184 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADR.

tured goods that find their way here from foreign syndicates or combinations
 that come within the scope of this investigation, but the
headquarters of these institutions are in the manufacturing centers of
Europe. In interviewing one of the merchants here he was at a loss
to know whether the textiles which he imported from Germany and
other European countries emanated from cartels, syndicates, or
combinations. The place and condition of origin apparently did not
interest him. Importations from such combinations are permitted
under the Peruvian law.
Operations of othe Peruvian Corporation (Lid.).—Probably the
organization here that more closely comes within the scope of this
investigation is the Peruvian Corporation (Ltd.), an English organization
 with headquarters at London. This corporation in 1890
took over the depreciated bonds of the Peruvian Government on the
condition that the Government-owned railroads and the guano exportations
 be under their control for a period of years. The agreement
 between the Peruvian Corporation and the Peruvian A.
ernment was signed in 1890. By its terms the bonds were exchanged
for stock in the Peruvian Corporation. The corporation later surrendered
 the bonds to the Peruvian Government in exchange for
the following concessions:
(a) The use for 66 years of all the railroad properties of the
Peruvian Government, most important of which were the Southern
Railway of Peru and the Central Railway of Peru.
(5) Assignment of the guano existing in Peruvian territory, especially
 on certain adjacent islands, up to the amount of 2,000,000 tons.
(¢) Certain other claims on guano deposits, especially in the
Lobos and other islands.
(d) Thirty-three annual payments by the Peruvian Government,
each of $400,000.
In 1907 this arrangement was modified by an extension of the
leases of the railways from 1956 to 1973, by a reduction in the
number of annual payments from 33 to 30, and by a further agreement
 on the part of the Peruvian Corporation to construct certain
railroad extensions to Cuzco and to Huancayo.
The most important feature of this corporation’s interest in Peru
as affecting the trade of the United States is, of course, the exportation
 of guano and fixing its price. In fact, their privileges constitute
 a monopoly of all Peruvian guano exported to foreign countries.
 This, however, does not apply to its use for agricultural purposes
 in Peru. In recent Jor there has been continual litigation
between the corporation and the Peruvian Government regarding the
exportation of this product. For a short period of time during last
year the Government prohibited the exportation of guano and limited
 its extraction only from certain islands. specifying the months
in which it should be taken from the islands.
The bonds of this corporation are largely held by English, French,
and Dutch subjects. Consequently, the diplomatic representatives
of these three countries in Peru are constantly manifesting proper
interest in the welfare of their nationals, the bondholders.