The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-01-28
German Plan to
Sell Potash in
u. S. Blocked

Berlin-Reprsentatives of the Ger.
man potash synd cate to start for
New York to negotiate contracts with
American fertilizer manufacturers
have been refused permission to enter
the United States.
The trip is off and the negotiations
upon which they so confidently count.
cd to open American markets to the
rapidly accommodating stores of German
potash, must be called off unless the
State Department modifies it attitude
and decides to grant the necessary
American passport vises.
Discussion of a prospective new con.
tract will be resumed in Berlin, where
it originally started, and attempts of
the syndicate to break up the Ameri-
can buying combine by negotiating
separately with individual fertilizer
manufacturers in the United States, or
by selling direct to consumers, seem
doomed to failure.
The Germans who are desperately
anxious to revive trade with America
now regarded as the great financial
hope of the German potash industry
had received instructins not to al
low the question of price to interfere
with placing contracts, and to start
negotiations by cutting the price under
that paid for the latest imports from
the Alsatian mines, now French prop
erty-that is 1913 ton.
Priyy Councillor Kempner, chairman
of the German syndicate, was unwill-
ing to cover the German hand more
than to say that the French price
would be undercut. There is no doubt
the syndicate is prepared to cut the
price until it shall be low enough to
make it possible for the American
farmer to buy despite the fall in agri-
cultural prices. The initial reduction
is long drop from the original price
VI p1Uo, III Which, Tic NClLHdHS llOlu
out in the last stages of the Berlin
negotiations in September, when they
still thought they had the whip hand,
owing to the supposed urgent need of
American farmers for potash. Kemp
ner was optimistic that the coming of
spring woul dsee the agricultural re-
adjustment in America well under
way, bringing with it an increase in
the demand for fertilizers, which for
the last few months has almost ceased
to exist. A large part of the potash
cargoes which were moved last sum-
mer on speculation, he said, still are
lying unsold in warehouses of Allan
tic and Gulf ports, so that an adequate
supply for the spring season is on
hand.
Kempner denied that the syndicate
is trying to charge a higher price in
the United States than in Holland,
Scandinavia and other countries, as
was charged by American representa-
tives last summer, and said he could
show proofs of this. 1t is noteworthy,
however, that the annual report on
the potash industry, prepared by the
Danmann firm at Hanover and usually
regarded as authoritative, speaks OF
this discrimination against America
as a fact and expresses belief that
this one of the difficulties to be cleared
up by the proposed visit to the
United States of the agents. The re-
port defends the practice of charging
various countries in proportion to
their ability to pay and expresses sur
prise that the American dealer is I'M
able to see the justice of the system
by which, when currency ranks high,
more can be paid than with depreci-
ated currency.