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The  warehouses  face  the  quay,  and  at  the  back  are  the  Government
railway  lines.  Both  at  the  front  and  at  the  back  are  uninclosed
sheds,  roofed  with  zinc,  to  protect  the  goods  which  are  being  removed
from  the  warehouses.  These  warehouses  are  built  entirely  of  zinc,
with  steel  framework,  and  are  on  high  cement  foundations.  As
they  are  Government  buildings,  I  am  unable  to  ascertain  their  original ­
  cost.  They  are  owned  and  conducted  entirely  by  the  Netherlands
Indian  Government.
The  service  is  complete  and  satisfactory  to  the  patrons.  The  warehouses ­
  are  in  charge  of  European  storekeepers,  who  render  every
assistance  to  owners  of  goods.  They  are  open  from  7  in  the  morning
until  5  in  the  afternoon,  during  which  time  goods  can  be  removed
or  stored.
Scale  of  charges  per  cubic  meter  (35.314  cubic  feet)  for  storage  is
as  follows  for  goods  in  transit  or  in  bond  :
For  hazardous  goods,  2J  cents  per  day;  for  petroleum  (the  importers ­
  of  petroleum  have  their  own  petroleum  warehouses  and  seldom
make  use  of  the  Government  stores),  14  cents  per  day;  for  gambler,
hides,  indigo,  coffee,  sugar,  tobacco,  and  tea,  1^  cents  per  day;  for  all
other  goods,  1cents  per  day.  Days  of  storing  and  removing  goods
both  count  as  full  days.
As  the  stores  belong  to  the  Government,  I  am  unable  to  give  the
receipts  and  expenditures  on  account  of  the  service,  but  I  am  informed
that  the  receipts  are  but  little  more  than  the  expenditures.
General  merchandise  and  produce  are  stored,  the  latter  being  stored
from  coastwise  steamers  awaiting  shipment.  As  there  is  only  one
American  import  firm  here,  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  and  as  its
goods  are  stored  in  its  own  petroleum  stores,  it  may  be  said  that
Americans  do  not  make  use  of  the  Government  stores  at  all.  There
is  no  distinction  made  as  to  nationality,  and  all  receive  fair  treatment ­
  alike.
When  goods  are  landed,  the  owners  may  leave  them  in  the  Government ­
  stores  for  eight  days,  after  which  time  duty  must  be  paid  and
goods  removed  by  owners,  or  the  goods  must  be  placed  in  bonded
stores.  When  owners  of  goods  can  not  be  found,  and  the  eight  days
have  expired,  the  unclaimed  goods  are  placed  in  the  bonded  stores,
and  after  one  year  has  expired  without  the  goods  being  claimed  they
are  advertised  one  month  in  the  Government  Gazette  and  then  sold
at  public  auction,  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  going  toward  paying  store
rent.  Owners  of  bonded  goods  may  keep  their  goods  in  the  Government ­
  stores  for  an  indefinite  period,  provided  there  is  sufficient  room
and  the  store  rent  is  paid  regularly.
There  is  every  facility  for  removing  goods  from  boats  to  the  warehouses, ­
  and  vice  versa.  Cooly  labor,  costing  20  cents  per  day,  is  employed ­
  for  loading  and  unloading  steamers,  which  lie  some  50  feet  in
front  of  the  warehouses,  and  for  loading  and  unloading  the  railway
trucks  which  are  drawn  up  at  the  back  of  the  warehouses.  Steam
cranes,  belonging  to  the  Government  (harbor  department)  are  also
used  for  loading  and  unloading  vessels  at  the  quay,  at  a  cost  of  $14
per  day  (7  a.  m.  till  5  p.  in.).
The  Government  warehouses  are  in  charge  of  the  customs  officials,
and  in  addition  to  the  European  storekeeper  there  are  also  one  or
more  custom-house  officers  on  duty  every  day  to  report  the  amount
of  goods  taken  into  or  removed  from  the  warehouses.  This  report