Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-20
GOTHIC HOUSES IN LUBEC.

Lloyd. with headquarters at Bremen, and
their subsidiary companies, control one
half tthe ships which bear the floating
trade that is now paralyzed. Hamburg,
as a free port, has invited transit COM
merce from all THE world.
The foreign trade policy of Germany is
radically different from that of the
feet. is a partner in industrial and COM
mercfal enterprises. Monarchial state
socialism is applied to foreign trade just
as to domestic affairs. The government,
or rather the different states, own all but
a small percentage of the railways. and
the railways are operated in conjunction
with the steamship lines to furnish an
outlet for the products of the German
factories.
The government believes in rebates and
determinations A system of exceptional
tariffs for foreign points has been de-
vised. There is a discriminating schedule
OF rates for goods destined to European
countries. and another for overseas coun-
tries. Special rates are provided for the
Levant and South Africa.
The cardinal principle of the German
system seems to be that lower prices
abroad are good for home production and
rates for overseas traffic are accepted
philosophically. In a general way it
might be said that in many products the
German consumer does not complain vo-
ciferously if he pays third more than
the foreign consumer.
The only exception to this practice is in
the case of potash. When, in 1910, Amer
lean capitalists made shrewd contracts
with some of the owners of German pot
ash mines the government stepped in
and abrogated those contracts. There is
nothing in the German constitution
against the impairment of contracts. The
principle which the government followed
In this case however, was that the Amer
lean farmer should not have the privilege
OF buying his potash fertilizer cheaper
than the German farmer.
From its position as silent partner in
industrial and commercial enterprises it
may be assumed that the attitude of the
and syndicates Is not hostile. II not one
of actual approval. its attitude usually is
one of benevolent neutrality.
The greatest Of all the German trusts,
in so far as relates to the effect on for
eigh trade. at least, is the steel works
union or steel syndicate. whose
executive headquarters are at Dus-
seldorf. While at Dusseldorf one fall
I undertook to read up on the syn
dicates generally, and this one in par
ticular. A German friend told me that
the reichstag had been engaged for sew
eral years in investigating the subject,
and he kindly filed the table with the
preliminary reports. With German
thoroughness he had read them. l took
his word for the substance of them, and
reached the conclusion as to the friendli-
government SyndicAteS.
Government attitude. however, is not in
all cases an approving one, or even
neutral one. The powerful Westphalian
coal syndicate came in conflict with it,
out its policy of control by acquiring
shares. The syndicate, after the most
approved stock methods, issued additional
stock to itself.
The case was carried to the courts and
the government was beaten, but the
threat of Matchmaking the coal mines ap-
parently had a restraining influence on
the coal syndicate, and for time there
was less complaint that it's prices were
destructive to German industries.
Some of the syndicates, left to them
selves. have fallen by their own weight.
and some have gone to pieces through
spreading out too much. Not long ago
the failure of what was known as the
personages and their partners had gone
into everything from factories to depart
ment stores in Berlin.
So far as relates to foreign trade, it
may safely be assumed that there will be
no change in the German policy regard
ing syndicates. The street syndicate was
renewed in 1913 for period of five years.