. the cheapest place to land
goods and the easiest point for their dis
tribution. have a big trade with every
| part of the continent. supplying agrIcul-
tural machinery and tools to Russia,
Hungary, France, Germany Spain. and
Norway and Sweden. and the most Of my
goods pass through Brussels. can keep
a ton Of freight month In the govern
ment warehouses at Antwerp for 20 cents.
The Belgian government gives low freight
rates. and it expedites foreign business
In every possible way Besides. living
in Brussels is cheap and the social and
educa tional advantages are Of the best,
HOW TO SuCCEEDslN EUROPE.
TEL me, Mr.. Silcox..". said I, '.how an
American importer can establish a sue
cessful business in Europe?''
Y THAT is not so ga wa 6 a