24 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.
quota in the Kohlenkontor of 9,231,600 tons. The comparative importance
 of the members of the Coal Office is shown by the following
 figures: The Kohlenkontor has 1,431,800 tons annual quota;
Mathias Stinnes, 1,156,200 tons; Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks Gesellschaft,
 which has absorbed the ship company of Raab, Kircher &amp;
Co., Strassburg, 1,064,000 tons. The firms Hugo Stinnes, Harpener
Bergbau-Aktien-Gesellschaft, Franz Haniel &amp; Co. have each quotas
of about 700,000 tons. Nineteen other members have each less than
100,000. The Coal Syndicate Co. takes a preferred dividend of 5
per cent of the earnings of the Coal Office, and in addition participates
 in any remaining dividends pro rata with the other members.
The Kohlenkontor therefore controls not only the coal but the
transportation of coal in the entire district influenced by the water
traffic of the Rhine. This extends far into south Germany, the Coal
Office maintaining enormous terminal facilities at the inland harbor
of Mannheim to facilitate reshipping for Bavaria.
Character of rowpatiigens ips dominating factor of competition
in coal is first of all price, but price in its relation to the heating
qualities of the coal. Den with the English coal is primarily
a matter of price, the heating qualities being similar. In competition
with brown coal, it is heating properties and price, the heating proparties
 of bituminous coal being about three times that of brown coal.
Central selling organization.—The Coal Syndicate Co. is in itself
a central selling organization. The bank, to a large extent connected
with the Coal oy is the Bergisch-Mirkische Bank, although
other banks are closely connected. They are, however, not “cartel
banks ” in the sense usually understood by that term.
The economies of the central selling organization are manifold.
Through the organization of the trade, through the dealers’ unions,
and the assignment of districts to each dealer, there is alleviation of
the enormous selling expenses, which are necessitated by frequent
visits of many high-priced salesmen of competing coal companies to
one and the same customer and by keeping such salesmen on the road
in a large territory. The coal salesman, as such, has been practically
eliminated, inasmuch as the sale of the entire output is concentrated
in the office of the Coal Syndicate Co. at Essen as a focusing point
and is bought at that one place by the large dealers’ unions, 2 in
turn simply distribute the coal to the smaller dealers in their assigned
districts. The economy of this sales organization, as also in the
case of the Steel Verband and others, is enormous. Another economy
is the one central office of testing experts for the entire industry.
Terms of sale and delivery —The terms of sale for coal, the same as
for iron and steel, are usually cash before the 15th of the month following
 delivery.
Dumping —The Coal Syndicate Co. endeavors to keep the Taoles
of the members reasonably well filled, which makes it possible for
the members to maintain an even stream of production at a rate
which assures an efficient working of the mine. The demands of the
open market, however, sometimes fluctuate widely, as in 1900, demanding
 far more than the Syndicate can produce. In this case the
Syndicate rather than give the English coal firms an opportunity
oF coming into the market, bought directly from England to supply

i This bank was absorbed by the Deutsche Bank in 1914.—Federal Trade Commission,