The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-05
RUSSIA WILL
 NEED HARDWARE
 AFTER THE WAR
American Firms Likely Tc Get First Chance at
 Big Business


 Big Business
 In 1913 the United States sent di- rect to Russia on1s one per cent. of the hardware imported by that coun- try, as contrasted to seven per cent supplied by England, three per cent by France, and seventy-five per cent by Germany. But abnormal demands for hardware may be looked for as soon as peace is made, asserts a re- port on the subject made public by the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, department of commerce and it is urged that American manu- facturers and exporters begin at once their preparations for supplying an important part of these demands. All kinds of American tools, hardware machinery, agricultural implements, etc, should find a ready market in all sections of the Russian empire.
 American manufacturers wishing to do business in Russia will find the people friendly toward them, kind hearted and generally fair and hon. orable in their business dealings, ac- cording to this report. Americans will have to learn a great deal, how ever, about the special methods. of doing business in Russia and will have to become accustomed, probably with some difficulty, to the slow and te- dious work involved in closing deals satisfactorily and to the Russian deal er's disposition to procrastinate in coming to decisions on business mat STyI~ os@T <x1> stacles in the difficulty of the language and in trying to obtain reliable cred it ratings for individual firms. Amer ican universities and business cilleges could materially assist American trade with Russia by establishing courses in the language, and the or ganization of a Russ1an-American bank would eliminate the present ne cessities of other countries in Russia.
 American hardware is we'll liked in Russia It Is often preferred to hard ware from other countries on account of its excellent finish, uniformity and workmanship, the ingenuity of it's construction, and the possibility of re- newing parts even after years, togeth- CT with its applicability to the work for which it is intended The Rus sian consumers confidence in Amer ican tools often induces him to pay higher prices for them in preference to taking those of other makes. Be- cause of the ingenuity of the Amer ican tool, the Russian is often heard to say, ''Molodex Amerikantz,'' or Clever American"
 Since the beginning of hostilities <tnro hoxyo hno,,f yo 3yvnorfS nf hard ware from foreign countries and practically all such hardware as is most generally used and in demand has been disposed of. Consumers, therefore, are now forced to buy tools that do not entirely answer their re- qirements, that may even have been in stock for a number of years, and that under ordinary circumstances might never have been. sold. As an isntance may be mentioned various kinds of American saws, which had met with very little uccess in Rus sia, but which consumers are now obliged to take, owing to the lack of the saws to which they were accus- toned As might be expected, the stores and dealers have taken advan- tage of the situation and have raised their prices by 50 to 60 to 100 per cent. or more.
 Of the hardware sold and used in Russia and Siberia, the quantity made in Russia is far less than that i'm ported in spite of the fairly heavy and. in some cases, very heavy duty. Of foreign hardware the cheaper kinds and qualities are supplied a1-s most exclusively by Germany; Eng land sends both medium and super monopoly in medium qualities, and the United States ships not, much of the medium but a good propoAtion of the superior goods The sales of other countries, such as France and Austria, are more or less limited to particular kinds of hardware, such as saws, scythes, sickles, etc. The majority of the Moscow houses are prepared to buy f. o. b. factory and pay the freight and duty, remit ting in foreign checks, but most of the provincial dealers and stores insist on prices f. o. b. frontier, duty paid by manufacturer. The willingness of many German manufacturers to do this helped toward their success in the past ' English manufacturers have not at any time got so close to buyers and dealers in Russia as have German manufacturers in recent years. British manufacturers are dis inclined to allow the credits that Ger many has been willing to give, and few English manufacturers quote prices in rubles, or quote f. o. b. Russian railway car, with sea freight and du- ty paid Moreover, few English man ufacturers send travellers to Russia or actively look for business. Their direct business, therefore, has prac- tically been limited to the largest dealers in the principal towns, such as Moscow, Petrograd, Odessa, Kief, Rostof and Riga. The business ob- tained by many English hardware manufacturers in Russia is due chiefly to the fact that their goods are ac- tually demanded by customers, and not to their being pushed.
 The new hardware report is enti- tied Russian Market for American Hardware" Miscellaneous Series No. 46. It is the work of former Com mercial Attache Henry D. Baker, and is one of the series now being issued on. the hardware markets of the world.
 NEW LEGISLATIVE PALACE