SWITZERLAND: GENEVA.
99
(11,023 pounds), the difference in rent depending on the bulk or
apparent value of the merchandise. For lots of less than 5,000 kilos
the rent is paid according to special agreement. The highest rent is
charged for cotton wadding and for feathers in bales and the lowest
for grain in bags and for certain metals. For receiving or delivering
the merchandise the company charges from 8 ore (2.14 cents) to
30 ere (8 cents) per 100 kilos. The highest labor charges are demanded
for cinnamon in boxes and the lowest for flour in bags and
for pig iron. For weighing the goods a fee is charged of 3 ore
(0.8 cent) for each 100 kilos, but not less than 10 ore (2.08 cents) for
each parcel weighed.
The cost of handling the merchandise outside of the warehouses can
not be stated, because it varies so greatly. If the goods arrive by a
steamer small enough to enter the harbor and moor at the quay or
wharf, and if the goods are to be stored in a warehouse located close
to the wharf, the cost will be small. If the vessel is too large to enter
the harbor proper, the goods will have to be loaded into barges for
transportation into the city, which will increase the costs, and if
the warehouse to be used is located far from the wharf they will be
heavier. 'For transportation of goods within the city the average
charge is about 1 crown ($0,268) per one-horse load, it being more or
less according to distance it is to oe transported.
As the arrangements in the above respects do not seem to be modern,
I do not consider it necessary to go more into details.
Robert S. S. Bergh, Consul.
Gottenborg, Sweden, September 16, 190If.
SWITZERLAND.
GENEVA.
(From United States Consul Washington, Geneva, Switzerland.)
In a preceding report concerning stored goods as collateral for
loans,« I stated that there was in Geneva an association called the
Society charged with running the warehouses of the State of
Geneva,” organized in 1888, under the control of State authorities
a nd the Federal custom-house, and that this association put at the disposition
of Geneva tradespeople its two warehouses, where goods
could ho stored on their arrival from foreign countries, and left there
without paying customs duties until taken out or reshipped.
This association has two bonded warehouses in Geneva—one in the
town and the other in the railway station. The first is practically
S( luare in shape and measures about 100 yards on each side, while the
( 'Oe in the railroad station (Cornavin) is quite three times as large.
Ihe company was founded in 1888, in accordance with a Genevese
1&W, and its capital now amounts to 1,700,000 francs ($328,100). The
Warehouses are, as stated before, operated under the supervision of
the Geneva authorities, by a board of directors. There are also a
Manager and a submanager.
I’lie net profits for the calendar year 1903 amounted to 94,000
« Published in Special Consular Reports, vol. xxv, page 70.
