SPECIAL REPORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 55
The other combinations in the wall-paper industry are the Verband
deutscher Druckpapier Fabriken (Association of German Print-Paper
 Manufacturers) and the Verein deutscher Papier-Grosshindler
 (Association of German Wholesale Paper Dealers), which was
founded by 85 of the leading wholesalers in the wall-paper trade.
The history of combination in’ the wall-paper industry has shown
no permanent organization. The present organization was founded
on the ruins of three unsuccessful predecessors, namely, Der Verein
deutscher Tapeten-Fabrikanten (The Union of German Wall-Paper
Manufacturers); die Tapeten-Industrie A.-G. (The Wall-Paper
stock Company), known as Tiag, which, perhaps, has been the most
important of all; and Das Kartell deutscher Tapeten-Industrieller
(The Cartel of German Wall-Paper Industrials).
Organization.—The association may be classified as a cartel of the
second class, inasmuch as it does not maintain a central organization
for selling the products of the associated factories, though it maintains,a
 bureau of revision and arbitration inaugurated by its predezessor.
 The object of the association is to stabilize the market. In
particular, it has assured the price protection of the dealers, which,
however, is difficult for the association to maintain in the face of the
large number of important outsiders. The dealers obligate themselves
 to buy only from the association, and the members of the assoaziation,
 on the other hand, obligate themselves to sell only to dealers.
Foreign markets—There are no limitations as to sale in foreign
markets. The predecessor of the present association, the Tiag,
paid great attention to the English market and was successful for
a time. The united effort of the German wall-paper exporters
caused a counter attack by the British association, the Wall-Paper
Manufacturers, Ltd., which bought the “ Hansa” factory in Hamburg,
 and finally entered into an agreement with the Tiag by
which the Tiag must not cut prices in England in English widths
and must not introduce more than 850 new designs or 3,000 color
schemes per annum, and both parties agreed not to copy one another’s
 designs. The German factories continued to do a good business
 abroad in wall papers, but at small profits and without very
much assistance from the association.
Products—The wall-paper industry distinguishes high-class,
middle-class, and cheap grades. Only the high grades are adaptable
 to cartelization, because in the high grades a larger margin of
profit is obtainable by the dealers than in the cheap qualities, where
success or failure in disposing of the article may depend on a fraction
 of a cent on the roll. An association is possible so long as the
manufacturers of high grade wall papers are united and it breaks
ap as soon as the factories manufacturing cheap grades enter the
field with high-class products.
Extent 7 monopoly of home market—The Association of German
 Wall-Paper Manufacturers includes 31 factories as against 24
outsiders, but these factories include the larger members of the
trade and most of the higher quality products. There is, however,
no approach to a monopoly and every effort on the part of the
association to give the it a little firmness or backbone is immediately
 utilized by the outsiders. For instance, the efforts to exclude
 from the association factories which sell to those outside of