26

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

CUSTOMS  SUPERVISION.
For  the  bonded  warehouses  of  the  company  the  custom-house  officials ­
  have  control  of  the  entry  and  exit  of  goods.  Officers  of  the
customs  are  always  on  duty  on  the  premises  (they  are  lodged  by  the
company),  and  when  the  sheds  are  fastened  for  the  night  there  are
two  locks,  the  representatives  of  the  company  having  the  key  to  one
and  the  the  custom-house  officials  in  having  the  key  to  the  other.
The  bonded  warehouses  at  Paris  are  not  much  utilized  for  goods  in
transit  to  other  countries,  but  are  recognized  more  as  a  convenient
storage  place  for  merchants  or  a  means  of  raising  a  loan  on  goods
without  actually  selling  them  outright.
John  K.  Gowdy,  Consul-General.
Paris,  France,  July  £0,1904.

BORDEAUX.
(From  United  States  Consul  Tourgêe,  Bordeaux,  France.)
In  Bordeaux  there  are  three  kinds  of  warehouses  of  the  sort  indicated ­
  in  the  Department  circular  on  warehouses  for  the  storage  of
goods,  to  wit  :
(1)  L’Entrepôt  Réel,  which  is  owned  by  the  Bordeaux  Chamber  of
Commerce  and  is  under  the  supervision  of  customs  officials;  (2)  Les
Magasins  Generaux,  also  owned  by  the  Bordeaux  Chamber  of  Commerce, ­
  where  goods  can  be  stored  and  used  as  a  security  for  loans;
13)  Les  Entrepots  Fictifs,  owned  by  private  parties,  duly  authorized ­
  under  supervision  of  the  customs  officials.
The  warehouses  belonging  to  the  Bordeaux  Chamber  of  Commerce
consist  of  three  distinct  buildings.  They  were  constructed  at  different ­
  periods  and  are  situated  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  but  always
near  the  river  or  docks  and  connected  with  railroads.
The  first  of  these  buildings,  built  in  1824,  has  a  floor  area  of  27,920
square  meters  (33,392  square  yards)  and  cost  1,200,000  francs
($231,000).  The  second,  built  in  1881-82,  has  a  floor  area  of  about
10,000  square  meters  (19,130  square  yards)  and  cost  1,000.000  francs
($308,800).  In  1885  the  last  of  these  warehouses  was  finished.  It  is
built  of  metal  and  is  called  "  La  Halle  Métallique.”  It  cost  about
3,000,000  francs  ($579,000)  and  has  a  floor  area  of  20,800  meters
(32,053  square  yards).
The  goods  chiefly  stored  in  these  warehouses  are  skins  and  hides
from  South  America  (which  occupy  a  large  portion  of  the  Halle
Métallique),  rum,  foreign  wines,  spirits,  coffee,  and  cocoa.
The  storage  rate  for  goods  in  transit  is  about  10  francs  ($1.93)  per
day  for  150  superficial  meters  (179.4  square  yards),  insurance  included. ­
  The  storage  of  bonded  goods  is  a  very  complicated  matter,  as
there  is  a  special  rate  for  each  different  kind  of  goods.  I  send  herewith ­
  a  printed  tariff 0  of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  which  gives  all
rates  and  charges  pertaining  to  goods  stored  in  their  warehouses.
The  Bordeaux  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  perhaps  the  only  one  in
France  which  does  not  impose  taxes  on  the  local  commerce.  Its  ware-«

  On  file  in  tlie  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.