The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-09-13
FURNITURE IN GERMANY.
,ig Field for American Manufacturers

. Big Field for American Manufacturers
 in Kaiser's Empire.
 The Empire of Germany just now Is offering fine field for the exportation of American furniture, especially in Saxony Consul Carl Bailey reports that there is a good chance to estgaD- fish prosperous American trade if the market is properly entered Hardly any of the many furniture stores of Saxony carry single article of Amer ican made furniture although the local dealers themselves conceded the ability of the American manufactturer suc- cessfully to compete for a large por- ton of the trade. Several artisles, such as dining room furniture, Women's desks, rocking chairs, and small tables, can be itroduced, it Is asserted, and, with proper exploitation, would be cer- tain to be rapidly dipoed of. Wooden bedtead are till in general ue all over Germany, but those of iron and brass, which are known as reform beds" are making headway slowly An attractive American bed, with white enamel finish and pronunciation in brass, is seldom seen in Saxony but 1t would certainly find favor in the market on its own merits. Rocking chairs are coming into use rapidly, and the American built ar ticle has much to recommend 1t to the German fancy
 It is the custom in Saxony to sell furniture in suites, for dining room, salon, smoking room, and even for the Kitchen. Some of these various sets are peculiar to the nation and would not be profitable to a foreign manufact- urer unless he initiated the prevailing pensive in Saxony, and prices for such styles Fine furniture extremely ex- pieces as may be duplicated in the United States are considerably less here by 20 per cent or more. Up to this time American furniture in Saxony Is chiefly known in the way of office desks, and recently German manufact- urers have made copies of these origi- nals, modified in certain particulars, so that where the American desk was the utility, the German desk, more vigor- ously pushed in the market, is now reaping the benefit of American ingen- uity and enterprise. One important alteration made by the Germans is in making he tops of the desks somewhat lower the roller coming out straighter and further forward, and dropping at a sharper angle. The inside partitions have been rearranged to admit of the use of the different sizes of Continental stationery which, though small mat ter In itself, makes the difference be- tween convenience and daily annoyance for the foreign user, and not infrequent- ly defeats the sale of the otherwise superior American desk.
 Some American desks are on sale in the larger Saxon cities, but their prices are high, and they are often looked upon as exotic luxuries, while the do- nestle article rules the market. The worst difficulty of ali is the absence Of an American agency, with a line of medium priced substaptial stock adapt ed to local use in it's arrangement of pigeonholes and drawers and other readily made changes. Filing cabinets offered for sale should be adapted to local needs, The finish of office desks is a great point in favor of the Amer ioan production. The desks made in Germany are not highly vanished hav- ing, generally wax finish. The cost of ocean transportation Is a serious factor in the establishment of prosp- erous trade with thet United States, | but the German duties even under the new tariff, are not insupportable. American furniture now pays q duty under these rates: Furniture and parts neither upholstered, veneered nor poll ished, $1,O7 per 22O.46 pounds; the same finished, $2.3S; furniture of hardwood, rough, $2,SS; the same finished, $2S6;