BPECTIAL RERORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 99

price of white iron. All the iron handled by the comptoir is supposedly
 of equal quality so that, when an order is received for 500
tons of casting iron No. 3, for instance, it makes no difference to the
purchaser from which furnace the order is filled. Article 41 of the
statutes, however, provides that in order to encourage the members
of the comptoir to improve the quality of their iron, if a customer
asks for a certain brand and is willing to pay a higher price than
that fixed for other iron in the same c assifiontion, the difference in
the price will be credited to the member making the special mark
less the amount usually deducted for general expenses and for the
reserve fund provided for in article 40. If, on the contrary, the iron
furnished by a member is not up to the quality of the classification
and can not be sold at the price fixed, the difference is charged against
the member producer.
According to the provisions of article 42, the members whose
plants are in the region of Nancy, owing to their geographical position,
 are allowed an increase of 2 francs (38.6 cents) per ton in the
price paid for their pig iron.
Article 85 of the statutes provides that special varieties of iron
such as casting iron of great tensile strength, ferromanganese,
spiegel iron, etc., having a greater value than ordinary pig iron,
shall not be included in the quotas of the partners. These varieties,
however, may be sold by the comptoir for the account and risk .f
the producer.
The terms of sale of the comptoir are net at 30 days, the month in
which the shipment is made not being counted. Thus, iron shipped
on November 12 is payable at the end of December. Extensions of
credit to customers having sound financial reputation are made at
the current rate of interest.
Organization for the comptoir’s foreign trade—The Comptoir
d’Exportation des Fontes de Meurthe-et-Moselle is an organization
having the same offices, membership, personnel, and management as
the Comptoir Métallurgique de Longwy. It was formed for the
purpose of handling the foreign trade of its members.
According to the provisions of article 1 of the statutes, the comptoir
 may have warehouses at Antwerp and other foreign ports, where
its iron may be warranted like English and Scotch iron, but up to
the present the project has not been carried out.
Comptoir des Poutrelles (Steel Girder Comptoir).—The comptoir
 des Poutrelles is a société anonyme which was formed in 1896
for a period of 15 years with a capital of 149,500 francs ($28,854),
which in 1902 was increased to 159,500 frances ($30,784). At a general
 meeting held in December, 1910, the life of the organization was
extended for 20 years from March 7, 1911, unless sooner dissolved by
the general assembly.
The head offices of the company are located at 80 Rue Taitbout,
Paris. The following is a list of the officers and members:
Officers and board of directors.
[.. Pralon (president). : Résimont,
E. Paraf (vice president), Spalart.
Y. Cavallier. Taragonet.
i. Dondelinger, Magnin.
A. Dreux. Longueval, 80 Rue Taitbout, Paris
d. Fayol. (manager).
A. Ducloux.