SPECIAL REPORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 83
the first part of the year 1909, a systematic limitation of production
was generally agreed upon in many conventions. The Rhenish-Westphalian
 Cotton Spinners’ Association and the English combination
 at Manchester both decided to limit their business; in October,
 1909, the American spinners decided to ally themselves with
the English-German agitation which had been going on. In spite
of all of these efforts the English and Westphalian groups continued
 to produce large quantities of materials. Indeed, it was
claimed by many that the limitation of production was more the
result of an industrial standstill than a movement toward an international
 combination. At any rate, in the year 1909 the seed was
planted for an international agreement among cotton mills which
might have developed into a practical combination if the European
war had not broken out.
The European Bottle Union.—In the latter part of the year 1907
a bottle organization was formed which covered nearly the whole of
Europe. In order to organize this combination a number of bottle
manufacturers met in Berlin in October S300y ), forming the German
Union of Bottle Manufacturers (Ltd.) (G. m. b. H.), which, together
with similar organizations in other European countries, formed the
European Bottle Union. The purpose of the European combination
was to limit the production of bottle-making machinery manufactured
 according to the Owens patents. These patents were finally
obtained for all countries of the world except the United States,
Canada, and Mexico (this field was reserved for the United States).
The purchase price of the patents was 12,000,000 marks ($2,856,000).
From the field stipulated at the time the patents were purchased
China and Japan were excluded. The payment of the price agreed
upon must take place within 10 years, with the addition of 4 per
cent interest. The purchasing price was only theoretical, because
the receipts for the sale of patent rights in those countries which did
not belong to the European Unjon could be deducted. In the summer
of 1912 a patent license was sold to a company in Bragil. The cost
of buying the patents was distributed among the factories belonging
to the European Union proportionately to the amount of bottles
which each produced. The total annual production of the European
Union was limited to about 1,428,000,000 bottles, to the value of
140,000,000 marks ($33,320,000). Of the total number above stated,
(Germany was credited with 530,000,000, England with 305,000,000,
France with 295,000,000, and Austria with 160,600,000. The remainder
was divided between Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium. The
great importance of the “Gerresheimer” and “ Siemens” bottle
works in the German industry can be estimated from the fact that
these two companies were supposed to pay 2,000,000 marks ($47 6,000)
pach, with interest of the total amount paid for the Owens patents,
or, in other words, these two companies were to pay one-third of the
otal purchasing price, guaranteed by the European Bottle Union.
INTERNATIONAL CARTELS.

LIST OF INTERNATIONAL TRUSTS WHICH EXHIBITED INDICATIONS OF ACTIVITY
DURING 1913, AS REGISTERED BY THE ELDERS OF THE MERCHANTS OF BERLIN.
(1) Agreement between the German and Italian steel works
(unions) for the furnishing of 40,000 metric tons of imported German
 T and U steel. The agreement runs until J anuary 1, 1915.