62

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

The  customs  officials  have  full  care  and  supervision  of  the  Government ­
  warehouse,  while  the  city  warehouse  is  supervised  and  looked
after  by  city  officials,  who,  in  case  of  goods  subject  to  duty  being
deposited  with  them,  are  held  responsible  for  the  payment  of  the  duty
to  the  customs  officials,  and,  furthermore,  are  authorized  to  demand  a
guaranty  from  the  depositor  for  the  payment  of  the  amount  of  the
duty.
Ernest  A.  Man,  Consul.
Breslau,  Germany,  August  26,190If..

COLOGNE.
(From  United  States  Consul  Barnes,  Cologne,  Prussia,  Germany.)
The  area  of  the  warehouses  operated  by  the  port  administration  of
this  city  amounts  approximately  to  29.000  square  meters  (34,684
square  yards).  The  original  cost  of  the  buildings  was  2,330,000
marks  ($554,540).  They  are  owned  and  conducted  by  the  town  of
Cologne.  AÍI  services  usually  rendered  in  connection  with  the  receiving ­
  and  forwarding  of  merchandise  are  assumed  by  the  administration ­
  of  the  warehouses.  The  scale  of  charges  for  storage  is  inclosed
herewith.®  Receipts  during  the  year  1903  were  94,000  marks
($22,372),  and  expenditures  were  44,000  marks  ($10,472).
The  goods  chiefly  stored  are  coffee,  wine,  sugar,  and  tobacco.  Americans ­
  make  use  of  these  warehouses,  but  to  what  extent  I  am  unable  to
state,  as  no  statistics  are  obtainable  concerning  the  different  nations.
All  nationalities  are  treated  exactly  alike.  It  is  impossible  to  give  any
estimate  as  to  the  length  of  time  goods  are  kept  in  bond,  but  they
seldom  remain  longer  than  one  year.
The  most  modern  machinery  and  methods  are  employed  in  removing ­
  goods  from  boats  to  the  warehouses.  The  cost  of  the  service
varies  according  to  the  kind  of  goods,  and  ranges  from  2  to  3  cents
per  220.46  pounds  (100  kilos).
The  goods  stored  in  the  warehouses  are  all  under  the  general  supervision ­
  of  the  town  and  customs  authorities,  and  they  can  only  be  removed ­
  after  all  the  necessary  official  formalities  have  been  complied
with.
Chas.  E.  Barnes,  Consul.
Cologne,  Germany,  November  15,1901f.

FREIBURG.
(From  United  States  Consul  Liefcld,  Freiburg,  Germany.)
Freiburg  is  an  inland  city  with  custom-house  and  officials,  but  not
provided  with  warehouses  for  storage  or  for  distributing  purposes.
I  understand  that  at  Singen,  between  Constance  and  Schaffhausen,
a  On  file  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.
Minimum  charge  is  50  pfennigs  (11.0  cents).  Rates  per  months  for  220.4(5
pounds  range  from  1.1  cents  for  asphalt  and  potato  or  corn  meal  to  4.2  cents  for
such  articles  as  cotton  or  woollen  goods,  eggs,  tobacco,  leather,  glassware,  and
furniture.