FOREIGN TRADE ZONES ages it in the name of that city; in Emden the German National Railway is the proprietor of and manages the railway in its own name. Wherever the harbor railway is an independent undertaking, it is the cause of financial anxiety to the seaport town. Since the docks ‘are provided with entirely modern equipment, cranes, gangways, lifting gear, etc., their manning requires trained gangs, their upkeep a special expenditure, and payment therefor a special cash department. Thus the conception of the dock adminis- tration as being an office independent of harbor construction arises, viz, a works and traffic administration separate from the construc- tion administration. It is natural that such an administration is only for the general traffic. Special depots, as, for instance, for tim- ber, ore, and coal, and industrial depots, are often best utilized by being leased. The dock administration limits itself to one part of the port traffic; the shore work of transshipment. The latter comprises the shifting of goods in the quay sheds and the work of the lifting gear. The ships’ -work therefore, in discharging and loading, does not come under the dock administration, but is the work of the stevedores. The improvement of the lifting gear, such as hydraulic moving of grain cranes, has brought about the fact that a division between ship and shore work is often no longer possible, so that in such cases the ships’ work is also undertaken by the dock administration. By engaging dock laborers for the work of transshipment, the dock administration associates itself with the other harbor managements in labor questions. The administration is an employer and, as it has no regular workers such as municipal employees, it is obliged to engage its own dock laborers. As a rule, it is, therefore, a member of the employers’ union (Hafenbetriebeverein). The work for mixed goods and piece goods is for the most part manual work; machinery for conveyance on a small scale and for stapling goods is only just being developed. The upkeep of the expensive and sometimes very delicate lifting gear requires special skilled labor and special workshops. This technical department needs the closest cooperation with the construction works, so that daily experiences can be utilized and advantageously employed for new undertakings. A fusion with the construction works is, however, not to be recommended. The difficulty of making a profit from the dock administration has always been a source of anxiety, and since the war the situation has become more acute, as the competition of the foreign harbors of Antwerp and Rotterdam, as well as the struggle of the German ship- ping companies for their position in the world, tend to keep the dock dues low. Although the dock administration has never been an important source of income to Bremen, the question of a subsidy for it is now receiving consideration. It is therefore all the more necessary 158