130 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.

office a commission to recommend measures to promote exportation.
Investigations and reports have been made by the country’s consuls in
the United States, Brazil, Morocco, England, and Italy. A commercial
 commission was sent to England early this year and visited
some of the large industrial centers. Thus far there have not been
any results noted. The Government sent several official commercial
agents to Brazil. These representatives have been able to assist the
export trade materially. This work will be continued and enlarged.

GREECE.
Special report of Consul General Alexander W. Weddell, Athens, Greece,
November 27, 1915.
Greece is an agricultural country. Industries are as yet in their
infancy. These facts, combined with the character of the people,
conspire to prevent the growth of combinations of manufacturers
and others looking to obtain the benefits resulting from organizations
 such as cartels, syndicates, and combinations. There is no
specific legislation yet on the statute books which would tend to
limit or supervise such organizations, which, so far as they exist,
may be said to have unusual powers.
There are but two organizations worthy of mention in the Hellenic
Kingdom which possess any of the characteristics of combinations.
These are La Société Privilégide pour favoriser la Production et le
Commerce du Raisin de Corinthe, popularly known as the “ Privileged
 Company,” and an organization of wine and alcohol distillers,
the Greek title of which is Anonymou Etairias Oinopneumatopoias.
The “ Privileged Company” igo combination) —The Privileged
 Company has its general offices at Athens, with some 25 branch
offices in various parts of Greece, and is clothed with power to establish
 foreign agencies should this become necessary.
This organization derives its life from the law of July 17/30,
1905, which provided for the organization of a joint-stock company
to take, in general, measures looking to the protection of commerce
in currants. With regard to the general activities of the company, its
methods, etc., reference is made to a comprehensive report submitted
by Consul Cooke at Patras and published in Daily Consular and
Trade Reports of November 23, 1910. From this it will be seen
that the object of the company is to prevent overproduction of this
natural monopoly of Greece, to limit the acreage, to assist the growers
 with loans, to collect the tax in kind imposed by the Government,
to make purchases of the surplus quantity of currants under certain
conditions, and generally to do all things necessary for the production
 and protection of this great industry as contemplated by its act
of incorporation.
All currants received by the company and not resold under eight
restrictions imposed must be retained within the country, their
pxportation in their natural state being prohibited under severe
penalties.
To effect the conversion of the currants thus retained into other
products a subsidiary company was formed in 1906 under the title
of “La Société Hellenique des Vins &amp; Spiritueux (The Greek Wine
&amp; Spirits Co.).
Recognizing that its success must depend largely upon increasing
the consumption of currants in foreign countries, the company has