COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. 157
In 1905 the operating capital of the Orel Zemstvo for the distribution
»f agricultural machinery and iron reached 50,000 rubles ($25,000).
Although the Zemstvos had formed no legal combination or syndicate,
 yet the Orel Zemstvo and the Moscow Zemstvo had acted more
than once as agents for several other Zemstvos. The profits from the
sales are very small, the gross earnings of the Orel Zemstvo being
2.1 per cent in 1899-1900, and in 1905-6, 6 per cent on the total
sales.
The Zemstvos allow liberal terms to their customers, usually from
three months to eight years. The prices on iron sold by the Orel
Zemstvo during the period 1900-1906 were about 17 per cent below
those charged by iron manufacturers to small customers. ;
The amount of agricultural machinery sold through the 34 Zemstvos
 of European Russia has grown quite considerably within
recent vears. The sales expressed in rubles and dollars were: 2

1909 eee
LOI. cc mmm msi meme iti rie
101]. en mrs iii ms
1912 ___

Rubles. Dollars.
eee 9,924,700 4,962, 350
mm 11,770,300 5, 885, 150
12, 058, 800 6, 029, 400
13, 936, 800 6, 968, 400

Including the sales of iron and steel wares of other kinds the total
in 1912 was nearly $10,000,000.
The various syndicates of Russian iron manufacturers regard the
Zemstvos and the present Zemstvo union as formidable competitors
and opponents in certain lines of business. Indeed, in 1914 thirty
members of the Duma alleged that a syndicate of the manufacturers
of agricultural machinery and implements was actively endeavoring
to handicap the Zemstvos in selling machinery.
Austria-Hungary.—Austria-Hungary has very different types of
industrial combinations. The cartel or the elementary form of injustrial
 combination fixing sales conditions and sometimes prices is
the most common form.
During the 10 years prior to 1912 the number of Austro-Hungarian
cartels increased fourfold. In 1902 Grunzel® counted 50 cartels,
and Baumgarten and Meszlény 100 in 1906, and Tschierschky made
ap in 1912 a list of 200.
The list of the most highly developed combinations with central
selling agencies (syndicates) does not include the heavy industries
(coal, iron, and steel), but represents such industries as brick, glass,
porcelain, small iron wares, chemicals, and textiles.
The influence of German industrial interests has been instrumental
in helping to organize a number of Austro-Hungarian combinations.

1 Vestnlk Finansov, 1909, N 28, p. 49.
! Vestnik Finansov, 1914, N 5, p. 207.
33. Grunzel, Ueber Kartelle, Leipzig, 1902, p. 198, ete.
1 Kartell-Rundschau, 1912, Heft 1, p. 59.