The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-25
EXPERT EXPLAINS
EAST INDIAN TRADE
Commissioner Fowler Gives
Intimate Details on Deal
ings With the Dutch

of numerous inquiries received from
American firms interested in trading re-
lations with the Dutch East Indies. the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce has made a thorough investiga-
ton of the situation in the Islands
through United States Trade Commits
sioner John A. Fowler. A report re-
ceived from Batavia and written by Mr..
Fowler says:
There are a few firms and companies
in the Netherlands East Indies doing an
exclusively. export business. large
part OF the export is handled by COM
panies also engaged in an import bust
ness. The export of pepper is limited
to a very few concerns. although the
official list of exporters includes fifty
six names. All but few OF these are
occasional shippers, having picked up
small lots for shipment and thereby
getting into the Government lists.
They have contributed very little to the
efficiency OF collection and distribution
except by providing something of n bal
ance against the weight of the few big
concerns whose interests lie, broadly,
in the one direction of Importation. The
principal exporters maintain branches
at Telol1 Betong. the centre of the paper
producing district of Lampong, in SUI
of Banko through agents controlled from
Batavia. The crop of Atjeh (the north
ern residency of Sumatra) Is handled
through agents controlled through
Penang and Singapore. These agents
have friendly and long established rela-
lions with the native chiefs, through
whom they make advances to buyers and
often, through them, to the growers
themselves.
Control of Hides.
such exporters make a beneficial
contribution to trade In that at least
they partly finance crops and control
the collection of products. Their
knowledge of the personnel of the trade
gives them a hold on 1t difficult to
break
THE principal exporters of hides
have contributed something toward the
betterment of grades in popularizing
more efficient methods in killing, trim
ming and drying, but they do not in
flucnce the trade to the extent that
the pepper exporters do. The collecting
is done by the Chinese and Arab
traders. and the exporter is the last
link In the chain Of collection.
THE copra trade is representative OF
that of many other products. The ex-
porter receives an offer from his GUS
toner abroad and commissions a
broker to buy for him under certain
stated conditions. Some of the brokers
have connections with buyers situated
In various parts of Java or in the other
islands. and they buy through these
agents or from local stocks for the ac-
count OF the exporter. Purchases are
made on the reputation Of the sellers,
who are known by name or otherwise.
on guarantees from other houses or on
an inventory of the goods. In the lat
| ter case there must be an inspection,
which is carefully made. Often, how
ever, large shipments Of copra are made
without any representative of the ex-
porter seeing the cargo. In such cases
the exporter Is merely a middle man be-
tween the correspondent abroad, who
accepts his guarantees of quality, II
| such are made. and the local broker,
who Is the real controller of the means
of collection.
Chinese Have Strong Hold.
THE combination importer and ex
porter has different relation to the ex-
port trade from those concerns doing an
exclusively export business. These
houses import merchandise which they
sell, generally on credit, to the Chinese
trader or shopkeeper. Each one Of these
Chinese Is also money lender or ex
tends credit to the natives. who are al
| ways willing to go into debt. When
the Chinese is ready to sell he generally
offers his produce to the company from
which he buys. and for the reason that
he has generally stretched his credit
with the importer to the furthest limit
lie often will accept lower offer for
| his goods than he would from a firm
| from which he bought nothing.
Another type of exporter is the big
company exporting the product OF its
cwn plantations and buying on the open
market when ordered to do so by the
main office In the Netherlands. Such
companies consign their product and
purchases to their own offices In the
Netherlands or to their bankers who
finance their current needs.
THE Netherlands Trading Society is
the only company acting as the exporter
of the Governments plantations. 1t has
its own forty or fifty plantations and
industries. the products of which 1t con-
signs TO the head Office In Amsterdam