SPECIAL REPORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 43

extended. The resources and the labor of the various districts, as
far as raw materials are concerned, do not vary materially, consequently
 the manufactured products are very much the same.
Large Portland cement manufacturers of Germany, and particularly
 the syndicates through their selling agencies, have always been
interested in improving their standards and the manufacturing apparatus
 through scientific investigation and experiments. The
Union of German Portland Cement Manufacturers at Berlin, to
which nearly all the German factories belong, has established fixed
standards and has carried on chemical investigations which have
had an important and permanent result for the German industry.
All factories belonging to this union are obliged to have their products
 come up to the minimum of these standards. Most of the works
not only fulfill the minimum requirements, but also go much further.
 For this reason German Portland cement, as far as quality
is concerned, has always been able to compare favorably with competitors,
 but does not compare in quality with the best American
cement.
Extent of monopoly of home market.—The cement cartels of Germany
 control between 50 and 60 per cent of the total German production.
 . Dr. Ernst Madelung, in his book on the development of
the German Portland-cement industry,' estimates the total cement
consumption controlled by the syndicates as being 57.4 per cent of
the amount produced.
The cement groups which are located around the German borders
are less affected by inland competition and have more difficulties in
their relations with groups in neighboring countries, where they
sell a considerable portion of their product. A general German
cartel for the cement industry is out of the question, and can not
reasonably be considered because the relations and necessities of
the various regions, in which the separate organizations work, are
altogether different. It is also very difficult to bring so many different
 interests into one comprehensive and united organization. The
great problems of a central organization for the whole empire are
variety of interests, price differences of the various sections, and the
difficulty of equalizing freight and transportation costs. As a matter
 of fact, the German cement industry will probably continue to
be controlled by agreement between the cartel groups. These agreements,
 however, can be far better perfected than they are at present.
Extent of monopoly of exports—The cement cartels handle about
80 or cent of the total exports of cement from Germany.
haracter of competition and the results attained by combination.—Foreign
 tariffs have always been a great drawback to German
 sales abroad. Foreign interests in neighboring European countries
 were also centralized and. furnished severe competition. In
Holland the South German, Rhenish-Westphalian, and Belgian syndicates
 worked together. These three syndieates formed a trading
company under the title of the United German-Belgian Cement
Works (Vereinigte Deutsch-Belgische Zementfabriken). The selling
 agency of this company took their cement products on a proportionate
 basis to sell on a percentage basis. Since Holland had

1 Madelung, E., “ Die Entwicklung der d 1 12 2 3
aE hn, By le g eutschen Portland Cement-Industrie. Leipzig