COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. 145

spinning and weaving is exported in considerable quantities to Italy,
France, Austria, Russia, and Spain, but electrical machinery forms
the largest part of the Swiss machinery exports.
In the Swiss machinery industry but few cartel agreements are
known to exist. IHowever, in the important branch of steam-turbine
manufacture, agreements for restricting competition have been made
between the two leading Swiss firms—Brown Boveri &amp; Co., and
Escher, Wyss &amp; Co., Ziirich—and the two large concerns that control
the German industry. Brown Boveri &amp; Co. have made a syndicate
agreement with the Allgemeine Elektricitits Gesellschaft, which in--ludes
 an exchange of the Brown-Boveri-Parsons patents; and
Escher, Wyss &amp; Co. have combined with the Siemens-Schuckert concern.
 The firm of Brown Boveri &amp; Co., Baden i. A., has developed
into one of the largest manufacturing concerns in Switzerland, and
has established branches in Italy, France, and Norway. In 1909
its capital stock was 20,000,000 francs ($4,000,000). The firm of
Escher, Wyss &amp; Co., of Ziirich, a joint-stock company, capitalized at
10,000,000 francs ($2,000,000), makes a specialty of manufacturing
water turbines, and ranks first among all the manufacturing firms of
this kind in Europe. The water turbines which it manufactured in
1909 comprised a total horsepower of 1,560,000, which number represents
 about half of the water power developed in Europe during that
year.? Several Swiss machinery manufacturers have agreements
with co-called “alliance firms” in foreign countries, according to
which the Swiss firms get orders for certain articles which are their
specialties.?
Cheese syndicate.—The present Swiss cheese syndicate is a noteworthy
 example of the prompt and effective cooperative measures
Swiss business men take to safeguard their interests in times of
stress.
The sale of Swiss cheese for export and home consumption is
controlled at the present time by a syndicate composed of the principal
 dealers in this product in Switzerland. This syndicate is the
Genossenschaft Schweizerischer Kise-Export-Firmen, with headquarters
 at Berne, and was established at the outbreak of the present
European war. Its officers are empowered to fix and regulate the
prices of Swiss cheese for export and home consumption. The syndisate
 also regulates the price of milk.
The professed purpose is to give the farmer a good price for his
milk. in comparison with the high price of feed, and to give good

1p, H. Schmidt, op. cit. pp. 253, 256.
3B. Lincke, Die schweiz. Maschinenindustrie u. ihre Entwicklung in wirtschafilicher
Beziehung, pp. 117, 141, 144, 203 fol.
1p. H. Schmidt, op. cit, p. 257.
97941 ° —16———11