The Alaska citizen., 1917-08-13

s,v consumption may b. d.srou aged
 Another fact which Is ne, well known developed .ndus.r.aIly ol ans European country Her manuacur .n- products aro the greatest .n pro portion to her population 250 francs per capita. Her important manulac- lures ol luxurles, notably line watch. rs and cmbroider.es. have suffered cruelty. since this war, because ol the .nterijc,ion against the 4pora- ton of luNurlcs passed n taoss countries which used 10 be her br~. customers.
 Great workshop" though she is. she produces no raw materials, and k obliged to import from every part of the world metal, cotton, raw silk, and. above all, coal For this and her metal she is now dependent upon Germany from whom she buys S5oooo francs worth of coal day. The neighboring countries prohib5, the exportation of everything ol which they themselves may have need. They also require of Swltzer- land that she give moral and tinan- cIaI guarantees for everything which they do send her, or which they per init 10 be transported across their territory. Switzerland is thus obliged to negotiate with her great ncighbors in order to obtain her most urgent necessities Even the wheat which We. a neutral nation, buy from Am erica cannot traverse French terri tory except by special agreement be tween the government of the Swiss confederation and that of the French republic. II Switzerland buys more wheat from you than she did before the war, it is because she can only get her daily bread from America.
 It is, therefore, unjust to judge superficially and to jump to the con cIusion that We are reselIing to Ger many what We buy from the United States.
 That which neither the public, nor those in authority in the United States seem 10 know, is, that all of our foreign commerce-eXport and importation has been strictly controlled since the fall of 1915, under the terms of an agreement concluded with the allies, which It. suited in the formation Of the Swiss Society of Surveillance, popularly known as the $. & $. This society is directed by fifteen men, whose ap- pointmcnt was made with the ap- probation of the Swiss cabinet. This organization (which is in d way set 1 ting aside our national sovereignty has offices in all parts of our coun- try and has thousands of employees and agents It is charged not only with the importation of all raw ma terials but of every single article needed by our manufacturers or our citizens. The $. s. s. makes no profit and it's transactions are closely watched by the agents of the allies.
 That the American merchant may realize the difficulties of his Swiss brother who may possibly be his I customer, l give briefly an outline of the methods of procedure, which must be faithfully carried out without hitch or error, before he may re- ceive the smallest amount of mer- chandise necessary to his conner cial existence.
 The first step is formal applica- tion-seyen copies upon special forms-which is d demand for the right to import a certain number of pounds of merchandise, value so much, classification, and style of packing being specified. This is sent to the central bureau of the  s. $. S, at Berne. Normally, there is delay of from three to six weeks before a reply is received, which 1 if favorable, will request him to make d cash deposit equal to the value of the goods, as a guarantee of l his good faith toward the allies. This does not mean that he will receive his goods, for his demand has been sent on to the government over whose territory the shipment must pass. Here occurs another de lay of three weeks to three months, and even longer, after which, eff his record is clear,) he will receive an answer that so many pounds of such and such merchandise may be trans